Production of alternative surfaces for print making using banana fibres as a material

Abstract

The purpose of the study was; to explore the potential of using banana fibre as a material for production of surfaces for printmaking which are cheap and give good registrations of prints. The study was guided by three objectives; (1) to establish community perception about the production of an alternative surface for printmaking using banana fibres. (b) To explore banana fibre as an alternative material for production of printmaking surfaces. (c) To produce prints on the surfaces made using banana fibre as a material. The study dealt with 20 participants who were selected purposively and these included; printmakers, students and technicians. The findings revealed that the printmaking community needs a better cheap alternative surface for printmaking, the exploration carried on the banana fibre as a material for producing print making surfaces showed good results because some trial surfaces registered so well and were cheap to produce, and the produced prints were of good quality and unique in terms of material. The study concludes that using banana fibre surfaces for printing is cheap, gives good registration because it absorbs both inks and paste used for printmaking easily. The study recommends production and use of printing surfaces produced out of banana fibres because of their cheap production costs, high level of registration while printing and the uniqueness of the prints