Unmounted Easy-to-Cut Linoleum 5X7 Inch

Perfect

I've never worked with Linoleum before so I was nervous when I ordered this item, I was happy when it came on time and in great condition!

Hard to cut

For starters, this product is not actually linoleum; it's a kind of hard rubber.It's both spongier and less forgiving than real linoleum, so it takes lines poorly. As you cut, it deforms against the carving tools, so as soon the blade is free, the material pops back not quite where you wanted it, or it bends forward and leaves the off-cut hanging. Cutting the offcut free often changes the character of the line, then, so you get blunt ends instead of graceful tapers.Lines in pencil, ball-point, and Sharpie are all permanent, regardless of how lightly you press or whether you use a vinyl eraser, water, or rubbing alcohol as a cleaner. Consequently, there's no real way to sketch out an original design on the block itself without knowing exactly where every line goes from the beginning. I'd imagine if you drew your design elsewhere and then used transfer paper, it would work well enough, but the imprecision of transfer line makes this unappealing as well.As for printing, the material is slicker than linoleum, and I find that my brayer skids frequently during inking, leaving voids and uneven ink-work. Block printing ink does clean up fairly well from the surface; oil paints somewhat less-so, but fine lines hold the either medium permanently, despite scrubbing with a toothbrush and various solvents, so if you don't get the prints in the first run, fine work is mostly obscured in subsequent printings.Lastly, these do not mount cleanly, nor do they lay flat on the press bed. I've tried using them unmounted, and the edges where the factory cut them stand proud and usually grab ink. Trimming them down leaves an inconsistent edge, so I have yet to find a way to get a nice clean edge to my prints. Mounting the material to plywood works marginally better, but still does not make for clean inking or flat placement.Overall, I think it was a good attempt, but this product is a failure. Stick to real linoleum, mounted or unmounted, and you'll get much better results across the board.