How to paste tissue paper onto thicker paper?

Question

I have done a print in linocut on a piece of tissue paper. Now I want to paste it on a thicker paper. How I can paste tissue paper with a linocut print onto thicker paper?

Answer 1

If you have access to a roll press (etching press), an option would be to use stick glue (if the tissue paper will be pasted all the way on the thicker paper apply the glue on the thick paper, if there will be margins apply it carefully on the tissue paper; either way I'd suggest you use a slightly wider sheet which could be trimmed later to the desired shape and size. Also make sure all the area is covered in glue - where there is no glue a 'bubble' will be formed). Then run it through the roll press.

Answer 2

Use wheat starch glue. It is archival, can go on thin enough to not over saturate the tissue paper, makes a strong bond when dries. Unlike most modern adhesives it is chemically inert so it will not stain your tissue paper or yellow over time. It is the traditional glue of bookbinders and has been around for centuries which is a pretty good testament to its usefulness.

Answer 3

This is very similar to the requirements for making "napkin cards". It is a popular technique for making greeting cards by adhering the top, decorative ply of a paper napkin to heavy paper or cardstock.

A common way to do that is to fuse them together using plastic food wrap and an iron. If you Google "napkin card", you'll find lots of tutorials and videos. But the gist of the technique:

• Line a heat-proof surface with baking parchment or a few sheets of paper. Put the cardstock or heavy paper on it. Cover the cardstock with a slightly larger piece of plastic food wrap pulled smooth. Position the napkin (or tissue paper in this case), on top of the plastic film (people typically go oversized, then trim the result), and cover with another sheet of baking parchment or paper.

• Iron at a medium-high heat. First pass, work quickly from the center out to warm the layers and get a little initial tack to limit shrinkage of the plastic wrap. Then apply heat in each area for 10-15 seconds. Check it to verify that all of the edges are secure. Then apply heat to the whole thing again. Put something large and flat on top, like a big book, and leave it there until the sandwich has cooled to room temperature (5 to 10 minutes), to ensure that it doesn't curl if the paperstock is thin.

• Once it's cool, peel it off the baking parchment and trim off any excess.

• If there's a chance the result will be exposed to high humidity, it could curl if the paper absorbs humidity on only one side. You can prevent that by putting another sheet of plastic wrap on the backside of the cardstock (it would be the first layer on the baking parchment). As the last step before weighting it down to cool, flip over the whole sandwich (including the baking parchment), and apply heat to the backside for 10-15 seconds. Then weight it flat and allow it to cool.