I hope that it is okay that I copied this part from your blog:

I pulled the trigger today and ordered a great big pile of this stuff and will be spending the next few weeks reorganizing and cleaning out my garage. I've got to find someplace for all the pallets to land, once it gets here. Yikes!

So, game on!

I'd help if I lived near you, but I'm sending hugs and virtual help your way.

I do have some questions though: How large are the sheets when they are delivered? How tall is it stacked on each palette? Any guess as to how long it will last?

I'm in awe at all the carves in the test rounds but some of those in Round #4 are just plain over the top. Yeah, if folks can carve like that on this material I can only imagine the possibilities. Looking forward to the arrival of all those pallets.

I do have some questions though: How large are the sheets when they are delivered? How tall is it stacked on each palette? Any guess as to how long it will last?

The sheets are going to be 12 inches by 54 inches (half as wide but longer than the MZ and NZ Kut sheets were and over twice as long as OZ -- the really huge sheets were hard for me to handle, so I needed something more manageable to haul around).

I don't know how tall they will stack each pallet - probably about 30 inches, if past deliveries are anything to go by.

And how long it will last depends on how much everybody loves it. That remains to be seen. I will be able to gauge that better when reorders start coming in. I expect a flurry of activity when it first arrives and then I'll just have to wait until people order more to guess how long it will take us to carve through the pile... :)

Yep. Game on!

Webfoot

Fantastic! Consider my order placed. Do you have an idea how much it will cost for us yet or is it too early to say?

Fantastic! Consider my order placed. Do you have an idea how much it will cost for us yet or is it too early to say?

Thanks! It's great to hear the enthusiasm. If my calculations are correct and shipping isn't a lot more than I anticipate, I think I'll be able to price this stuff so that it's comparable to OZ Kut, give or take a little. (little webbed toes crossed)

So, here's something for all of us to contemplate. The sheets are 12 x 54. So, I'm thinking I can cut blocks that are 12 x 12, 9 x 12, 6 x 12, 9 x 6, and 4 x 6, without waste. Am I missing any obvious sizes that you'd like? In terms of shipping, 9 x 12 and 6 x 12 blocks will cost the same to ship, but for some reason, people tend to buy the 6 x 12 Speedy Carve over the 9 x 12 blocks, even though the cost per square inch is lower and shipping is the same. *shrug* They must be easier to handle, or something. So, I thought I'd offer both.

Oh, also, If you really need a long piece for an event extravaganza or something, the post office has this great game box I could ship a 12 x *almost* 24 (23 11/16) piece. Nobody has ever asked for it, but it is possible and costs the same as a standard large flat rate box to mail.

Yes, my little feather brain is clearly working overtime - and overheating. Can you see the steam rising up from the snowy north?

:)

Webfoot

Well I want some...whatever size you make!

Really happy and excited for the new age of material. Do you have a name in mind yet?

The sheets are 12 x 54. So, I'm thinking I can cut blocks that are 12 x 12, 9 x 12, 6 x 12, 9 x 6, and 4 x 6, without waste.

Something I've always wondered, what do you use to cut down the large sheets? Hopefully, there's an easier way than the exacto or craft knife that I use to cut out small, stamp-size pieces.

I want some!!!!!! Let me know how I can place an order!

BB

Something I've always wondered, what do you use to cut down the large sheets? Hopefully, there's an easier way than the exacto or craft knife that I use to cut out small, stamp-size pieces.

It's a retractable box cutter and a straight edge in a well-used cutting jig. I have used the box cutter so much that one side of it is worn down perfectly to run along the straight edge. I got a new one a while back, thinking it would be better, since the old one was so worn, but it turned out that the worn side makes it easier to line things up right. :)

I would much prefer a 9x12 than a 6x12, but I have different goals than most on AQ. I am carving whole slabs, not stamps.

For what it's worth. There are at least a couple on the linocut boards that are interested in trying your materials because I have been talking about OZ. Many of them love Japanese vinyl, but I find it terribly hard to carve.

Oooo yay! I am looking forward to getting a stash of it.

dp

*imagining the possibilities and cackling gleefully*

I like the biggest slab possible due my wholly unsubstantiated belief that a little more weight at once is cheaper than lighter weights shipped twice.

Foraych and I, who were both testers, were talking about this. There's a certain learning curve when you try a new material; learning how different tools work in the new material and so on. Seeing how well we did on the first piece we tried out makes the possibilities seem endless. :)

I would much prefer a 9x12 than a 6x12, but I have different goals than most on AQ. I am carving whole slabs, not stamps.

Thanks. I appreciate the input.

For what it's worth. There are at least a couple on the linocut boards that are interested in trying your materials because I have been talking about OZ. Many of them love Japanese vinyl, but I find it terribly hard to carve.

