'SAFE' WATER-BASED SERIGRAPHY

using 'Maurisa' starch-formulated

transparent base and printing inks

'Maurisa' starch-based serigraphic transparent base is a combination of 'safe', environmentally friendly and non-
toxic starches, bonding, retarding and deodorant agents. An added 'cocktail' of food preservatives ensures long
shelf life. To this transparent base, appropriate quantities of universal pigments are added in order to achieve the
degrees of transparency/opacity that the artist desires.

It takes about 45 minutes to make (cook) a batch of transparent base. Following the cooking process, the
transparent base must stand until it is cold, ideally overnight. While the transparent base may be refrigerated,
this is not essential.

For use by students, I generally prepare a quantity of transparent base in advance. Students have then only to add
a small quantity of retarder, water if thinning is required and pigment. The consistency has to be thick and
creamy.

PREPARATION

Put 9 cups of cold water and 2 cups of 5% white vinegar into a heavy cooking pot.

Add 2.5 cups of white bread flour.

Mix well. Bring to the boil stirring continuously until the mixture thickens. For best results, use a Blitzer type
food mixer rather than stirring.

Mix half a cup of corn-flour and one cup of cold water in a separate container. Add this to the thick, hot mixture
and continue cooking until the paste thickens even more. Add 1/4 cup of white sugar, 1 tablespoonful of honey
and 2 tablespoonful’s of pectin and continue cooking. The sugar is the bonding agent, the pectin helps form the
thick, viscous, aqueous solution required upon cooling and also has a preservative property. The honey is a
deodorant and also serves to prevent he growth of many bacteria.

Mix in the preservative mixture (see below), cook for another minute then remove from the heat.

While still very hot, pour into sterile containers with lids excluding all air from the filled container. Snap on the
lid and tape it closed or use as soon as it is cold. Empty tennis ball cans with snap on lids are ideal.
RETARD
DER

Propylenee glycol C3H4402 (E1520). (Beside its fuunction as a retarder - flow and
a release aggent - it also becomes a
bonding aagent. It has antiseptic
a quallities which prrevent the gro
owth of microo
organisms).

PIGMEN
NTS

All universal pigments are ideal colo

orants.

CHEMISTRY

Starches h
have a smallerr molecule thaan solvent andd plastic emulssion based printing ink com
mponents and so can
pass throuugh fine screeens for better detail.
d

PRESER
RVATIVES & PRESERVA
ATIVE “COC
CKTAIL”

Note thatt the 5% white vinegar acts as a preservattive. It kills geerms, viruses and
a acts to preevent mould. Note
N that
the honeyy and pectin have
h preservatiive qualities.
“COCKT
TAIL”
150 gm sodium chlorid
de NaCl (presservative with hygroscopic qualities).
q
50 gm lem
mon salt
20 gm sodium benzoatte NaC6H5CO2 (E211) (pprevents the fo
ormation of mould
m and incrreases shelf life
fe).
30 gm sodium nitrate NaNO3
N (food
d preservative – has anti-miicrobial properrties).
20 gm pootassium nitratte KNO3 (foo
od preservative
ve).
50 gm aluuminium sulphate Al(SO4))3 16 H2O (ppurifies water and
a acts as a preservative
p duue to its remarrkable
resistancee to oxidation.. It is also a deeodorizer, a fi rming agent and
a controls th
he PH).

Maurisaa Silkscreen Mediuum: Testing the finished product,

Mauricee Kahn and Wim Legrand,
L studio ma
anager of the Franns Masereel Printm
making
Center inn Kasterlee, Belgiuum

nt is the heavyy pot used to cook the paste - the paste caan be easily bu
Importan urnt therefore the heavy pott is
The food Blitzzer is the best utensil to makke the paste. It
critical. T I is used almo
ost continuoussly during the
preparatioon. Note the consistency
c off the paste - itt smells of hon
ney and is quitte pleasant.
When deemonstrating, I usually offerr participants the chance to
o taste at this stage.
s Generallly there are no "takers"
so I eat a teaspoonful of
o the stuff - itt actually tastees awful - larggely because off the lemon saalt. Due to thee large
number oof food preservvatives in the printing pastee, I would nott recommend eating
e this onn a regular basiis and
certainly not after the addition
a of pig
gment!

Bon appeetite!