Product Review: Caligo Safe Wash Relief Inks
I haven’t been really happy with the water-based printing inks I’ve been using. They’re way better than traditional oil-based inks. They’re non-toxic, much easier to clean up and you don’t need to use solvents, which makes them much safer, particularly in a home-based studio.
Water-based inks can be difficult to work with, however, since they dry very quickly. This can be a benefit—oil-based inks can take a long time to dry! But it’s also a drawback, particularly in less-humid seasons. Working time can be Very short and it can be difficult to get an even print because the ink sometimes dries before I can get the whole piece printed. They do make mediums and additives to help extend the working time a bit, but it’s still quite short.
Since I don’t want to use hazardous solvents in my home (or at all, really!), I decided to look into some of the newer water-soluble oil-based printmaking inks. I’ve gotten great results with the water-mixable oil paints and Really like them a lot, so why give the inks a try?
I got a tube of the black Caligo Safe Wash Relief Ink by Cranfield Colors and I’m a complete convert. I Love this stuff! It works much like traditional oil-based ink, since it Is an oil-based ink. It rolls smoothly and gives a nice, rich black print. No worries about it drying out halfway through a print. It does bleed through thin paper a bit more than the water-based ink does, but I just put a piece of tracing paper over the printmaking paper when I’m printing by hand and it’s all good.
But what I love the most is the cleanup. It’s not quite as easy as a water-based ink and you do have to follow the instructions. You apply soap—I use a natural dish soap, and work it into the ink-covered areas Before adding water. I use a cheap bristle paintbrush to work the soap in. Then you wash it with water and the ink comes right off! I sometimes need to repeat the process a couple times, depending on how much ink was built up in the crevices, but it’s still super easy, if a bit messy.
One thing to keep in mind is that if you use unmounted linoleum, like I do, you want to limit how much water comes in contact with the reverse of the linoleum since it can cause warping. I just try to keep the back as dry as possible when I’m washing it, then I dry the block off well and let it dry between paper towels under pressure.
I’ve also seen some cautions about using oil-based inks on the newer, rubbery linoleum alternative materials, like the pink ‘Speedy Carve’ by Speedball. I’ve used Caligo Safe Wash ink on a Speedy Carve block a couple times though and so far, the block seems fine. I don’t know if the oil in the ink will cause damage to the Speedy Carve block over the long term, or if cleaning it really well after use is enough. We’ll have to wait and see, I suppose. To be cautious, you might want to stick to water-based inks if you’re using the rubbery materials. Or not—be daring and live a little, right?
Anyway, I highly recommend Caligo Safe Wash Relief inks. They’re a fantastic alternative to traditional oil-based inks as far as safety and clean up goes, and superior to water-based inks in their working properties. The only thing I Really wish for is for Cranfield to add some metallics to their Caligo Safe Wash line. They have a gorgeous oil-based gold ink in their traditional oil-based line and I’d love to be able to get it in a water clean-up version.
What are your thoughts on the water-soluble inks and oil-paints? Have you tried any of them? Tell me below in the comments!
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Hi. I have only recently started linocut printing and last year I was using water-based ink (just a black and an opaque white from Jackson’s art supplies online in UK). Last month I bought some Cranfield Caligo “safe wash” inks and tried using those. I like the longer working time of the Caligo, but I find the clean-up to be a whole lot more tricky. Everyone says “Oh! they’re great – just use soap and water”, but actually the Caligo inks are very tacky and they still cling on to my rubber brayer and to my linoleum blocks and I seem to end up with piles of cotton rags (or paper kitchen roll) trying to wipe off the colour. Sure, the glass and metal bits come up very clean right away, but anything rubbery or plastic and the Caligo stains. I have found that water is actually not helpful in cleaning up Caligo inks; if I just squeeze a load of washing up liquid onto the brayer and the lino and work that with an old toothbrush or nail-brush then it does emulsify the ink and lifts it from the surface. Then a *damp* cloth can be used to wipe the oily/soapy mix off the surface. Once it’s nearly clean a wetter cloth may be used to clear the surface a bit more. And then I need dry rags or paper wipes.
So, yes, you *can* clean up Caligo Safe Wash inks with soap and water, but it’s a whole lot messier and more difficult to clean up than my water-based inks.
Hi Jem,
Thanks for your input on how you clean up after using the Caligo Safe Wash inks!
Yes, it’s true that the Caligo Safe Wash inks are more difficult to clean up than a water-based ink. I don’t find them particularly difficult or messy, though it does take a bit more time and effort. I use a similar method except that after I work the dish soap in with a brush, I typically rinse the brayer or lino under a stream of water while scrubbing gently with the brush. I sometimes get some staining on carved-away areas of the lino, but nothing that affects printing.
For my purposes, the working properties of the oil-based Caligo Safe Wash inks more than make up for the increased cleanup time compared to water-based inks.
Cleanup of traditional oil-based printing inks without using solvents, on the other hand, is a whole different level of effort and frustration!
Have you tried cooking oil for the clean up ? I use this with my oil based etching inks…. works great on brayers !!
Hi Paul,
I have used cooking oil for cleaning up the traditional oil-based inks but not for the Safe Wash inks (I’m not quite sure from your comment which type you were asking about). It’s pretty messy and fairly time-consuming–I don’t think I’ve got the technique down quite yet!
I mostly only use traditional oil-based inks for the metallics (silver and gold), since Caligo doesn’t make those in their Safe Wash line and I haven’t found any other brands that do–it’s either regular oil-based or water-based. I’m still looking a good brand for silver and gold ink!