Thanks for talking about the block possibilities with your lino groups. Feel free to point them to the blog so that they can see what people have been doing with this stuff and learn a little about its properties. If anybody has questions, I'm happy to answer (to the best of my ability).

Ooh! Thanks! You made me grin! :)

I like the biggest slab possible due my wholly unsubstantiated belief that a little more weight at once is cheaper than lighter weights shipped twice.

I can totally substantiate that belief for you, with one possible exception. When you jump from 9 to 12 inch width - I have to go to a bigger box and that, depending on how many slabs you get, may actually end up costing more than two smaller boxes filled with 9 inch pieces. I always try to optimize containers and shipping costs...

Seeing how well we did on the first piece we tried out makes the possibilities seem endless. :)

I'll have to say that it was totally awesome on my end to see all the fabulous carves that landed in my mailbox. I did my best with the scans, but I don't think the full impact came across.

I can do that. If you are a facebook person, the board I am talking about is linocut friends. I will gladly post a link to your blog.

My checks in the mail for whatever amount of Tan Kut Webfoot feels fair to send once cut to usable slabs and ready :). I like the bigger slabs too, so 9 x 12 works for me. I look forward to more practice with this material and thanks again to Webfoot for such tenacity to find/create materials to use!!

Jeff

If you really need a long piece for an event extravaganza or something, the post office has this great game box I could ship a 12 x *almost* 24 (23 11/16) piece. Nobody has ever asked for it, but it is possible and costs the same as a standard large flat rate box to mail.

So, what are the prices for shipping and the sizes of the flat-rate shipping boxes? I prefer ordering however much fits in one box, so for me it may be better to stuff one of those game boxes as full as you can make it. BTW, how much could you stuff in one of those boxes?

I find that there is less waste (along the edges) when there are fewer edges for the same area. That's why I like large pieces.

Okay, so one of the game boxes would theoretically hold 12 sheets of the new material (if I cut off just a little from the end, since they're only 23 11/16 inches long, rather than the full 24 inches) and would cost about $19.00 to ship. I don't think they have any weight limits domestically, so the fact that it would weigh a ton doesn't really matter. :)

I could theoretically (I want to make sure I test this before being too definite) get 8 of the proposed 9 x 12 sheets into one of the A level regional rate boxes. Those are shipping anywhere from about $7 - $13, depending on how far you live from me. The shipping calculator will charge you for a medium flat rate box, since I need to use those sometimes, depending on what you get, but I'm usually using the regional boxes and refunding postage (which I need to catch up on again, since I've been preoccupied with something or another and haven't been sitting down to do the dreaded paperwork...).

There's also a B level regional box, but it sometimes costs more than the medium or large flat rate box, depending on where it's going in relation to where I am. When it comes in at a lower price, though, it's great for a pile of 12 x 12 sheets.

I always try to optimize the shipping. When you order a bunch of something big, the shipping calculator will give you a wildly incorrect postage estimate that I simply refund, once I've figured out the best way to get the order to where it's going (and sit down to do paperwork).

Probably more than you wanted to know, right?

Webfoot

I'm hoping you have some in by May. I have an image I want to carve for an ltc and the tan material would be absolutely perfect for it.

dp

I'm hoping you have some in by May. I have an image I want to carve for an ltc and the tan material would be absolutely perfect for it.

I have not heard back from the manufacturing team what my ETA for the new material might be. I will let you know when I find out.

Also, if you could stand work with the gray, I have a sample sheet of that (the same thickness as the tan I sent you for the test). They squished it out for me when they made the tan sample, since they had some goo mix left over from the super thin sample piece (it was an unexpected surprise!). So, if you get desperate enough to work with lower contrast, as one of the Merry Band, you might just have an inside track.... :)

Webfoot

since they had some goo mix left over from the super thin sample piece

Is this what they call it themselves, 'goo'?

Is this what they call it themselves, 'goo'?

No, 'goo' is the technical term. I think they just call it, 'matrix', or something slangy like that.

I had no troubles with seeing to carve on the gray and would be up for some of that with tan. :)

I had no troubles with seeing to carve on the gray

Just wait till you're as old as some of the rest of us. Just sayin'. Grumbling that Foraych is rubbing in salt. :-P

I know it is coming, Baqash, as I already am squinting more and need to see optometrist soon 😞

I had no trouble with the grey material and would be up for helping take it off your hands, if FORAYCH hasn't beaten me to all of it. :)

I love the idea of 9x12. After testing, I could seriously see myself carving this instead of linoleum in an upcoming project that I plan to do on printing presses. The low "squish" ratio of this product may make it a great contender once mounted to type high for a press. 9x12 is a standard size for linoleum on places like Dick Blick.