Earlier this week I spent two days at The Institute, learning a lot about printmaking.
The print studio is in a spacious new building right next to East Finchley tube station -
The metal plate used for printing is coated in a light-sensitive polymer. You have the image on a transparency - either by drawing, printing, or photocopying; you expose the plate to UV light, and then wash off the chemicals in a tray of water, agitating it for a minute or so. Then the plate has to cure for a day before you print with it.
My experimental transparency was made with a sponge dabbing masking fluid onto acetate; a skeleton leaf was added. You can see the detail of the veins on the leaf - but I should have been more careful with my own marks!
Inking the plate is a science and an art -
My larger plates were this tracing of a tube map - which somehow went wrong on one side (too much washing perhaps) - this kind of accident is a chance for experimentation, of course -
As well as intaglio printing, these plates can be used for relief printing - the ink is about to be spread out by a roller -
The first of the relief prints. French chalk was dusted over the plate before inking so the blue of the lines wouldn't print -
The intaglio print of the other plate, which is a photocopy of some of the
TravelWriting in the
Sketchbook Project book -
and the relief print: badly inked, and not consistently cleaned -- in other words, an experiment -
My output for the two days -
with a closeup of the best print, which gives me various ideas - and shows many ways that it could be improved, starting with having the two images the same size -
It's been really instructive. I'm thinking of stitching into one or two of the damaged relief prints.
The print studio is in a spacious new building right next to East Finchley tube station -
The metal plate used for printing is coated in a light-sensitive polymer. You have the image on a transparency - either by drawing, printing, or photocopying; you expose the plate to UV light, and then wash off the chemicals in a tray of water, agitating it for a minute or so. Then the plate has to cure for a day before you print with it.
My experimental transparency was made with a sponge dabbing masking fluid onto acetate; a skeleton leaf was added. You can see the detail of the veins on the leaf - but I should have been more careful with my own marks!
Inking the plate is a science and an art -
My larger plates were this tracing of a tube map - which somehow went wrong on one side (too much washing perhaps) - this kind of accident is a chance for experimentation, of course -
As well as intaglio printing, these plates can be used for relief printing - the ink is about to be spread out by a roller -
The first of the relief prints. French chalk was dusted over the plate before inking so the blue of the lines wouldn't print -
The intaglio print of the other plate, which is a photocopy of some of the TravelWriting in the Sketchbook Project book -
and the relief print: badly inked, and not consistently cleaned -- in other words, an experiment -
My output for the two days -
with a closeup of the best print, which gives me various ideas - and shows many ways that it could be improved, starting with having the two images the same size -
It's been really instructive. I'm thinking of stitching into one or two of the damaged relief prints.
Margaret, is this method similar/the same as the EZ screen printing method where you coat the silk screen wth a gel, expose to light and then wash away what you don't want?
ReplyDeleteI love the last photo of the two images blurring together - so meant for each other!
Hilary
Hi Margaret... I work with solarplates also in my printmaking. You mentioned having to let the plate cure for a day before printing with it but I've found drying the plate with a hairdryer (on high) for about 15 minutes also cures it.
ReplyDeleteMargaret I follow but rarely comment but have to say I find your blog very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI have never had the opportunity to print 'ptoperly' but find it all interesting.