Alps asserted that "...the first concern of the printmaker is the development of the plate, where the individuality of the artist has its chance to take form."Alps and Baro, 1979 p.7 For the collagraph's substrate Alps recommended inexpensive, readily-available construction materials, at that time plywood, Upsom board and Masonite. The collage materials were likewise cheap and easy to find, and included (but were not limited to) polymer glue, modeling paste, auto putty, plastic wood, ground walnut shells, wood shavings, brush bristles, string and assortments of paper, cardboard and cloth. These were "the essentials of image-making" through the collage technique.Alps and Baro, 1979 p. 3 By dispensing with the metal plates and specialized plate-working tools of traditional intaglio printmaking, collagraphy allowed the artist "to approach the plate very spontaneously and directly or quite deliberately," as the artist's idea and working style dictated.Alps and Baro, 1979 p. 7
