Editing Chine-collé (section)

==Methods==
In the typical "'''direct print'''" method, the plate is inked; thin paper (such as [[rice paper]]) is dampened, placed on the inked plate and trimmed to size; paste is applied to the thin paper; and the ensemble (plate plus thin paper with paste) is placed on a dampened backing sheet. This is then run through a printing press.<ref>Grant, Steve. [http://15thstreetgalleryboulder.com/blog/faqs/chine-colle What is Chine-Collé?] 15th Street Gallery, 08 May 2013. Retrieved on 03 October 2014.</ref> In the pressure of the press, the ink is transferred to the thin paper, and the thin paper is simultaneously adhered to the backing paper. An advantage of this method is that the thin paper will be exactly the desired size, since it is trimmed to size and then quickly affixed in place.

Another way of printing the direct method is to have the thin paper already cut to size before preparing the plate to print. The heavier print paper has been put in the bath and dampened according to the printmaker's preference, then set aside. If the thin paper was painted on, it has been dried and is also set aside, ready.  The plate is inked and wiped then placed on the press face up. Thin paste is brushed on the back of the rice paper and it is placed face down on the plate and registered. The paste is put on just enough to coat but not saturate, which dampens the thin paper appropriately. If one tries to brush paste on a damp piece of rice paper, it will tear. The print paper is then placed on top of the pasted side of the thin paper, a sheet of newsprint added on top of the stack, and the felts then covering the stack. It is then run through the press. This process is less tricky to maneuver than the first method, is cleaner, and more accurate in registration.{{original research inline|reason=Added by Nelegene from personal experience; needs verification|date=January 2016}}

In the typical "'''pre-pasted'''" method, the thin paper (dry) is trimmed to the size of the plate, then paste is applied and allowed to dry. When the printmaker is ready to print, the paper is dampened to activate the paste and placed, paste-side up, on an inked plate. Then, the ensemble (plate plus thin paper with paste) is placed on a dampened backing sheet and run through a press as described above. An advantage of the pre-pasted method is that once dried, the paste-applied papers can be stored indefinitely, just like a lick-and-stick [[postage stamp]]. A disadvantage of this method is that because the paper is trimmed dry, the artist must take into account how much in each direction the paper will expand when it is dampened prior to printing.