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The Process For Creating Aquatint Etchings PREPARING THE PLATE Aquatint etching is a technique that produces a full tonal range and rich texture in etchings. To create an aquatint, rosin dust is dropped onto a copper plate and then the rosin is melted onto the plate. This produces a matrix of small acid resistant dots across the surface of the plate.
The plate goes into the rosin box after the the crank has been turned to raise the rosin dust.The plate is heated on the hot plate to melt the rosin. A loupe is used to observe the progress of the melting. DRAWING THE IMAGE The rosined plate is ready to have an image drawn onto it. To draw an image onto the plate an acid resistant stop-out material called asphaltum is painted onto the plate. The first paint-out is usually done before the first etch. This first paint-out will protect the copper from being etched at all, so these areas will hold no ink when being printed and will show as white. The plate is etched by placing it in a tray of acid. After the first etch another paint-out is done. This paint-out will protect the areas of the plate with the first etch, which will print as a light tone. Then a second etch is done, producing a slightly darker tone, which will be painted over with the next paint-out. Progressively the plate is painted and etched, usually about 8 times, to produce a gradual tonal range from white to black. MULTIPLE PLATE PRINTS For multiple color prints a separate plate must be drawn for each color used. I do color separations in my head to determine how much of each color to use in each area of the print. The two to four colors are blended in the printing to create all the desired colors on the finished print. The corresponding areas of each of the plates must be drawn so that they will "register", that is, match up when they are printed. After the first plate is drawn, a technically involved image-transfer method is employed to leave a "ghost" of the first plate on subsequent plates to be etched. This ghost image is used as a guide to help the artist draw the subsequent plates in register with the first plate. PRINTING THE PLATES 
After the plates are etched they are ready to be printed. Etchings are printed intaglio, that is, with the ink in the etched areas rather than on the surface. 100% cotton rag paper is soaked in water overnight before printing . This is necessary because the paper must be soft enough to be pushed into the etched areas that are holding the ink. The inks are mixed on a glass slab. Colors are blended as needed, and oil is added to get the ink to the desired printing consistency. Ink is spread over the entire plate and then starched cheese cloth is used to wipe much of the ink from the surface of the plate. The final wiping is done with a bare hand. This removes almost all of the ink from the smooth surface of the plate, leaving ink in the etched areas only. For multiple plate prints all of the plates are inked and wiped before the print is pulled. The inked plate is put onto the press bed, the damp paper is placed over the plate, and finally the felt press blankets are placed on top. The plate is hand cranked under the massive steel roller of the press, and the blankets are lifted. For a one plate print, the finished print is pulled off of the plate, and the plate is taken back to the inking area to be re-inked and printed again. For a multiple plate print, the first plate is removed and the next plate is put in exactly same spot and run back through the press. This is repeated until all of the plates have been run through the press. |
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Photos by Susan Sanford © 2000