Studio Information

Printmaking Facilities

    • American French Tool Press Bed — 30”x 50” 

    • American French Tool Press Bed — 36”x 60” 

    • Charles Brand Etching Press Bed —24”x 48” 

    • Rembrandt Graves Etching Press Bed — 17”x 36” 

    • Hot plate for melting rosin

    • Larger hot plate for baking rosin ( 36 x 27.5 inches)

    • Metal plate shear — 40” 

    • Files 

    • Polishing tools 

    • Schwede Rosin Box to accommodate an 18” x 24” plate 

    • Acid and etching agents: Ferric Chloride (for Copper) and Copper Sulfate (for Zinc and Aluminum) 

    • Asphaltum Ground green substitute (BIG ground) 

    • Small oven for baking BIG ground 

    • Green stop out 

    • Backing materials 

    • Stripper and Deoxidizer solutions 

    • Rubber gloves

  • Griffin Lithography Press 40"x70" 

    ● Plate Backer 25.5”x35.5” 

    ● Graining sink 

    ● Carborundum Grit: 100, 180, 220 

    ● Levigators 8” to 12”

    ● Lithographic stones ranging in size from 7x9 to 18x24 inches 

    • Ball Grained Aluminum Plates Available for Purchase. 

    • Leather and rubber rollers 

    • Nitric Acid 70% 

    • Tannic Plate Etch 

    • Gum Arabic

    • Darkroom with an Amergraph V28-1200 SE Exposure Unit System 24x27 inches

    • Light table 30 x 40 inches

    • Aquatint screen 10x12 inches 

    • Darkroom sink 

    • Hair Dryer 

    • Thermometer 

    • Magnetized Developer Basin 

    • Generous supply of wood and lead type 

    • Assorted furniture and leading 

    • An assortment of vintage dingbats, ornament, and cuts 

    • Two Boxcar Bases: 13x19 and 4.5x7.5, and a pressure-printing base

    • Vandercook No. 3 Letterpress 14”x 18” 

    • Vandercook No. 4 Letterpress 14”x 18” 

    • Chandler and Price Letterpress 8” x 12”

    • Shniedewend & Lee co. “Oldstyle Gordon” letterpress 8” x 12”

    • Challenge guillotine paper cutter 26” 

    • A screen coating/drying room 

    • Amerigraph 150 advantage 1.2 kw exposure unit and vacuum table, exposes screens up to 31 x 41 inches

    • Backlit screen washout booth with power washer 

    • Ulano TZ Emulsion 

    • Green emulsion stripper 

    • Various sizes of squeegees and scoop coaters 

    • Clamp boards: 18x24, 32x36, hinges on tables. 

    • Various sizes of screens 

    • 1 color t-shirt press 

    • HP 8.5”x 11” laser jet P2035 printer (black and white, for paper)

    • Aficio 11’’x17’’ SP 6330N printer (black and white, for paper) 

    • Canon 13’’x19’’ pro 200s printer (for transparencies only)

    • Canon Image Prograf IPF 785 36 inch wide plotter

    • Xerox Altalink C8030 laser printer up to 12” x 18”

    • 11”x 17” large-format EPSON scanner

    • Several iMac loaded with Adobe Creative Suite and Spectrolite 

    • 3 Watcom Drawing Tablets (1 Cintiq, 2 Intusues)

    • Small Light Box

    • RISO RP3700 Duplicator– Fluorescent Pink, Blue, Yellow,and Black drums 

General Supplies

Zygote offers a variety of general supplies and tools for 24/7 artists and Open Studio participants.

These supplies and materials are included in Open Studio and rental fees. As a rule, artists producing large-scale production runs that exceed 25 prints need to purchase their own ink and general supplies.

    • Rag system 

    • Brayers and rollers 

    • Self-healing cutting mats, rulers, and tear bar 

    • Intaglio Flattening/Drying system 

    • Newsprint rolls 

    • Miscellaneous brushes 

    • Paper cutters: 24 inch and 26 inch blades 

    • 30″ x 40″ light table 

    • 4 large drying racks, 1 small 

    • ink knives 

    • glass inking slabs 

    • oil + vinegar cleaners 

    • Degreasers 

    • Nitrile gloves 

    • Felt blankets

    • Intaglio Inks — Graphic chemical oil-based inks and a variety of Modifiers (process colors only) 

    • Letterpress Inks — Van Son Holland Fine Printing Rubber Base ink (various colors)

    • Litho Inks - Shop Black, Senefelder’s Crayon Black

    • Supplies can be purchased during Open Studio hours from a studio monitor. (Cash and credit cards are accepted.) 

    • Printmaking papers, (Stonehenge 22x30”, Hahnemuehle Copperplate 22x30”, BFK Rives 22x30”) 

    • Copper plates 24x36” (Full Sheets, Half Sheets and Quarter Sheets)

    • Polymer plates (limited supply) 

    • Xante Plates 11x18” 

    • Transparencies 

    • Tarlatan and cheesecloth (sold by the yard) 

    • Water based Speedball paper screen print inks, process colors, black, white, extender. 

    • Tape

    • Oil based ink in colors other than process colors, white, and black

Shop Map

To download a pdf version of the Zygote Press shop map, please click below. Note: the digital lab is located on the second floor of Zygote Press, not pictured on this map.

Download the map

Green Shop Policy

Zygote is dedicated to maintaining a safe and healthy print shop for staff, users, and visitors. In 2015, Zygote converted the shop to all green printmaking techniques:

  • The use of Copper Sulfate and Ferric Chloride etchants instead of acids for intaglio etching

  • The use of oil, vinegar, Estisol 242 and Soysolv II as cleaners replacing toxic cleaners and solvents

  • The use of water-based screen printing inks

  • A paper recycle box for continuous use with scratch/proofing cover sheets

  • Recycling bins for plastic and aluminum throughout the shop

  • The use of a biweekly rag service (to reduce the use of paper towels)

  • A health-and-safety campaign with pronounced signage in the shop

  • Programming green printmaking classes

  • The continual research and development of new approaches, techniques and processes to be brought to the shop and taught to new audiences

Questions about our shop? Email our Shop Technician Michaella Difiore michaella@zygotepress.org