Demonstrations and Projects

Demo Organizer: Benjamin D. Rinehart

A relief form of printmaking, Pressure Printing is a wonderful way of printing from a paper matrix supported by plexiglass and acetate. This process can be used on its own to create an image or as blocks of color in conjunction with other processes. This method can also utilize the same matrix for multiple colors in reductive printing. The final printed results yield softer or more diffused edges compared to a traditional woodcut or linocut and mimics aquatints or soft grounds. 

A variety of materials will be used to create value, texture, and shapes on an intaglio press to create each print. A small distribution of ink yields the most controlled results. This process can be a great way to slowly build up the surface of a print since it blocks in color more quickly with very little effort. Pressure prints allow for several print runs within the same printing session with little to no offset of ink. This also encourages color blending. Combination prints with other mediums will also be showcased during the demonstration.

Pressure prints are a direct and accessible process that yields a wide variety of results. For printmakers that are looking for new ways to build up foundational colors I embrace the coined phrase from the 1930's by industrial engineer Allen F. Morgenstern, "Work smarter, not harder."

Demo Organizer: Molly Etchberger

“Laser Techniques in Printmaking” is a two-part demonstration showcasing how a laser engraving machine can cut and etch matrices for both intaglio and relief printmaking. I will begin with a brief lecture outlining my material research using laser engraving on a range of matrices such as wood, acrylic, and copper. Following the lecture, I will demonstrate how to print these blocks, including a hybrid technique that combines intaglio and relief printing on a single block, printed in one pass. 

Laser etching offers a contemporary and innovative approach to printmaking. It broadens accessibility, particularly for differently abled printmakers, by lessening the physical labor typically required to carve or etch a matrix. By integrating traditional practices with modern digital tools, laser etching allows for new methods of interdisciplinary collaboration, combining print with technologically driven practices. 

Demo Organizer: Pete Froehlich

Utilizing modern tools and processes for making new woodblock typefaces. Through digital imaging and CNC Milling, you are able to develop and make new woodblock typefaces for letterpress. In the demonstration, I will walk through the process of preparing to have a new typeface milled through digital rendering, utilizing Fusion 360, and look at the finishing processes needed to prepare the typeface for use on the press. With the assistance of the LSU Fab Lab and Design Shop we will have a new wood block typeface ready for test prints. 

Knowledge and experience with power tools is necessary for the completion of the new design. 

Demo Organizer: Jonathan McFadden

What happens when the printed line becomes a live wire? This demonstration explores screen printing as a form of embedded intelligence, where the matrix doesn't just hold an image it conducts electricity, activates light, and responds to its environment.

Using conductive screen ink on Mylar substrate, attendees will observe the complete process of creating illuminated prints that merge traditional screen printing techniques with basic electronics. The demonstration will cover designing linework that functions simultaneously as composition and circuitry, printing with conductive inks, and wiring LED diodes to transform static prints into glowing, responsive objects.

The printed line has always carried information from text to image to instruction. Conductive ink printing extends this legacy, asking the matrix to do double duty as both aesthetic surface and functional infrastructure. The anode and cathode leads of each LED trace paths through the design itself, making the circuit visible and the image operational.

This approach positions printmaking within contemporary conversations about smart materials, wearable technology, and interactive design while remaining grounded in the handmade, physical intelligence of the screen printing process. The result is print that literally thinks completing circuits, channeling current, and producing light through the logic of its own construction.

Attendees will leave with practical knowledge of conductive ink applications and conceptual frameworks for integrating electronics into print-based practices, opening new possibilities for interactive editions, illuminated installations, and prints that respond to touch, light, or proximity.

Demo Organizer: Raluca Iancu

Mokuhanga, or Japanese woodblock printing, is a centuries-old tradition that embodies non-toxic, sustainable practices and precise craft. Unlike Western woodcut techniques, Mokuhanga employs water-based pigments, a handheld baren for printing, and the kento registration system carved directly into the woodblock. It also highlights the use of handmade Japanese paper (washi), emphasizing the integration of natural materials and cultural heritage in artistic practices.

In this demonstration, I will explore the merging of this traditional Japanese technique with contemporary laser-cut woodblocks. This innovative approach maintains the ecological and cultural integrity of Mokuhanga while introducing contemporary technological possibilities, opening new doors for creative expression, while also addressing cultural and technological intersections.

Demo Organizer: Etai Rogers-Fett

This demo will cover silk aquatint, a painterly collagraph technique that combines a delicate layering to build up value, reminiscent of watercolor, with a mesh covered plate that is inked up and printed. Named after the traditional etching process of aquatint, silk aquatint similarly gives artists the ability to create subtle tonal gradations between rich darks and bright whites. These plates are inked up like intaglio plates and have a remarkable ability to reproduce each expressive brush stroke. By prepping various states of the silk aquatint matrix ahead of time, I will demonstrate adhering mesh to a plastic plate, the beginning of the painting process, and pulling a proof print.  

