Collagraphs: Using Crackle Paste

I created a test plate a few weeks ago while leading a collagraph workshop and printed on dried Crackle Paste. The back of the container says to wait 3 days for the paste to slowly dry, but who has 3 days? I waited 24 hrs and it was fine.

Here's the paste printed with Akua Mars Black Intaglio. I did coat the paste with a thinned solution of Liquitex Gloss Medium and Varnish before printing. You can see how much ink it holds--the dried paste is on the rough side. Areas could be lightened up with another layer of the Gloss Medium.

I tried a bunch of different materials on my plate. I hope this is helpful to you when making your own collagraphs!

A note about my matrix. I just used mat board that had been sealed with 100% Gloss Medium on the back and on the front, 2 layers of thinned medium (50:50 water to medium). After it was dried I added my collage materials and then coated with one more layer of the 50:50.