Hi! Have you tried to mix Caligo safe wash inks with traditional oil-based inks? I already have many traditional oil-based inks so i wonder if i can mix it with my inks to make colors (I’m using Gamblin & Sakura relief inks)
Hello!
I actually haven’t tried mixing traditional oil-based inks with the Caligo safe wash inks. However, I suspect that, like with water-mixable oil paints, you can probably mix a small amount of regular oil-based inks in and still be able to clean up with soap and water. With water-mixable oil paints, you can typically mix up to 20-25% traditional oil paint in. Obviously, the more traditional oil you mix in, the less water-soluble the mixture will be. Of course, if you’re not concerned with water-based clean up, you can probably mix a much greater amount in. Since they’re both oil-based, there shouldn’t really be any performance issues from mixing the two.
I’d say give it a try and let us know how it works out!
Hi there, Do you a have a recommendation of brayers to use with Caligo Safe Wash? I am having problems with Speedball brayers breaking down and getting “sticky”.
Hi Terry,
I also use a Speedball brayer and mine also has gotten a bit sticky, but I’ve never noticed it affecting the use or final print quality. Speedball advises that you can apply a small amount of corn starch or talcum powder to reduce the stickiness and that this shouldn’t affect the performance or prints in any way. I also have a different brand of brayer that I purchased recently, but I haven’t used it enough to tell if stickiness will be an issue.
Let me know how things work out if you try the corn starch/talcum powder!
Beautiful inks but – they – never – dry
Hi Tony,
It’s weird that you’ve experienced issues with the inks not drying. What type of paper are you printing on?
I’ve never had any issues with drying with either Japanese paper (which is my preferred paper for hand-printing) or on heavier weight drawing paper. The inks take a few days to dry, like all oil-based inks, but usually everything is dry to the touch in less than a week. That said, I did have one instance where the ink just didn’t seem to dry, but I was testing out some different paper types. In this case, it was a papyrus paper which I assume has some sort of coating that may have prolonged the drying process. That one was still tacky after several months!
Oil-based inks dry through a process of oxidation rather than evaporation like water-based ones do, so the process can take much longer. The Caligo Safe Wash inks, like water-mixable oil paints, would dry in a two-step process where the water-soluble component dries quite quickly, leaving only the oil-based component, which ‘dries’ the same way a traditional oil-based ink or paint does. The drying time shouldn’t really differ between traditional oil-based inks and the water mixable ones.
Humidity and temperature will also affect the drying time of oil-based inks. It can help to place the prints in an area with good air circulation and lower humidity. They’ll dry faster at warmer temperatures as well. I’ve read that you can speed up the process somewhat by using a hair dryer on low, but I’ve never tried it.
Thanks for your input!
I have just been experimenting with Caligo Safe Wash relief ink a bit, and found the cleanup very easy (I use plexiglas plates for monotype). I noticed on the Cranfield website that they advise using only cold water during cleanup, that warm or hot water will actually make it more difficult.
Also purchased a tube of the wax drier to see how it will affect drying time.
Hi Debra,
Thanks for your comments! I hadn’t noticed the bit about using cold water on their website. I’ve always used warm water and never noticed any issues with cleanup. I’ll have to try using cold water to see if it makes a difference. Let me know how your experiments with the wax drier go!
I also do momotypes on plexiglass with etching ink and solvent to thin the ink and create a range of values. What would you use to thin the Caligo safe wash ?
Cranfield makes a product called Caligo Safe Wash Oil that is made from the same modified linseed oil they use in their safe wash inks. Their website says it can be used to thin and dilute the inks. I haven’t used it myself, so I’d love to hear your experience if you try it out!
I am just changing from water based to Caligo Safewash because of the water based smudging or rewetting even when they’re dry. I have tried some small tests and found that cold/cool water and a good slug of washing up liquid cleans my ‘experimenting’ brush better than warm water. Not sure about on a large scale.
My question is: How long will ink in a tin stay good/workable, as opposed to a tube? I would far rather have a tube, but at the moment on Jackson’s site a 236ml tin is only a few pounds dearer than a 150ml tube, (a few such as magenta & violet a bit more expensive but still favourable versus a tube), and it seems too good to pass up. In Laura Boswell’s book she makes the fair point that it’s false economy if the ink skins – but no disrespect she probably doesn’t have to think about the initial price like some of us! She does give a good tip of cutting a circle of heavy vinyl to replace the supplied protective sheet in the tin.
Jackson’s don’t seem to know much about their products these days – or maybe I spoke to the wrong person. Just wondering if anybody has any info on the shelf life of the ink in a tin? Thank you
Hello Lynsey,
Thanks for your question! I haven’t used the tins of ink, but since the oil dries by oxidation, as long as the inks are protected from air, they should remain usable. Obviously, that’s easier to do in a tube where the excess airspace can be squeezed out by rolling up or flattening the tube.
For the tins, the Cranfield website recommends to “skim ink from the surface (don’t dig out big chunks), don’t mix/stir the ink in the tin, cover the ink surface with an airtight seal, seal the lid with airtight tape.” There are some art supply companies that sell a product specifically for covering the surface of the ink. McClains Printmaking Supplies, for example, sells “skin papers” that are precut to fit inside 500 ml tins. You can also make your own by cutting pieces of wax paper to fit the inside of the tin. The important point is to make sure that the surface of the ink is a smooth as possible, so the paper covers the ink without air spaces or pockets, which would allow the oil in the ink to oxidize.