Beginner Path

Start here.

Five recipes, in order. Total time: a weekend. Total cost: under $5. By the end you'll have made a brush, an ink, a sheet of paper, a printing plate, and a press — and used them together to pull your first print.

01

Make a brush

Five minutes, one twig, no excuses. You now have your first tool.

02

Make ink

Burn a candle under a plate to gather lampblack — the oldest ink in the world.

03

Make paper

Tear up junk mail, blend, pull a sheet between two thrift-store frames.

04

Make a printing plate

Press a drawing into a foam meat tray with a pencil. Roll ink. Print.

05

Build a press

Two boards and a stack of books. The cheapest press in the world.