I've been trying out some monoprinting at home, to see what results it might produce.
Monoprint. Blue printing ink (diluted, neat and wiped). Printed on damp 220 gsm paper.
This is what I did:
Monoprinting basically involves painting (with water soluble printing inks) on a water resistant surface (I've used glass).
I placed a printout of a photo of mine (taken in Borough, London SE1) underneath the glass, to give me something to paint over as inspiration.
Using either: neat ink, slightly diluted ink, ink that I scratch into, or ink that I apply then wipe off - I created my image.
I then place either a dry piece of paper onto the inked glass (or a piece that's been soaking for a few minutes in water but with any surface water wiped off before printing).
With a small roller (normally used for linocut printing) you give the back of the paper a few good rolls.
Carefully lift up the paper and voila! Your print.
Monoprinting is so called, because each print is unique, a one off. You can try to get two or three prints from one 'inking' but they will each look significantly different to your first (but still interesting if you're lucky).