compare and contrast relief printing and intaglio

Compare and contrast relief printing and intaglio full#

These descriptions can also be used when positives are hand drawn on mylar. ' Photopolymer Intaglio' is also correctly known as ' Photopolymer'.

Compare and contrast relief printing and intaglio full#

Therefore the photopolymer emulsion is inherently not as sensitive to the full range of tone s that photogravure gelatin resist was created specifically to reproduce. The photopolymer film and plates adapted here for fine art intaglio printing were designed for high contrast exposure response and print applications. The plates are developed in water or a mild alkaline solution which washes away the unhardened photopolymer creating fine recessed crevices for the ink. Pre-coated plates can be exposed with the halftone method or with a continuous tone positive which requires a separate exposure to an aquatint screen. Plates laminated with film are typically exposed with a very fine halftone positive that has a grain built into the blacks. Plates are either manually coated with a thick photopolymer film such as Skylight photopolymer or they are available as pre-coated flexograph ic plates etc. Photopolymer intaglio is a non-etch process of making a photo intaglio printing matrix. A Photo-Etching can also correctly be labeled as simply ' Etching'. Because of the nature of etching a halftoned image, these prints should be called 'photo etchings' and not 'photogravures'. Some artists are using gelatin pigment paper (see Photogravure above) for exposure and etching of fine halftones. The photo resist is usually stripped before printing and the etched plate can be retouched and re-worked afterwards with any of the traditional etching processes. In photo etching all of the exposed plate and dots will receive the same amount of etch unless manually staged out by the artist. This process yields a plate that can be etched to the desired depth and tone. The plate is developed with a solvent or mild alkaline producing a high resolution etch resist. If an aquatint is required for any large areas of solid black it can be done traditionally with dustgrain or spray, with a separate screen exposure or built in digitally. Halftones are made digitally now with inkjet or laser printers. A halfone creates an illusion of tone by using tiny black dots of varying size and distance. The photo resist is exposed to a very fine halftone positive or high contrast line image. Photo Etching is a process where a metal plate, usually copper or zinc, is coated with a high contrast, negative working photo-sensitive resist such as KPR or sensitized fish glue or a thin film photopolymer such as Puretch. When a drawing on mylar or vellum is used instead of a photgraphic positive the print is known as a ' Direct Gravure'. Photogravure is also referred to as ' Gravure' or ' Heliogravure'. The copper plate is often electroplated with iron (steel faced) for printing very consistent and/or long editions. The gravure process yields an etched plate that can be retouched and re-worked with any of the traditional etching processes. Careful timing of the different etching baths also adds another way of controlling the tonal curves and maximizing the tonal range of the image.

This continually self staged resist yields an etched plate that will print with a varying depth layer of ink. The etch begins in the shadows followed by lighter shadows, the midtones and lastly the highlight tones, all etching in proportionate depth to their respective densities. The dried gelatin which is varied in thickness acts as an etch resist. The tones of the positive are imparted inversely to the exposed gelatin which is adhered and developed on the copper. The dichromate sensitized gravure gelatin has a straight line UV sensitivity response which makes it the most capable of reproducing the sublest range of tones and detail in the continuous tone film positive. They employed the use of the bitumen dustgrain aquatint for its high resolution organic grain as well as its ability for deeply etched shadows. Talbot and Karl Klic in the late 1800s for archivally reproducing fine photographic prints. Photogravure is a process of etching continuous tones into copper with a sensitized gelatin pigment paper resist (aka carbon tissue) using a continuous tone positive and aquatint screen or dustgrain aquatint. Photogravure (see photogravure plates in the photo below)

Correct terms with alternates are in bold for each category. These simple terms serve to quickly and efficiently describe exactly how a photo intaglio plate and print was made. The public already knows too little about these processes so it is important that they are not further confused or misled when looking at prints or learning a process. It is my hope that people will use the appropriate term when describing the processes or medium of these prints. The goal of this page is to educate people (including artists, teachers, students, curators, collectors and dealers) to the main differences in the various types of photo intaglio printing processes.