What are the best linocut books for beginners? Check out these top 10 relief printmaking books!

There is a wealth of information out there on the internet and it's a great resource! But, how do you know if it's always valid and useful advice? That's the beauty of a good book! If you're you new to printmaking and wanting to learn more about linocut, stamping and relief printing, have a look at these top 10 tried and tested printmaking books. With the best books for complete beginners starting at number 1, to beginner/improvers at number 10;

1. Block Print for Beginners: Learn to make lino blocks and create unique relief prints, Elise Young, 2021
2. Making an Impression: Designing and creating artful stamps, Geninne D. Zlatkis, 2013
3. Block Print Magic: The essential guide to designing, carving, and taking your artwork further with relief printing, Emily Howard, 2018
4. Print Workshop: Hand-printing techniques and truly original projects, Christine Schmidt, 2010
5. Print Pattern Sew: Block-printing basics + simple sewing projects for an inspired wardrobe, Jen Hewett, 2018
6. Rubber Stamping: Get creative with stamps, rollers and other printmaking techniques, Stephen Fowler, 2016
7. Linocut for Artists & Designers, Nick Morley, 2016
8. Printmaking Handbook: Relief printing, Ann Westley, 2004
9. Linocut and Reduction Printmaking: Design and techniques, Laura Boswell, 2022
10. Printmaking: A complete guide to materials and processes, Beth Grabowski & Bill Fick, 2009

My top tips on where to find these beauties without breaking the bank - head to your local library or look for second hand books! Search on eBay and other sale sites to see what you kind find and contact your local bookshop, they are a fountain of knowledge and book people so they're bound to be fab (bookish pun intended)!

Quick overview of books 1 - 3
The first few beginner books are full of colour photographs and illustrations that are clear and concise, perfect for first steps into the basics and getting your head around some of the printmaking terminology. They have easy to follow instructions, have great mini projects to get you going, so are perfect for getting you started.

Quick overview of Books 4 - 6
These books are brilliantly creative and have a wonderful variety of relief and linocut print techniques to try across a range of media, from fabric printing to creating your own stamps. This is a great next step and they will help you to play, explore and experiment with your printing - super fun!

Quick overview of Books 7 - 9
So you've found your feet with beginner lino printing, now you're hooked and wanting to develop more skills with your carving, inking and printing knowledge - these are well worth the investment and you can refer to them anytime. All three of these books will teach you something crucial about relief printing, for example how to register your lino block for reduction printing, multi-block printing and multicolour techniques like jigsaw and rainbow rolling. The Printmaking Handbook by Ann Westley also has a fantastic section of information about types of tools, relief papers and methods of inking (it's a personal favourite of mine).

Quick overview of Book 10
The deep dive into all things print! This is a comprehensive guide about to materials and processes within printmaking covering all of the above (but not just relief printing, although relief printing does have its own complete chapter, quite rightly). It covers the history of printmaking, has beautiful and inspiring artist's work throughout and a fantastic troubleshooting section at the back!

Books and printmaking go hand in hand, so I hope this has inspired you to head out and find a good bookshop and a good book too!

If you'd like to learn more about printmaking join the Studio Snippets community, take one of my online classes or come along to one of my printmaking workshops in Wiltshire.