Linocut

Linocut—sometimes called a linoleum cut or lino cut—is a relief printmaking process in which a design is carved into a sheet of linoleum, leaving a raised surface that carries ink and transfers it to paper. 

It’s one of the most accessible forms of printmaking, requiring no specialist press, no acids, and relatively affordable materials, while remaining a serious fine art medium practiced at every level from school studios to major printmaking galleries.

What is linocut?

Linocut is a relief printmaking process. In relief printing, ink is applied to a raised surface and transferred to paper under pressure. Areas that have been cut away receive no ink and appear as the color of the paper; areas left raised carry the ink and print as the chosen color. Linocut belongs to the same family of processes as woodcut, wood engraving, and mokuhanga, all of which share this fundamental principle.

The word linocut usually refers to the printmaking process. A lino print or lino cut refers to the printed impression produced by this process. In practice, these terms are used interchangeably along with linoleum cut, linoleum printing, and lino printing. They all describe the same thing.

Linoleum is the material from which linocut takes its name. Originally developed as a flooring material in the mid-19th century, linoleum is made from linseed oil, cork dust, wood or sawdust, mineral fillers, and pigments pressed onto a hessian backing. 

It has a smooth, slightly resilient surface that accepts carving tools cleanly in any direction, which distinguishes it from wood, where the grain restricts the carver's movement.

This freedom of direction, combined with the softness of the material, is part of what makes linocut so accessible. Beginners can produce satisfying results quickly, and experienced printmakers can achieve complex, nuanced work from the same basic materials.

How linocut works

The linocut process follows a straightforward sequence. 

A design is transferred or drawn onto the surface of the lino block. The printmaker then carves away the areas of the block that should not print, leaving the image areas raised. 

Ink is rolled onto the raised surface of the block with a rubber brayer or roller. Paper or fabric is placed on top of the inked block and pressure is applied, either by hand (using a baren, the back of a spoon, or similar tool) or through a press, transferring the ink to the paper or fabric. The paper or fabric is then peeled back to reveal the print.

Because ink transfers only from the raised areas, the relationship between cut and uncut block is the relationship between white (or paper color) and ink color in the print. Whatever is carved away will not print. This means the printmaker is essentially drawing in negative, removing material to reveal the image.

One important practical point: the image on the block prints in reverse. Any text, lettering, or strongly directional image must be drawn or transferred onto the block as a mirror image before carving begins, or it will appear reversed in the print.

Materials and tools

Linocut requires few materials, and good results are achievable at modest cost. The essentials are a block to carve, tools to carve it with, ink, a roller, and paper or fabric.

The block

Linoleum blocks have a smooth, slightly textured surface that accepts carving tools cleanly and in any direction. Traditional linoleum is often sold mounted on a wooden base for stability, or unmounted in sheets. The material can even be gently warmed to make it softer and easier to carve.

Soft-cut and vinyl alternatives have become widely used, particularly in educational settings. Products such as Speedball Speedy-Carve, Essdee Softcut, and similar vinyl-based carving blocks are more flexible and easier to carve than traditional linoleum, making them a good starting point for beginners. The surface character differs slightly: soft-cut blocks tend to produce slightly less crisp detail than traditional linoleum, but the difference is minor for most purposes.

For printmakers developing their practice, traditional linoleum is worth working with as soon as you are comfortable with carving. It holds finer detail, produces a slightly different surface quality in the print, and is the material associated with the historical and contemporary fine art linocut tradition.

Carving tools

Linocut carving tools are gouges, available in two primary profiles: 

• U-gouges (also called fluters) have a curved, U-shaped cutting edge and remove material quickly, making them useful for clearing large areas and creating broad marks. 
• V-gouges have a V-shaped cutting edge and cut finer, sharper lines. 

Both profiles are available in a range of widths, each producing a different scale of mark.

The same tools used for woodcut work equally well on linoleum.

