I have been saving a lot of tetrapak- milk and stock containers. Basically anything lined on the inside with plastic. I realized pretty early on in this journey that a lot of food has an exterior lining of plastic or foil. Which obscenely makes the package not recyclable in my area, and I suspect most areas. Any foil printing in my municipality means it goes into the trash and not into recycling. Plastic is a bit less defined. I suspect that a lot of the plasticky stuff is actually ink based. We sure do like our packages to be glossy.

(From the standpoint of having worked retail, it also makes sense to have glossy packaging. It stand up better on the shelf and is less likely to collect dust. Those matte packages are a beast to keep clean and looking good.)

Anyway my collection of trash for printmaking has stretched out to include a lot of this packaging that may or may not be recyclable. For the purposes of this post I’m discussing things like toothpaste boxes, frozen food cartons, refrigerated food cartons, and some other toiletry boxes. An additional item is some boxes from electronics as well as tea and drink sachets. All of the boxes have either a plasticky or foil layer that will allow for scratching and peeling.

First step is to look and feel for a plastic or foil lining. This is the easiest step. Colgate and Crest sensitive toothpaste have foil and plastic lining. These are also a great size for smaller craft presses. The box from my Movo microphone and my wife’s favorite drink mixes also work great. The Arizona mix has a softer pulpier box.

The second step is to look at the thickness of the carton. Thinner cartons work best if thickened. I thicken mine by laminating the box to a manila file folder. I happen to have a ton of these from my old job but also at my current job from donations. (Also if you loved oak tag as a GenX child, manila folders have that same surface and thickness.) I laminate with waterproof wood glue. I roll the wood glue in a thick layer to the manila folder then apply the box to the glue, printed side of the carton up, inside of the carton to the glue. I put down a sheet of plastic or other paper run a clean hard rubber brayer over the mess. Finally I put the sandwich of carton, glue and folder under weight over night.

To roll out the glue I use a hard rubber roller. I roll out a thick but even coat. It’s important that the coating isn’t too thin, or the carton won’t stick well around the edges. I have found that with wood glue that it can be thinned with water to about 2 parts glue to 1 part water. For cartons and the manilla folders this is a better consistency for good adhesion.

The glue sandwich does a couple of things, it strengthens the carton and makes it more durable and able to pass through the press multiple times. It makes it easier and sturdier for inking. When shellac or polycrylic is applied it is less likely to warp.  An additional benefit is that the emboss during printing is deeper and looks more intense.

The next step before etching is to apply some cheap acrylic paint via a paint marker. I use a cheap paint marker because I have a lot of them. But if I was going to use acrylic paint I’d use a craft acrylic and roll it on. Putting an even single color down allows me to see what I’m working on without the interference I often get from the design of the packaging. The downside of the cheap acrylic paint marker is that when I apply shellac the paint marker lifts and smears. Despite what the marker maker claims, they are not permanent. With scrubbing the marker can be lifted with water. That said this works for me and I don’t mind it.

Not every carton will adhere with wood glue. Ramen cups or other cup noodles are great for using for printing, however the outer coating on these cups will cause the cup to peel away from the glue. Also any paint marker will not stick well and will scrape off as you work it with needles and other tools.

To get a carton like this to adhere properly the surface would need a light sanding with a medium grit sanding pad. For me putting that much work into the prep feels like I’m doing too much. PArt of the joy of using these trash materials is that they are trash. When I am sanding and gluing and laminating them I’m turning them into something more, which means they aren’t disposable trash. Suddenly I don’t want to waste them. It messes with my head and creeps into  my work, seizing up my creativity. Better to leave it as trash then to make it too special. That said, the manilla folders DO serve a purpose- they protect the plate from wear and tear as I am carting them back and forth from work to my home studio. They give me a space to keep things tidy and create quick on the go sketches, and keep them unscratched and unharmed.