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INTERNAL UPDATES – STUDIO NEWS FOR MEMBERS

Current Studio Updates

February 12, 2026 – Studio Updates

Studio Newsprint: We’ll be sunsetting newsprint sheets as we transition away from Uline. Please tear sheets from the roll located on the “counter” above the EDU bank of flat files. Table markings indicate approximate lengths: 18″ for a 24×18 sheet, and 36″ for the standard 24×36 sheet we’ve been using.

October 16, 2025

Two large changes at the studio: our discontinuation of rag laundering service and the re-opening of the lithography area!

Adjusted workflows regarding rags:

Screenprinting – White Cloth Rags

  • Use as before. Wash, dry, and reuse as long as possible. When they become too soiled, discard them (no longer deposit into the fire-safe container).

Intaglio

  • Removing oil-based inks, hard ground, soft ground, asphaltum: Disposable Blue Rags + SoySolv II (instead of Studio Cloth Rags + Mineral Spirits). Remove residue with water/Simple Green. Dispose blue rags in the garbage.

  • Removing safe-wash inks: White Cloth Rags + Dish Soap + Water. Rags can be washed, hung, and reused. Dispose in garbage if oversaturated.

  • Removing Lascaux Aquatint (from airbrush): Disposable Blue Rags + SPRAY 9 → Garbage.

  • Removing rosin aquatint: Disposable Blue Rags + Isopropyl Alcohol → Garbage.

Lithography

At long last, the lithography area is reopening. The Graining Sink still needs finishing touches but is basically functional.

Graining Sink:

  • We are adjusting to the sink size. Stones 18” and above on the shorter side may require rotating: rinse half, rotate 180°, then rinse the other half.

  • Permanent solution for immobilizing rollers is forthcoming; currently secured by clamps.

  • Photolitho development is untested. Trays on top of the fire-safe cabinet in the solvent room can be used, with the litho sink as the development station.

Rags:

  • Rag service discontinued. Use BLUE SHOP TOWELS + MINERAL SPIRITS (dispose in FIRE SAFE BINS) for washing stones.

  • For cleaning inking slabs: Razor Blade + SoySolv II + Water/Simple Green + Blue Shop Towels → Garbage.

Roll-up Slab:

  • Until this area becomes busier, the FOREVER ACTIVE ROLL-UP SLAB is suspended. Put out the ink needed for your roll-up and clean the class when finished.

Plate Supports:

  • LARGE / GRIFFIN plate support → under the glass slab beside PRAGA.

  • MEDIUM / PRAGA plate support → second shelf in the storage bank against the west wall.

Studio Socials are free for all Open Studio members. If you are not an active studio member but would like to attend, please consider a Supporting Membership by clicking here.

Upcoming Studio Socials:

Studio Social: Canadian Letterpress Alliance
Thursday, May 28, 2026
6:00 pm in the studio
REGISTER

The Canadian Letterpress Alliance is a national, community-focused collective of over 50 letterpress artists, printers, and printmakers across Canada. Founded to foster connection, the group organizes print exchanges, shares technical knowledge, and promotes the art of letterpress.

Join us to see the prints exchanged this year and meet members of the Alliance. You’ll also have a chance to pull a print on Open Studio’s Vandercook letterpress.

Call for Artists: Ontario Line Hoarding Artwork Pilot Project

Deadline: June 15, 2026, by 11:59pm ET
Award: Up to four (4) awards of $5,000 CAD (inclusive of taxes, production, insurance, and fees)
Read more, click here