History of the Gelli Plate
It turns out that the gel plate is not a new invention. The hectograph, gelatin duplicator or jellygraph is key to a printing process dating from the 1800s that involves transfer of an original, prepared with special inks, to a pan of gelatin or a gelatin pad pulled tight on a metal frame long before the invention of the xerox machine. While we have much more convenient methods of making copies now, the hectograph, or gel plate has once again become popular, but now for use in the art world!
Permanent gel printing plates have been made very popular by Gelli Arts. Other companies, like Speedball, have created something similar for printmaking, though they are a little more rigid. You can order a gel plate directly from gelliarts.com, or from DickBlick.com, or Amazon, and I know some Hobby Lobby stores now carry a gel plate.
While the Gelli Arts plates are of a very nice quality, they are also rather expensive. A 6×6 inch square plate is $19.99, an 8×10 is $29.99, and a 12×14 inch is a whopping $69.99! Many more sizes and shapes are now available. I find that I really enjoy having a plate that is large enough to fit an 8 1/2 x 11 inch or 9 x 12 inch paper.
Joan Bess, CO-Founder of Gelli Arts®, came up with the idea, as she loved to print on gelatin, but never seemed to have a real gelatin plate on hand when inspiration struck to print. One day, she invited me over and demonstrated how to print on real gelatin. I watched her and then printed a bit myself.
Because of the high price of these gel plates, it has become increasingly popular to make your own. Originally the homemade plates were simply gelatin and water, much like making jello jigglers. But these plates had to be refrigerated and were only temporary, lasting weeks at best.
By adding glycerin and a touch of alcohol, a permanent plate can be achieved. There are many recipes from sources like thefrugalcrafter on YouTube. I have done some tweaking and this is the recipe I finally used for a 10 1/2 x 12 inch plate that was made in a flat, lidded, paper storage container that also serves as protective storage for the plate.
2 1/4 C. water
2 1/8 C. glycerin
1/8 C. alcohol or less (it doesn’t matter what percent alcohol for this)
10 2/3 Tbsp. gelatin (You can use packets of Knox, or bulk buy gelatin) If you buy bulk gelatin, be sure and get the unflavored version versus ‘plain’ gelatin which is somewhat granular and more difficult to use.
POSCA Transfer Video