Beginner tool sets from brands such as Speedball, Pfeil, and Flexcut provide a selection of gouge sizes and profiles in a single kit, which is a practical starting point. Experienced printmakers often develop preferences for specific tools over time.

Sharp tools are essential. A dull gouge requires more force and is more likely to slip, tear the surface, or produce ragged marks. Most linocut tools can be sharpened on a whetstone or leather strop. Keeping tools sharp is one of the most important habits in linocut work.

Ink

Linocut can be printed with water-based or oil-based inks. 

Water-based inks are easier to clean up with water and are well suited to beginners and educational settings. 

Oil-based inks generally produce richer, denser color and are preferred by many experienced printmakers for edition work. 

The ink should be stiff enough to sit on the raised surface without running into carved areas.

Ink is rolled out on a flat inking slab—typically glass, acrylic, or a rigid plastic sheet—to an even consistency before being applied to the block. The brayer or roller picks up a thin, even film of ink, which is then transferred to the block surface in overlapping passes.

The brayer

A rubber brayer (or roller) is used to apply ink to the block. The brayer should be wide enough to cover the block in a reasonable number of passes, and the rubber should be firm enough to deposit ink evenly on the raised surface without pressing ink down into carved areas. 

Note: Foam rollers are common in beginner kits but produce less even ink distribution than a quality rubber roller.

Paper

Almost any paper can be used for linocut. Newsprint and cartridge paper are useful for test prints and working proofs. 

For finished edition work, many printmakers use Japanese washi papers, which are thin, strong, and produce excellent ink transfer, or heavier fine art papers such as Fabriano or Somerset. The choice of paper significantly affects the character of the finished print.

Linocut techniques

Single-color linocut

The standard linocut process uses one block and one ink color. The carved block is inked and printed directly onto paper, producing a two-tone image: the ink color and the paper color. 

Single-color linocut is the foundation of the process and where most printmakers begin.

Multi-block linocut

Color linocuts can be produced using a separate block for each color, each carved to carry only the portion of the design corresponding to its color. The blocks are printed in sequence on the same sheet, building up the full image through layered impressions. 

Accurate registration (the alignment of each block to the paper and to the other blocks) is essential for the layers to align correctly.

Reduction linocut

The reduction linocut technique produces a multi-color print from a single block. 

The process begins with the full block inked in the lightest color and printed across the entire edition. Areas are then carved away, the block is re-inked in a darker color, and the same sheets are printed again. This continues through as many colors as the design requires, with each pass removing more material and adding a darker color layer.

Because each stage of carving permanently destroys part of the block, the edition size must be fixed before printing begins. There is no going back. The block is progressively reduced until the darkest color is printed, at which point it cannot be used again. For this reason this technique is also known as the suicide block method.

Pablo Picasso is closely associated with developing and popularizing this technique in the late 1950s, and his reduction linocuts are among the most recognized works in the history of the medium.

The reduction technique produces color relationships that are difficult to achieve any other way, because each color is printed directly on top of the last from exactly the same surface, creating inherent registration and a distinctive layered quality.

A brief history of linocut

Linoleum was patented by Frederick Walton in England in 1863 as a flooring material. Within a few decades of its introduction, artists recognized its potential as a printing surface. Cheaper and easier to carve than wood, it offered a practical alternative to the woodblock at a time when printmaking was gaining renewed interest as a fine art medium.

By the early 20th century, linocut was being used alongside woodcut by the German Expressionists, including members of the Die Brücke group. Artists such as Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Erich Heckel adopted the bold, high-contrast aesthetic made possible by the medium, which suited their graphic language. In Soviet Russia during the 1920s and 1930s, linocut became widely used for political posters and propaganda, valued for its accessibility and capacity for strong, legible imagery at scale.

The medium gained significant fine art credibility in the mid-20th century through Pablo Picasso's engagement with it. Working closely with printer Hidalgo Arnéra at his studio in Vallauris, France, Picasso produced an extensive body of linocut work beginning in the late 1950s, including portraits, bullfighting scenes, and classical subjects. His development of the reduction technique, and the critical attention his linocuts received, established the medium as a legitimate vehicle for serious artistic expression.

