Description

Printmaking is a process-intensive discipline in which the quality of a printed edition depends not only on the artist’s skill and the quality of materials, but on the cleanliness of the studio environment between sessions. Ink contamination on a glass slab can transfer to the next colour mix. Solvent residue on a work bench can compromise a freshly applied ground. Paper fibres left on a printing roller can create texture variations in subsequent prints. The printmaking studio requires a methodical, disciplined approach to end-of-session cleaning, and the right products for each stage of that process.

Zest-it has structured its printmaking cleaning range into two distinct stages. The Printmakers Cleaner handles the heavy work of removing oil-based ink from plates, rollers, slabs, and tools. The Printmakers Washdown then provides the final clean of studio surfaces , benches, glass inking slabs, equipment stands, and surrounding work areas , once the primary ink removal is complete. The Washdown formula lifts the residual film of ink and solvent that remains after the initial clean, leaving surfaces genuinely clear and ready for the next session. Applied to a lint-free cloth or paper towel and wiped across the surface, it removes the greasy film that oil-based inks leave behind and prepares glass slabs and stone surfaces for reliable ink adhesion at the next printing session.

The Printmakers Washdown is also suitable for cleaning around the press, wiping down the press bed and impression cylinder, and cleaning any studio surface exposed to ink mist or solvent spray during the printing process. Like all Zest-it products, it is non-flammable, low in VOCs, free from CFCs and Aromatics, and carries the characteristic pleasant citrus fragrance. The 500ml size provides a practical supply for a regularly used printmaking studio and is ideally stocked alongside the Printmakers Cleaner as a complete two-stage printmaking cleaning system. Dispose of used cloths and paper towels responsibly in a closed container.