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The longer the plate is left in the acid, the more metal is eaten away, resulting in deeper and darker lines. The plate is then lowered into a mild acid bath where the exposed areas are etched, or bitten, by the acid, leaving them recessed beneath the surface of the plate. Using an etching needle, the artist draws lines through the ground, exposing the metal. In sharp contrast to the painstaking medium of engraving, etching is very fluid and spontaneous.Īt the start of the process, the metal plate is coated with a thin layer of an asphaltum-based, acid-resistant substance called etching ground. Traditional etching is still practiced today, as are a large number of derivative techniques developed since then. Studio Corner by Richard Pantell, 2006, etching EtchingĮtching dates back to the early 1500s. Engravers create much of their tone using this thin-to-thick-to-thin approach. As the pointed tip is pushed deeper into the copper, the line becomes wider.Īs the cut finishes, the line becomes thinner, much like the line of a crow-quill pen. It is a highly linear process, and shading is accomplished largely through hatching and crosshatching.īurins are available in several sizes, but even a single burin will give the engraver great control over the line. It requires patience, strength and practice.Ĭurved lines are created not by pushing the burin in a new direction, but by turning the plate while pushing the burin straight ahead. The artist creates lines by cutting into the copper plate using a tool called a burin. Portrait by Coenraad Lauwers, 1649, engraving EngravingĮngraving was developed in the Middle Ages, making it one of the oldest printmaking processes. Each produces prints with a distinct look and feel, and many prints are created through a combination of two or more of these processes.
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There are five traditional intaglio processes: engraving, etching, drypoint, aquatint and mezzotint. At that point the plate is ready for editioning - the creation of multiple impressions, which the artist signs and numbers. Prints are usually worked through an evolution called states, with the artist printing a sample impression, then working the plate further until it is completed, when the final proof is taken. The contours of the plate leave an embossment on the paper called the platemark, and the residual ink on the surface is called plate tone. The look of the final print is affected by numerous factors, including the choice of ink, the method of wiping the ink from the plate and the choice of paper - in addition to the choice of printmaking process and the artist’s treatment of the image. The paper is removed to reveal the finished print, or impression. After the bed comes to rest at the other end of the press, the blankets are lifted off. The bed is then cranked between two steel rollers, pressing the blankets into the softened paper and forcing the paper down into the recessed areas of the metal plate, where it grabs the ink. Two felt blankets are placed on top of the paper. A dampened sheet of etching paper, larger than the plate itself, is laid on top. The plate is then placed onto the bed of an etching press, a rectangular steel slab. This removes the ink from the raised portions of the plate, leaving only the ink in the recessed areas to be printed. The plate is then wiped with a rag called a tarlatan. The ink is then squeegeed across the plate, forcing the ink into every recessed line and area. But once the plate itself is complete, all five processes share the following steps to produce the finished intaglio print.įirst, the artist applies ink to the entire surface of the finished plate, often using a roller. The method of creating the recessed areas differs with the technique, and in a moment we’ll learn how each one works. The plates are most often made of copper, but zinc, brass and other materials are also used. Originating in Italy, the word “intaglio,” with a silent “g,” refers to prints made from plates in which the areas that carry the ink are recessed below the surface of the plate. 1885, etchingįor starters, there are four traditional printmaking categories: relief (which includes such processes as woodcut and linocut), planography (lithography), serigraphy (silkscreen) and, finally, intaglio.īelow, artist Richard Pantell walks us through the last of these categories, intaglio, and its five principle processes. What’s the difference between a drypoint and an aquatint? Between a monotype and a monoprint? Between a lithograph and a linocut? Often, when viewing an exhibition of prints, we’ll look at the labels and discover the names of printing media we don’t fully understand.