A Lino Cut is a form of printmaking. It is a type of a relief print where the artist carves the surface of a sheet of linoleum to form a relief block from which the print is made.

Linoleum is actually a floor covering often called Lino. Lino cuts became an alternative to wood block prints because lino is softer and easier to carve than wood, the overall effect of the finished print is very similar though. Lino cuts just like woodblock prints produce bold and expressive prints.

To carve out the relief print the artist generally draws on their design first in pencil, or transfers a design by tracing over the original usign carbon paper. Then the lino can be warmed every so slightly to aid in the carving process, then following the design they use various metal chisels, scrapers and wood carving tools to remove the lino not required working as a negative, the raised areas left behind will form the printable surface. Some artists have adapted their very own carving tools for lino cuts that result in quite unique textures and effects to the finished print. 

To produce a print from the finished lino cut relief the artists uses an hard surfaced ink roller to apply a thin layer of ink or paint to the raised surface of the lino, it is then sat on a bench, on top of which a sheet of paper is laid and then rolled again with a clean ink roller. Gently the paper is removed to reveal the finished print. The paper is then left to dry.

For ease of printing application, sometimes small lino cuts are adhered to a wooden block using PVA or similar glue, then the lino cut can be used much like a stamp. 

No matter what your design, a great advantage of Lino Cut Printmaking is that you can reuse the lino cut many times over, again and again to reproduce the same print, the surface does not degenerate with each print and essentially has life span of an unlimited number of prints.

To buy the printmaking supplies needed for Linocut Printmaking see: Printmaking Supplies or Art Supply Stores