Intaglio is a printmaking process where a matrix or plate is created by incising or engraving an image into a material. This means that the image sits below the surface of the plate, so that ink is held within the etched lines and pulled out onto the paper using pressure from a rolling bed press.
Intalgio techniques include etching, engraving, dry-point, aquatint, and mezzotint.
Etching requires lines and marks to be drawn onto a metal sheet, or plate, that has been covered by a water resistant coating. These marks are applied with scribes and other tools to reveal the metal. Acid is used to corrode the metal where the marks have been made, to create grooves in the surface of the plate.
Ink is applied to the etched plate and wiped from the surface, with the ink remaining in the groves and texture of the plate. Using a roller press, the ink is transferred to paper under immense pressure.
This method of image making allows for original handmade artworks to be produced repeatedly, and are usually capped at a small, limited edition.
Dry-point and engraving are methods by which marks are physically scratched into a sheet of metal or plastic using a scribe or other sharp object.
This plate is inked in the same fashion as an etching and transferred to paper through a press.
Depending on the material, the image may not last as long as an etching, and there is less room for fine accurate detail.
Aquatint is a process through which tone is created on the surface of the plate.
Powdered rosin is melted onto the surface of the metal to create a textured layer which can hold ink. The rosin forms microscopic bubbles so that ink can be held within the grooves between the raised bubbles.
Tone is created by dipping or biting the plate in acid, in a similar way to etched lines - the longer the aquatint is biten in the acid, the darker the tone is; or the more ink is held within the plate.
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