Chine-collé

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Chine-collé is a special technique in printmaking in which the image is transferred to a surface that is bonded to a heavier support in the printing process. The purpose is to allow the printmaker to print on a much more delicate surface, such as Japanese paper or linen, which pulls finer details off the plate. During printing, a glue is applied to the back of the paper (a paste made of wheat or rice starch and water being traditional), and then the heavier support (typically, the heavyweight paper normally found in printmaking) is placed on top. In the pressure of the press, the lighter surface is glued to the support simultaneously with the image printing on it.

Originally only used as a mounting technique, chine collé has been used by contemporary artists as a collage technique. The pressure of the press usually gives collaged materials a flat seamless look, and the archival bond created by the wheat paste can help to extend the life of non-archival materials (magazine clippings, and other ephemera commonly used in collage).

Chine-collé roughly translates from French to chine = tissue and collé meaning glue or paste. This is because thin tissue paper, originally imported from China, India and Japan was used in the process. These materials were very delicate, therefore printers bonded them to the stronger Western plate paper to increase integrity. The method of fusing the two surfaces together varies among printmakers. Some use a paste, this method being popular among English printers, or a dusting of flour right before pressing. French printmakers preferred to use dry, pre-pasted tissue, moistening it just prior to pressing by laying it atop damp plate paper. Other times printers used no adhesive at all, simply relying on the high pressures of the printing press to fuse the papers together, although this method is fairly unreliable. With new technology, new glue have been introduced. Commercially available are 'mounting sheets' or thin sheets of plastic with microscopic beads of glue embedded in them. The sheets are coated with mild adhesive to hold the paper in place. When the plastic is run through a press, the high pressure pops the embedded glue-beads making the bond permanent.