Docs / Brayer for iPad
Getting started
What Brayer is for, how a project holds the six modules, and where your work is kept.
Updated 2026-09-09
Brayer is a studio record for relief printmaking on iPad. It holds the drawing, the colour separation, the carving guide, the bench notes, the numbered edition and the exchange you sent it to, all against one block. It does not replace the block, the gouge or the baren. It keeps track of what you did with them.
The app is iPad only. Everything is stored on the iPad you are using.
The first run
Onboarding is five short pages: your name, what you print, block size and units, the ink brands you use, and a last page that says "You're set up." A Skip button sits on every page. Nothing you answer is locked in; the same fields live in Settings afterwards.
First run · five short pages, or Skip
A sample project called "Your First Print" is waiting in the Library. It is a 100 × 150 mm reduction with a design, a four-layer separation, a carve plan, sessions and a part-pulled edition of 8. Open it, take it apart, delete it when you are done. Settings has a "Show sample project" switch if you want it back.
The Library
The Library is the first surface. Projects show as cards with the block dimensions, the technique, the edition line and six small dots, one per module. A filled dot means that module has something in it.
Library · Hare · 127 × 178 mm, reduction · the six module dots show what has content
The sidebar carries the four studio surfaces (Library, Studio, Editions, Exchange), the Collections (Starred, In progress, Archived), the four most recently touched projects, and the session widget at the bottom. Tap the icon beside the word Brayer to hide the sidebar, or press control-command-S. It stays hidden until you bring it back.
A project is the unit
Every piece of work starts as a project, and the block comes first. The New project sheet is headed BLOCK FIRST for a reason: the width and height you type there set the canvas in Design, the page size in Carve plan and the image size in Editions. Choose a template (Blank, Single block, Multi-block, Reduction, Chine-collé) and it sets the technique and a starting layer count.
New project · pick a template, a block size and materials
Opening a project
Open a project and the studio sidebar goes away. The project is a document, with one toolbar across the top: a back button, the project title, the module buttons for whichever module you are in, one primary action, and the session pill.
Tap the title to open the project menu. It lists all six modules, each with a live status line:
| Module | What the status line tells you |
|---|---|
| Design | Empty canvas, or the number of layers |
| Separate | The most recent separation, its layer count, whether it has been run |
| Carve plan | How many plans are on file |
| Studio log | Sessions logged and hours at the bench |
| Editions | Impressions pulled out of the edition size, and how many sold |
| Exchange | Whether the project is committed to an exchange |
Below the modules the same menu holds Rename, Star, Duplicate, Block label, Export .relief, Archive and Delete, and it ends with the project's specification: block size, material, technique.
The modules are not steps. Most prints run Design, Separate, Carve plan, then log the work and number the edition, but nothing forces that order and you can go back into any module at any time. Brayer remembers which module a project was last in, and the Library card says "Continue in Separate" or whichever it was.
The session timer
A session is time at the bench. Start one from the sidebar widget, or from the play button at the right of any project toolbar. While it runs, the sidebar shows LIVE SESSION with a running timer and the task, and the project toolbar shows the same count. The timer survives quitting the app.
When you end a session you record what you were doing, how many impressions you pulled, notes, and photos. Sessions attach to as many projects as you touched, so the work shows up in each project's log.
Search
The magnifying glass in the Library top bar opens universal search. It looks across eight kinds of record: projects, ink recipes, papers, impressions, buyers, sessions, tools and exchanges. Tap a result and it opens the right surface. Impressions match on their number, so typing "3/10" finds the third of ten.
Search results are also indexed into iPadOS Spotlight, so the same projects turn up when you swipe down on the Home screen.
Beside the search field is the block-label scanner. Tape a printed QR label to a block, scan it later, and the app opens that project.
Where your work is kept
Everything lives on the iPad. Settings says it plainly: "Everything stays on this iPad. Nothing leaves your device."
There is no iCloud sync in this version. To move a project to another iPad, or to make a backup, export a .relief bundle from the Library options menu or the project title menu and send it through Files or AirDrop. See Relief bundles.
Files you export from the modules (PNGs, 1:1 PDFs, certificates, colophons, labels) go wherever you send them, through the share sheet or AirPrint.
Where to go next
- The Library and projects for templates, collections and the QR block label.
- Design for the canvas.
- Separate for reduction and multi-block colour plans.
- Carve plan for transfer guides, jigs and printing at true size.