Intaglio prints:
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An intaglio print is created by etching or engraving
an image into a copper or zinc plate. Ink is rubbed over the
indentations in the plate and then wiped off the surface. A damp
sheet of paper is placed over the inked plate and passed through a
press. The pressure of the press pushes the damp paper into the
plate and transfers the ink to the paper.
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Stephen McMillan placing an
inked plate on the bed of our etching press during a demonstration at
Mission Gallery.
"Poppies" a mixed
media intaglio print by Arnold Iger
click here to view more of Arnold Iger's work
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Line etchings:
 
The critters horns ain't for honkin!"
copper plate and chine' colle' etching by Bob
Coronato
click here to
see more of Bob's etchings |
These
images are created by rolling melted wax or varnishing over the face of a
polished copper plate and scratching through the wax. The plate is then
dipped in acid, creating a groove wherever the plate has been exposed.
This part of the process may be repeated several times to achieve varying tones
of the same color. The longer the plate is in the acid bath-the deeper the
groove and the darker the color on the finished piece. An artist may color line
etchings with watercolors.
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Chine' colle' Etchings:
Bob Coronato applies paste to the thin piece of paper his image will be
printed on
'Rozas House" a chine' colle etching by Justin
Ward
click here to view more of Justin Ward's work |
Chine' colle' refers to a printing technique in which
the artist prints their image on a thin piece of tissue or rice paper.
After the thin paper is coated with paste on one side, it is positioned
on the inked plate paste side up. The dampened base paper - usually
a heavier watercolor paper - is placed over the plate and tissue, then
all are pulled through the press. The rice paper provides a much
"harder" surface to print on, so it's a great way to show off fine
details in the image. Bob Coronato and Justin Ward both use a
creamy colored tissue that gives their work a very old fashioned
look.
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Engravings:
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While engravings are printed
the same way etchings are, they are made by using tools instead of acid
to create the image. Many artists use copper because it is a
relatively soft metal - therefore much easier to work with.
Unfortunately, this also means the plate will not last as long due to
the extreme pressure involved in printing. If an artist would like
to print a larger edition, they may steel face their copper plates or
work directly on a steel plate. Steel facing can also preserve the
integrity of the colors an artist is printing with - for example,
yellows may become "muddy" as the copper plate oxidizes.
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"Le Pont St. Ange"
Jean Michel Mathieux-Marie uses a diamond point to engrave images into a
steel plate
click here to see more engravings by Mathieux-Marie |
Mezzotint:
Mikio Watanabe demonstrates "rocking" a
copper plate during a show at Mission Gallery |
Mezzotint is an engraving technique that originated in the
17th Century and is the oldest way to
achieve tones in printmaking. The artist works directly on a copper plate
– beginning with a tool called a “rocker” which he uses to create pits in the
plate. This is done by rocking the tool back and forth with consistent
pressure until the whole surface is evenly pitted. If the plate were inked
and a print pulled at this point the image would come through as a solid,
velvety black. The artist then uses burnishing tools to smooth out the
pits wherever he wants light in the images. The burnished areas will hold
less ink than the deeply pitted areas. Once the plate is prepared, the
plate is inked, excess ink is wiped away and it is pulled through a press with
damp paper to create the finished print.
About Aquatint Etchings by Stephen McMillan
Drawing and Printing Process for Aquatint Etchings
Aquatint is an etching technique that produces a full tonal
range and rich texture in prints. To create an aquatint three things are needed:
a shiny copper plate, rosin dust, and acid. Quite simply, the rosin dust is
dropped and melted onto the copper plate creating
a matrix of small dots, and the plate is submerged
in a tray of acid to be
etched. The rosin on the plate is acid resistant, so only the metal that is not
covered with rosin will be etched. The metal that is exposed will etch into
microscopic
canyons in the copper plate, which when inked will hold different
amounts of ink, depending on the depth of the etch. The deeper the etch, the
more ink will be held, and the darker the tone produced when printed. To etch an
image into the plate an acid resistant stop-out material is painted onto the
plate between each etch to control where and how long the acid etches each area
of the plate--the amount of rosin used, the amount of heat applied, and the etch
times must all work together. The mastery of these techniques is as vital to
creating the print as is the drawing of the image onto the plate.
The artist begins by choosing an image from one of the slides
he
has taken and making it into a 3"x 5" print. He refers to this photograph as he
draws the image onto an aquatinted copper plate. He uses a high quality
watercolor brush to paint the stop-out material onto the plate. The areas on the
plate that correspond to the lightest areas on the photograph are painted out
first, often before the first etch. Next the areas that correspond to a slightly
darker tone on the photograph are painted out, and another etch is done. This
process is repeated, usually seven or eight times, until a full tonal range is
created. It often takes several weeks to produce a plate.
trial proofs of the four color plates Stephen McMillan etched to create
"San Juan Hills" |
For
multiple color prints a separate plate must be drawn for each color used. The
artist does
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 the
four states of
"San Juan Hills" by Stephen McMillan |
color separations in his head to determine how much of each color to
use in each area of the print. The two to four basic colors are blended in the
printing to create all the desired colors on the finished print. The
corresponding areas of each of the plates must be drawn so that they will
register or match up when they are printed. After the first plate is drawn, a
technically involved image-transfer method is employed to leave a ''ghost'' of
the first plate on subsequent plates to be etched. This ''ghost'' image is used
as a guide to help the artist draw the subsequent plates in register with the
first plate. Often stencils also need to be cut to transfer image information
not in the ''ghost'' transfer image.
After the plates are etched they are ready to be printed.
Etchings are printed intaglio, that is, with the ink in the etched areas rather
than on the surface. Each copper plate is inked and wiped by hand before being
printed on 100% rag paper on an etching press. To create the finished print, the
plates are printed in the same order and alignment as used for the image
transfer.
Here, Stephen McMillan demonstrates printing an intaglio
print:
inking the plate, then wiping with cheesecloth
finishing removing excess ink by hand-wiping, then cleaning
edges
pulling the print...
"Mission
Bells"