Silk aquatint has wonderful potential not only an accessible bridge between painting and printmaking, but also for adapting to the requirement or desire for a “green”, solvent-free workspace. As part of my demo, I will talk about how this process was a versatile solution for teaching printmaking to both teens and adults in classrooms with little ventilation. In terms of material impact on the planet, the primary byproduct of the process is water with acrylic paint residue. To conclude the demo, I will demonstrate the process of acrylic flocculation for filtering out acrylic paint particulates as a solid, keeping them from entering the waterways.

Demo Organizers: Daniel Luedtke, Alexey Lazarev

Description: Responding to the theme Printelligence, this demonstration explores how screen printing can move beyond flat substrates and engage with intelligent, responsive applications on three-dimensional surfaces through a hydrographics process (also known as water transfer printing or hydrodipping). The 1.5-hour demonstration introduces a method in which images are screen printed with acrylic-based inks onto blank hydrographic film, then transferred onto dimensional objects through submersion in a water bath, allowing printed surfaces to interact dynamically with form and contour.

Once printed, the hydrographic film is floated on heated water, where it becomes highly malleable. When an object is carefully submerged, the printed image wraps around and adheres to its surface, conforming to complex contours in ways that reflect both material behavior and spatial intelligence. The demonstration will focus on glazed ceramic objects, though the process is equally applicable to other non-porous surfaces such as glass, metal, and plastic.

Hydrographics are currently used primarily in commercial contexts such as automotive finishes, home appliances, and sporting goods, often relying on pre-printed, digitally produced films. This demonstration adapts the process for printmakers and artists, emphasizing responsive customization, material intelligence, and the expanded field of printmaking. By bringing screen printing into dialogue with sculptural, industrial, and digitally aware processes, the demonstration highlights print’s interdisciplinary potential and its capacity for Printelligence where printed surfaces respond to and engage with form, space, and context.

The session will cover preparation of hydrographic film for multi-layer screen printing, reverse-order printing and registration, surface preparation, film activation in water, and effective hydrodipping techniques across varied forms. Variations of the process, including screen-printed ceramic underglaze applications and alternative surfaces, will also be discussed.

Participants will leave with practical knowledge applicable to their own practice. A step-by-step resource will be provided in both printed and digital formats.

Demo Organizer: Mervi Pakaste

Printmakers traditionally work in two-dimensional formats, but what happens when you expand the possibilities of your work by incorporating cross-disciplinary methods such as bookbinding and paper engineering? These techniques open new avenues for creative expression—whether by repurposing test prints or adding an entirely new dimension to conceptualizing your work. 

This demonstration introduces book structures that combine artistry and engineering: the Tunnel Book, Accordion Fold Book, and two variations of Concertina Binding. Each format offers unique opportunities for storytelling, visual depth, and interactive design. 

The Tunnel Book creates a three-dimensional viewing experience through layered cutouts aligned in a box-like structure. This technique is ideal for dioramas, narrative sequences, and immersive visual art. 

The Accordion Fold Book emphasizes flexibility and flow. Its continuous folded structure allows for panoramic storytelling or modular layouts, making it perfect for artists seeking to create a narrative or sculptural presentation. 

The Concertina Binding builds upon the accordion concept but introduces variations of structure and the addition of covers. This demonstration will cover precise folding methods for attaching covers, and ways the structure can be adapted to support both spatial exploration and functional use. The concertina opens expanded possibilities for artist books and interactive works that combine durability with visual and tactile sophistication. 

By the end of the session, attendees will understand the mechanics, aesthetic potential, and practical considerations of these bindings. This demo is suitable for anyone interested in exploring innovative paper structures and expanding their creative practice. 

Demo Organizer: Acadia Kandora 

For the 2026 MAPC Printelligence Conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, I am proposing a demonstration for Laser-etched reduction screen printing.  As a printmaker who is excited to find new ways to integrate digital fabrication tools into printmaking processes, the theme of Printelligence and the potential to share knowledge with the utilization of LSU’s digital fabrication labs excites me.

This is a recent technique I developed at the University of Arkansas that utilizes a laser cutter to etch imagery (primarily photographic) back into layers of pre-printed screenprinting ink utilizing precision and carefully manipulating the Speed/Power/Frequency to get a wide range of repeatable prospects without burning the paper or damaging the print.  This process creates a unique haptic texture, an opportunity for intervention back into an image, as well as allowing for an image resolution that much is higher than most screen printed meshes allow.  This demonstration would go through the process of preparing the print, the files, and troubleshooting the delicacies of laser-etching ink off of paper.