Intaglio

An acid-resistant wax ground is applied to a metal plate by melting it onto the surface and rolling it out to a thin even film.

The ground is then drawn into to expose the metal below. Hard lines, soft pencil-like lines or tone can be achieved depending on what type of ground is used.

The plate is then placed into an etching solution, which eats into the exposed metal to form a groove that will hold ink.

Once the etching is complete, the ground is removed and the plate is prepared for printing. The edges of the plate are filed to prevent sharp lines damaging the presses. Ink is applied to the surface of the plate.

The surface of the plate is then wiped with a coarse muslin called scrim. This removes the ink from the face of the plate, gradually uncovering the image, whilst leaving the etched areas full of ink.

In the finishing stages, tissue paper is used to remove any remaining ink from the un-etched areas.

The plate is placed face-up on the bed of the etching press and covered with a sheet of dampened printing paper.

The plate is rolled through the press, which exerts very high pressure to transfer the ink from the plate onto the paper to form the print.

The blankets are pulled back and the print lifted from the plate. The print is inspected and either reworked and etched if necessary. If the image is as required, the process of inking, wiping, printing is repeated until the edition is printed.