Etching

In our seminars we also looked at printing, specifically at etching. We used an intaglio/dry point technique and then printed using printing inks and put them through a roller press. To do this you had to take a piece of perspex and a sharp object such as the end of a nail and scratch you design onto the perspex. You have to also remember that your design will be the opposite to how you are drawing it when you print so you have to take care with lettering that you etch it on the wrong way round onto your perspex to have it print the right way round.

This photo show the perspex and scratching tool.

After you have etched the design you want you the apply a small blob of printing ink onto your printing plate (the perspex). To make this easier we used a toothbrush to spread the ink evenly and get it into the scratches you made on the perspex.

You then remove the excess ink from your plate using newspaper and cloth, this should mean you can see the lines you have etched in the colour of your printing ink (blue for me).

Use a piece of damp paper to print on and put your plate etched side down on your paper then roll it through a printing press like below.

You should end up with clean plate marks and clear prints like mine shown below.