My favorite brayers (ink rollers) are these rubber ones from Jackson’s Art. They are durable, soft, and never get sticky, which was an issue for me with Speedball brayers. Esdee brayers are okay, in my experience, the cheaper ones can get warped, which leaves lines/patchiness in your prints. The Jackson’s ones are durable and consistent in quality.
These are hands-down the BEST carving tools I have used. They come in many sizes, and I recommend getting several different sizes for printmaking. I have five: L 12/1, L 11/1 (these are the smallest ones - great for details), L11/3, L 12/4, and L 9/5 (these are larger, good for removing more material). They come in many more sizes, lots of them V and U shapes.
Oil-based ink is a game-changer. I started out using water-based Speedball ink, and I think that has its place, but the Cranfield inks will give you better color, crisper lines, and smoother prints overall. USE THE INK EXTENDER! Oh my goodness. This stuff is amazing. Especially for black ink - it makes the ink super smooth and even and crisp as hell. All that said, these inks are messier. Using Clorox or Lysol wipes really helps with containing the mess, and I use a metal or plastic spatula to scrape excess ink off the rolling surface. Also, cheap oil (vegetable is what I use) loosens the ink nicely, making it much easier to clean off blocks and brayers. Isopropyl alcohol helps get your glass or plastic mixing surface clean, but I wouldn’t use it on brayers or blocks.
I am a big fan of soft carve lino blocks. I find the firmer linoleum (the standard battleship grey stuff) difficult to work with. This is just personal preference. In my experience, the soft blocks still hold fine lines well, and do very well with all colors of ink. The grey Soft-Kut blocks in particular seem to transfer multiple colors of ink well. Plus, they’re pretty cheap. I clean them with vegetable oil to loosen the ink, then a gentle Dawn dish soap wash. Store flat - these are definitely more fragile than firmer surfaces. If you are in the market for a firmer surface, or need larger blocks to work with, this Blick blue lino is great. Because it’s more stiff than the soft or speedy-carve blocks, you can get it in a big roll. I haven’t liked how this prints with different colors of ink, but it’s amazing for crisp, jet black prints. You need a LOT more pressure, and I would recommend a press for this stuff.
Simple mixed media paper is my preferred printmaking paper. There are specific “printmaking” papers, but in my experience, the texture on these is too coarse, leading to patchy prints. Again, this is totally personal preference. The smooth (but not vellum/bristol level of smooth) surface and the weight of the paper is perfect for printmaking. I particularly like Strathmore and Fabriano for their quality.
This is an incredible find of my fiancé’s. Printing presses are often quite large and very expensive, but this amazing “laminator” works perfectly for consistently pressing prints. I especially like this for firmer blocks. It has two knobs on top for adjusting pressure, and the metal wings on the side fold up for compact storage. I cannot recommend this enough.