Before applying any ground or rosin to a plate, the surface needs to be thoroughly degreased to achieve an even and well-adhered application.

1. Dust the plate with calcium carbonate.

2. Activate the calcium carbonate with either:

• Vinegar, or;
• Dishwashing liquid (with a little bit of hot water)

3. Use a brush or rag to create a paste and work the mixture around the surface of the plate.

4. Rinse with warm water.

• If the plate has been well degreased, water will evenly sit over the surface of the plate. Any remnants of grease will reject the water.

5. Repeat until satisfied. Leave to dry on the drying rack. Try not to touch the surface of the plate with your fingers.

Soft ground is more tacky than hard ground. It is used to create texture.

Soft ground is applied to the plate following the same steps as above. Soft ground will behave slightly differently to hard ground due to its stickiness. It is also a different colour but requires the same density of application.

Texture is created by applying pressure to remove the ground to expose metal. This can be achieved by:

• Placing a piece of paper over the plate and drawing with a pencil.
• Placing fabric, paper or flat natural materials onto the plate and running through a press.
• Pressing or crushing other materials into the surface using a nipping press.

Prepare your plate for acid biting:

• Cover the back of the plate with adhesive contact or packing tape.
• Create a ‘handle’ using tape – tape to the back/underside of the plate, ensure its long enough to stick out above the surface of the acid bath.

Biting in acid:

1. Ensure you are wearing all the necessary PPE – refer to the Safety Hazard and Safe Operating Procedure posters or the Safe Work Procedure.
2. Gently lower the plate into the acid bath, ensuring the handle protrude from the bath. Don’t place your plate on top of anyone else’s.
3. After the desired etching time has passed, remove from the acid, allowing the excess to drip back into the bath.
4. Gently lower the plate into the water stop bath to stop the acid biting. Lightly spray the bath with water and agitate the plate in the bath to ensure all acid is washed away.
5. Leave the plate on the drying rack or pat with newspaper to dry.

Bite time is determined by the desired depth of line or tone. The longer the bite, the deeper and darker the line.

Guide:

• Regularly check the integrity of your acid resist, especially during long bite times, to make sure it isn’t breaking down.
• Long bite times can also result in ‘open biting’, meaning that the line becomes too wide to hold ink.

Additional acid resists can be applied to the plate to create different marks, textures and tones. Working white/light to dark, cover areas of the plate between biting times.

Some acid resists include:

• Uni-paint markers – available in different thicknesses.
• Crayons and oil-pastels – good for building texture.
• Lumocolor permanent pencil – good for building texture.
• Bitumen paint – toxic but good for larger areas and painterly marks. Can also be used to seal the back of the plate instead of contact.
• Heat press transfer – for digital images. Applied to a degreased plate before rosin.

The biting process for aquatint follows the same steps as for line. Ensure that the back of the plate is sealed, and all acid resists are dry before placing the plate in the acid bath.

Below is a step-by-step example of the biting process to produce five (5) different tones (white to dark):

1. Pre-warm the plate on a hotplate. This will make it easier to work the ink into the surface of the plate.

2. Select your colour, mix if needed.

• Always use a clean spatula to dispense ink from the tins. Do not cross-contaminate colours.
• If mixing a light or pastel colour, add the coloured ink to white so as not to waste ink.
• 1-2 drops of linseed oil can be added to loosen thick or sticky ink.

3. Use a piece of cut cardboard spread around and into the plate.

4. Buff down the plate with a piece of softened muslin. This will push the ink into the plate textures and remove any excess from polished areas.

5. Use phonebook paper to polish the surface of the plate. Keep the paper flat and use the butt of your hand. Try not to scrunch the paper.

6. Clean the edges and back of the plate, if needed/possible, with a rag.

It can help to work in pairs while printing, a ‘dirty hands’ person to ink and a ‘clean hands’ to handle the press blankets and paper.

1. Place the plate ink side up on the press bed, lined up with your registration sheet.
2. Remove your paper from the bath and blot with a towel. Paper should feel damp to touch, not dry or wet.
3. Place the paper over the plate.

• Holding one edge, line up the opposite edge of the paper with the corresponding guideline on the registration sheet. Anchor this edge in place with two fingers and gently lower the rest of the paper, ensuring it is still straight.

4. Press blankets, either:

• Leave flat over the press roller, or;
• Gently lay flat over the press bed.

5. Run the press through. Make sure the blankets stay flat and don’t crease or fold going through the press.

6. With clean hands, lift or throw back the press blankets.

7. Reveal the print and place on the drying racks. Remove the plate and wipe down the press bed.

8. Re-ink the plate and repeat for further prints.

1. Scrape back the excess ink and dispose.
2. Apply VCA or Vegetable Oil to the ink slab. Roll out with the roller to loosen the ink from the glass and roller.
3. Wipe away the VCA/ink with a reusable rag.
4. Use VCA and a reusable rag to clean your spatula.
5. Wipe down all your tools with a clean rag.
6. Spray the glass slab with glass cleaner to remove the VCA/Vegetable Oil residue.
7. Dispose of used rags as either reusable or dirty if no longer usable.
8. If needed, clean the bench with spray and wipe.

Use mineral turpentine to clean ink from the plate. Leaving ink to dry in the plate can degrade the plate, particularly aquatint.

Prints can be left on the drying rack to ‘cure’. Oil-based inks can take a few days to dry completely.

The racks will be cleared regularly. Check the drawers in the workshop for Unracked Prints, either the general drawer or your labelled class drawer.

The damp paper will warp as it dries. To flatten the prints again:

1. Re-wet the prints in a water bath. The ink is oil-based so won’t run in the water.

2. Blot with a towel so the paper is damp to touch (same as when printing).

3. Place the prints on grey boards, making sure that they are not stacked or overlapped. The grey boards can be stacked.

4. Place the boards either:

• Under heavy weight boards, or;
• In the large book press.

5. Leave the prints under weight for at least a week and regularly swap around the boards as they soak up the water from the prints.