When practicing photography, it can be easy to get caught in a rut and stick to one thing. That is fine of course if you do that one thing well but sometimes it can be inspiring to go out and try something completely new (even if it doesn’t go as planned). In this post I will be going through my experimentation with gel plate printing. 

What is Gel Plate Printing?

Gel plate printing is a process which creates monotypes by using a gel slab, paint or ink and some paper. The process is simple, paint the gel slab with the colour you want (sometimes creating patterns but in my case all one solid colour) and apply your paper onto the slab. Before the paint or ink begins to dry, remove the paper and you should have a printed monotype. 

There is also a slightly different process which I tried which involves using a print image instead of a blank piece of paper. The print image is applied to the gel slab and removed before drying. Then, you quickly transfer the print to a blank piece of paper, this time removing as the paint or ink begins to dry. This should result in an image like the one you see below.

So, How Did it Turn Out?

Well… see for yourselves.

Suffice to say, it did not work for me. I can’t be sure as to why it didn’t work as there are many factors involved. My theory is that my images weren’t the right kind of image for the process. Regardless of wether it was a fail or not, as I said in the beginning, this was an attempt at doing something new. An experiment that could have gone well but didn’t. Had I not given myself the chance to find out if it would have worked or not, I would never have known and instead I learned from it and have a skill that I can revisit if I wish to when I have the right images to use for it.

And so, experimentation is not only great for when it produces great outcomes, it is also great for learning and expanding ones practice. More often than not, experiments don’t yield great results immediately but can eventually lead to something greater if you persist with it.