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PRINTMAKING PROCESSES
PHOTOETCH
PHOTOETCH
This process combines the use of images and marks from photographic, digital and hand drawn sources with the range of marks and textures offered by the etching process.
A positive of the image on acetate is placed onto a plate covered in photo-emulsion and then exposed to UV light . The image is transferred to the plate, developed with caustic soda and etched in the normal way .
Photo-etch offers a huge range off possibilities both in the design stage using digital techniques, such as Photoshop for example, and also in the etching stage where the whole range of etching methods can be called on to further develop the image.
Photo-etch is the process of transferring a design which is on a semi transparent material, to a plate by means of a light sensitive emulsion which also acts as a resist to the etchant.
Transparent positive detail:
Artwork takes the form of a ‘positive’ which ideally is on a transparent material or acetate. This positive is then placed on top of a plate which has the light sensitive emulsion attached to it. Exposed to uv light the emulsion hardens. When the plate is developed, areas not exposed to light wash off. This can then be etched in the traditional way.
Test Strip for a photoetch
plate to find the
best tonal values for the image
Positives: This process has opened out a tremendous range of creative possibilities for the printmaker. The positives can be printed out on ink jet printers, laser printers and photocopiers. Any source material can be used, photographs, drawings can be processed and resized using computer programmes. These print-outs can be drawn on and scratched into or cut up and re-assembled, the possibilities are endless.
Tru-grain transparent drawing film can be used to draw directly using inks /washes/ brush marks/ crayons/ felt pens etc. These marks can be scratched into and rubbed off. Collaged stencils and flat objects can also be used.
One of the obvious advantages is that the artwork survives the process of putting it on the plate and can be re-used if necessary.
Photo etch
plate inked
a la poupee detail: Y Wyddor:
Judith Stoud
Photo etch
plate inked a la poupee detail:
Atif Khan
Photo etch
plate detail: Festival of Muslim
Cultures Print Project: Atif Khan
The photopolymer film has been in use industrially in the electronics industry for around 40 years. Printmakers began to see the possibilities of it for plate making in the late 1990’s and there is now a considerable body of work being produced in this way.
Books
The Contemporary Printmaker: Intaglio Type and Acrylic Resist Etching: Keith Howard
White-Cross Press, 2003
ISBN 0-9741946-0-3
Their are only two books worth having if you are interested in the art of non-etch intaglio and the use of photopolymer film. This is one of them and a great source of technical information for much, much more.
Non-Toxic Intaglio: Henrik Bøegh
Bøegh, 2003
ISBN 87-987757-2-3
And this is the other one. Available through Intaglio Printmaker, this book gives alternative techniques to the above.
Intaglio: The Complete Safety-first System for Creative Printmaking: Robert Adam & Carol Robertson
Thames and Hudson, 2007
ISBN-13: 978-0-500-51343-
ISBN-10: 0-500-51343-0
At last the definitive guide to safe and non-toxic printmaking. An essential reference book from the authors of Screenprinting: The Complete Water-based System.
Colour Etching (Printmaking Handbooks): Nigel Oxley
A and C Black, 2007
ISBN 978-0-7136-6820-9
All the techniques and examples of printing intaglio work in colour. As with all A and C Black's Printmaking Handbooks this is and excellent introduction to the subject.
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