Plate Handling
Whether you process them yourself or go thru a custom service provider, like Intaglio Editions, the edges of steel-backed polymer plates are dangerous! For best safety, please remember to sand the back and edges of new plates before use.
To avoid damaging the plate, we recommend applying ink using a brayer and getting it into the plate with a gentle but consistent twising motion using three stages of cheesecloth (not tarlatan) formed into even pads. Start with the dirtiest cheesecloth to force the ink deep into the delicate matrix of the plate. Continue to wipe with a less inky cheesecloth pad and perform the final pass with the most clean. Be increasingly delicate with each pass of wiping and do not over-wipe. Palm wiping and/or retroussage as a final pass are also suggested.
Printing Materials Suggestions
Due to the extremely fine aquatint employed, our plates require a professional intaglio press (10" top drum or greater in diameter is advised) and pressure that's quite significantly higher than ordinary to gain the full richness and continuous tones they are most capable of expressing. Prints from these plates should look like photographs when made using good printmaking practices and ideal pressure. They are usable for a few dozen prints or even more before subtleties begin to fall off in the highlights. For the most accurate results when proofing, Intaglio Editions recommends using Charbonnel Carbon Black ink and Hahnemhle Copperplate or Magnani Revere Silk paper. We've tested dozens of combos, and these materials work the best for getting the full tonality and smoothness from your Intaglio Editions plate.
Please remember that polymer plates are water-soluble. The light layer of oil-based ink you use to wipe the plate is usually enough to protect it, however do use prudence. Never spray water directly on the plate. The printmaking paper should be damp, although not glistening wet. Although a few people claim to have used water based inks with polymer successfully, we do not suggest it with polymer photogravure printing plates.
Plate Cleanup
The suggested cleanup technique for these plates is to put it on clean newsprint and spray it with SOYsolv II (available from Daniel Smith and other fine art printmaking supply vendors). This soy-based solvent is extremely gentle on the plate's plastic substrate and finer matrix. Rub it carefully into the plate with gloved hands, and then sop it up with clean newsprint. Repeat until almost all of the ink has been removed from the plate. Run it through the press onto 4 layers of clean newsprint. Now do a final, light drizzle with clean mineral spirits, rub it into the plate with a clean, gloved hand, blot with clean newsprint, and run it thru press onto 4 layers of clean newsprint again. Wrap the plate in clean newsprint, seal it in plastic, and store it horizontally in a cool dry place.
Using these tips, your photopolymer gravure plates will last for several dozen impressions or better.
Whether you process them yourself or go thru a custom service provider, like Intaglio Editions, the edges of steel-backed polymer plates are dangerous! For best safety, please remember to sand the back and edges of new plates before use.
To avoid damaging the plate, we recommend applying ink using a brayer and getting it into the plate with a gentle but consistent twising motion using three stages of cheesecloth (not tarlatan) formed into even pads. Start with the dirtiest cheesecloth to force the ink deep into the delicate matrix of the plate. Continue to wipe with a less inky cheesecloth pad and perform the final pass with the most clean. Be increasingly delicate with each pass of wiping and do not over-wipe. Palm wiping and/or retroussage as a final pass are also suggested.
Printing Materials Suggestions
Due to the extremely fine aquatint employed, our plates require a professional intaglio press (10" top drum or greater in diameter is advised) and pressure that's quite significantly higher than ordinary to gain the full richness and continuous tones they are most capable of expressing. Prints from these plates should look like photographs when made using good printmaking practices and ideal pressure. They are usable for a few dozen prints or even more before subtleties begin to fall off in the highlights. For the most accurate results when proofing, Intaglio Editions recommends using Charbonnel Carbon Black ink and Hahnemhle Copperplate or Magnani Revere Silk paper. We've tested dozens of combos, and these materials work the best for getting the full tonality and smoothness from your Intaglio Editions plate.
Please remember that polymer plates are water-soluble. The light layer of oil-based ink you use to wipe the plate is usually enough to protect it, however do use prudence. Never spray water directly on the plate. The printmaking paper should be damp, although not glistening wet. Although a few people claim to have used water based inks with polymer successfully, we do not suggest it with polymer photogravure printing plates.
Plate Cleanup
The suggested cleanup technique for these plates is to put it on clean newsprint and spray it with SOYsolv II (available from Daniel Smith and other fine art printmaking supply vendors). This soy-based solvent is extremely gentle on the plate's plastic substrate and finer matrix. Rub it carefully into the plate with gloved hands, and then sop it up with clean newsprint. Repeat until almost all of the ink has been removed from the plate. Run it through the press onto 4 layers of clean newsprint. Now do a final, light drizzle with clean mineral spirits, rub it into the plate with a clean, gloved hand, blot with clean newsprint, and run it thru press onto 4 layers of clean newsprint again. Wrap the plate in clean newsprint, seal it in plastic, and store it horizontally in a cool dry place.
Using these tips, your photopolymer gravure plates will last for several dozen impressions or better.
About the Author:
Jon Lybrook is owner and lead print technician at Intaglio Editions in Boulder, Colorado. Intaglio Editions provides fine art intaglio plate and printmaking services to artists, photographers and printmakers.
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