Henri Matisse also worked in linocut, as did the South African artist and printmaker William Kentridge in more recent decades, who has used the medium alongside other print processes in his practice.

Today, linocut is practiced across every context, from primary school art rooms to professional printmaking studios and international print fairs. It has experienced renewed interest through the independent printmaking and craft communities, with a significant contemporary community of linocut artists working at all scales and levels of ambition.

Linocut in relation to other relief processes

Linocut sits within the relief printing category alongside several other processes, all of which share the same fundamental principle: ink on raised surfaces, transferred to paper under pressure. The differences between them are in material, tools, and the resulting character of the mark.

Linocut and woodcut

Woodcut is the older process and uses a plank of wood rather than linoleum as the printing surface. The wood grain runs parallel to the surface, and the cutter works both with and against it. Cuts made against the grain require more force and tend to produce rougher edges. The grain itself often appears in the print, contributing a textural quality that is characteristic of woodcut.

Linoleum has no grain. It can be carved in any direction with equal ease, which gives linocut printmakers more freedom and control over the quality of their marks. Linocut generally produces smoother, more uniform lines and flatter tonal areas than woodcut. Neither is superior; they produce distinctly different results and are suited to different visual approaches.

Linocut and wood engraving

Wood engraving uses the end grain of a very hard wood, typically boxwood, and very fine engraving tools called burins. The end-grain surface allows extremely fine, precise lines to be cut in any direction, making wood engraving capable of extraordinary detail. It is a technically demanding process requiring specialist tools and materials. Linocut is considerably more accessible and produces a much bolder, less detailed aesthetic by comparison.

Linocut and mokuhanga

Mokuhanga is the traditional Japanese woodblock printing technique, which uses water-based inks and hand printing with a baren rather than a press. The soft, washy quality of mokuhanga color is very different from the opaque, saturated color typical of linocut with oil-based ink. Both are relief processes and both use a carved surface, but they come from different traditions and produce markedly different results.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between linocut and a lino print?

Linocut refers to the process: carving a design into linoleum and printing from the raised surface. A lino print is the impression produced by that process. The terms are used interchangeably in everyday use, along with lino cut, lino printing, and linoleum cut.

What is the difference between linocut and woodcut?

Both are relief printing processes, but the materials differ. 

Linocut uses linoleum, which is grain-free and can be carved in any direction with equal ease. 

Woodcut uses a plank of wood, where the grain affects the cutting and contributes a characteristic texture to the print. 

Linocut typically produces smoother, more controlled marks; woodcut has a more textural, grainy quality.

Is linocut a good process for beginners?

Yes! Linocut is one of the most accessible printmaking processes. 

It requires no specialist press, no acids or hazardous chemicals, and the basic materials are affordable. The main skill to develop is carving technique: sharp tools make a significant difference to the quality and ease of the work. Soft-cut vinyl blocks are an even more forgiving starting point than traditional linoleum.

What tools do I need for linocut?

The essential kit is a linoleum block (or soft-cut alternative), a set of carving gouges in at least two profiles (U-gouge and V-gouge), a rubber brayer, printing ink, an inking slab, and paper. Beginner kits from brands such as Speedball or Pfeil include the core tools and are a practical starting point.

What is a reduction linocut?

A reduction linocut is a multi-color technique in which a single block is progressively carved and printed in multiple colors, from lightest to darkest. Each stage of carving permanently destroys part of the block, so the edition size must be fixed before printing begins. Pablo Picasso developed and popularized this technique in the late 1950s.

Can linocut be printed without a press?

Yes. A baren (a smooth, flat burnishing tool), the back of a spoon, or even firm hand pressure can transfer ink from a linocut block to paper without a press. This is one of the reasons linocut is so accessible. For large editions or very fine detail, a relief press or etching press with a flat bed produces more consistent results.