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Chine-collé is a technique that adds vibrant color to your prints.

In this demonstration, I’ll use Thai mulberry paper, but other lightweight printmaking papers will also work well.

You’ll also need repositional spray adhesive, scissors, and tweezers.

First, decide which elements of your composition you want to highlight with color.

Avoid areas where most of the wood has been carved away, as this is important for successful printing.

In this case, I’ll focus on two birds: I’ll use blue for the body and orange for the beak.

Before inking the woodblock, cut the mulberry paper into the desired shapes.

Place these pieces on the dry woodblock to check for a proper fit.

Once you’re happy with the placement, lay a sheet of scrap paper on your workspace and lightly spray the pieces with adhesive, making sure to spray the side that faces up and away from the woodblock.

Remember to mist the surface of the paper, rather than soaking it.

Once you have applied the adhesive, proceed to ink your woodblock.

After inking, use tweezers to carefully position the custom-cut mulberry paper pieces on the block, ensuring that the adhesive side faces up and away from the ink.

Lay a larger sheet of paper on top of the woodblock and print, either by hand or using a press.

The adhesive bonds the colored paper to the backing paper when pressure is applied.

This step is why it’s crucial to place the colored pieces in areas where there is still wood left uncarved—without wood, there won’t be any pressure!

The result will be vibrant pieces of colored paper that sit beautifully behind the printing ink.

Chine-collé is a simple yet effective way to elevate monochrome prints. Give it a try to see how color can transform your artwork!

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