Roneo prints

The museum recently received a series of works by Cecil Collins;
among these were two prints described by the artist as 'Roneos'. For
those of you who are not familiar with the term, 'Roneo' printing is
a type of stencil duplicating--a process used to make multiple
copies of office documents before the advent of the photocopier (it
is still used today).

I have two queries concerning these prints:

    *   I know that Collins produced at least 11 different prints
        using this technique, but I wondered if other artists have
        used this technique? I know Roneos were used to produce
        things such as fanzines, but I'm thinking more along the
        lines of 'fine art'!

    *   I've found that the literature is a bit vague about the
        composition of the inks used. I know of two types: inks made
        from aniline dyes and diluted printing inks. I don't think
        the ink used for our prints is aniline-based, as it is black
        and aniline-based inks are described as being coloured
        rather than black. Any information would be very welcome.

Sandrine Decoux
Paper Conservator
National Museums and Galleries of Wales


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 15:11
                  Distributed: Thursday, July 12, 2001
                       Message Id: cdl-15-11-014
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