Baby wipes, mild soap and water, or hand sanitiser will lift paint off. Vegetable oil shifts anything stubborn. Avoid harsh chemicals and abrasive cloths. Store it flat in its clamshell or between two clean plastic sheets, at room temperature, away from direct sun, heat and anything sharp. Never fold it.

No, and that is the appeal. You roll acrylic paint onto the plate, mark into it with whatever is to hand, lay your paper on top and lift the print by hand. No press, no solvents, no etching. Bubble wrap, leaves, stencils and a comb are a full starter kit of mark makers.

Acrylic, and preferably one with a bit of body so it stays workable while you mark into it. Very fluid or very fast drying paint skins over on the plate before you can pull the print. In a hot Australian summer you may want to work smaller and faster than a tutorial filmed in a cold climate suggests.

Because that is what mono printing is. Each pull lifts a different amount of paint, so no two prints match. The second and third pulls off the same inked plate, the ghost prints, are often better than the first, and they are where most people get hooked.

Gel Press describe theirs as a proprietary non toxic mineral oil formulation that mimics a traditional gelatin plate without the mess or the breakdown. It feels like gelatin in the hand but it is far stronger and it lasts, where a homemade gelatin plate goes off in your fridge in a week.

Genuine, supplied through the Australian distributor. Grey imported art materials turn up with wrong codes, missing safety information and no warranty path. Ours arrive the way the manufacturer intended, and they ship fast Australia wide from our own warehouses.