The whole thing in one box, which is the hard part about starting gel printing. Not the technique, the shopping list. A plate on its own is not much use without paint that behaves, something to roll it with and paper worth pulling onto, and working out which of each is the bit that stops most people before they begin.

Perfect for

Starting outMixed mediaCard makingArt journalingCollage papersGift

What is in the kit

• Gel Press Mono Printing Plate, 5 x 7 inch. The reusable gel plate itself, the size most people find is the right one to learn on.
• The new Gel Press Placement Tool. A clear acrylic registration corner so your second layer lands on top of the first rather than beside it. This is the limited edition part of the kit.
• Amsterdam Standard Series Acrylic, 120ml Titanium White. The tube you will get through fastest, in the full size rather than a sample.
• Two Amsterdam Standard Series Acrylics, 20ml. 577 Permanent Red Violet Light and 582 Manganese Blue. A warm and a cool that mix a genuine range between them.
• X-Press It Soft Rubber Brayer. A soft roller, which is what you want on a gel plate. A hard roller skids.
• X-Press It Blending Card, 6 x 8 inch. Smooth coated stock that lifts a print cleanly instead of fluffing.
• Step by step tutorial. Printed instructions to get you through the first pull.

Why these three colours

It looks like an odd choice until you print with it. A red violet and a cyan leaning blue sit a long way apart on the colour wheel, so between them they mix violets, a reasonable range of blues and some genuinely useful muted purples, and neither of them is a colour you would have thought to buy first. Add the white and you have tints of all of it. Three tubes that behave like considerably more than three.

What gel printing actually is

You roll acrylic paint onto the gel plate, mark into it with whatever is to hand, lay your paper down and lift the print off by hand. No press, no solvents, no etching acid, no studio. Bubble wrap, a fork, a leaf off the footpath and a torn piece of card are all mark makers. The plate is a proprietary non toxic mineral oil formulation that behaves like a traditional gelatin plate but does not break down, so it lasts for years rather than a week in the fridge.

No two prints come out the same, which is the definition of mono printing and the reason people get hooked. The prints are also not just prints. Most people end up using them as collage papers, card fronts, journal backgrounds and book covers, so very little of what comes off the plate is wasted.

Looking after the plate

Baby wipes, mild soap and water or hand sanitiser will take paint off it, and a little vegetable oil shifts anything stubborn. Keep harsh chemicals and abrasive cloths away from it. Store it flat, in its clamshell or between two clean plastic sheets, at room temperature, out of direct sun and away from heat and anything sharp. Treated properly it will outlast the paint by years.

Questions about the mono printing kit