Judging the Authenticity of Prints by The Masters:
by David Rudd Cycleback

Chapter 10 : Handmade Intaglio Prints

(c) cycleback 2003, 2005 all rights reserved

As a general category, intaglio prints are identified by several qualities caused by the unique way they are printed. These qualities include the following: Plate mark: Many intaglio prints have a plate mark a distance away from the printed image. These appear as an indentation around the printed image the shape of the printing plate. Many times the printed image is pressed deep into the paper. The plate mark is caused by the great pressure required to get the ink from the recesses and onto the paper. Sometimes the plate mark edges are trimmed from the print. On some occasions, plate marks may appear naturally on other types of printing or are faked. The pressed in 'plate mark' on a dry point Raised ink levels. Unlike relief and lithography, the ink on an intaglio print can be physically raised from the paper. This is because the ink comes from inside the recesses of the printing plate. To make dark areas of a print, the printing plate is cut deeper to allow thicker ink. In the lighter areas of a print, the cut in the printing plate is shallow. This means that the physical height of the ink in an intaglio is most easily detected in the areas of dark ink. Sometimes the ink can be felt by softly rubbing a finger across the printing or by looking very closely with the naked eye. In other cases, a microscope is needed. If the paper surface is rough, it may be difficult to identify. Varying tone within a line: Within a single line or mark, planography and relief can only create one tone of ink. Due to the varying levels of ink applied, the tone along an intaglio line can vary, meaning it can become darker or lighter. Intaglio plates tend to wear with printing, resulting in prints in different states (see Chapter: States). This places a limit on the number of prints that can be made from the plate. The following are different common types of intaglio: ENGRAVING Engraving was the first form of intaglio printing, invented in the early 1400s. In engraving, the engraver carves a design into a steel or copper plate. The carving tool is called a burin and has a sharp V-shaped section. The engraver holds the burin almost parallel with the plate, pressing the point into the surface and scooping out a sliver of metal. This is difficult work and the result is a conservative, steady line with crisp edges. The line also tends to be pointed at each end where the burin is first dipped into the copper the lifted out at the other end. If the engraver goes back over the line, the 'v' ending can be blunted, but usually at least one edge has a pointed, v shape. Engraving is usually made up of many parallel lines and curves. There are different ways to give an appearance of tone. One way is to lessen or increase the pressure of the burin when carving the line. This makes the line thinner in some areas and wider in others. Engraving can also have cross-hatched lines, sometimes with dots or flicked spots added to the middles of the resulting diamonds. This is called the dot and lozenge technique. There is also stipple engraving which is discussed later. Identification. Along with the general intaglio traits (physically raised ink, plate mark. etc), engraving has a formal look created by the stoic and controlled lines. Etching is more spontaneous, like a sketch. ETCHING Etching is a form of intaglio printing that first appeared in the early 1500s. Etching was easier than engraving for the artist. With engraving, the artist has to perform the difficult task of cutting the grooves into the steel plate. With etching, the artist draws the art onto the plate, then acid creates the grooves in the plate. Not only does this make it easier on the artist, but the final print has a different, freer look than engraving. The etching process is as follows. The metal printing plate is heated and wax is rubbed over the surface to create a thin and even coating. This coating is known as the ground. After it is cooled and hardened, the ground is impervious to acid. If acid was poured on the ground, the plate would be unmarked. The etcher creates lines or other marks through the ground, exposing the plate in that spot. When the plate is submerged in acid, the acid will eat away those exposed areas. The longer the plate is submerged, the deeper and broader a line will become, and the darker the printed line. By varying the length of exposure of one area over another, the etcher can change the comparative darkness. Commonly, the etcher will place varnish on areas that are dark enough, preventing any more acid exposure. This is called stopping out. After stopping out, the unvarnished areas are exposed more, making them darker. This stopping out can be done numerous times, allowing for subtle lines. Another way to create different types of lines is to add lines in the ground after the others have already been made. The later lines will be lighter, while the earlier ones will be darker. Retrousage was a method of creating tone on the final print by not wiping away all the ink from the upper surface of the plate. Often a feather was used to tease some of the ink from the recesses lines onto the plate surface. This often appears on the final print as shading. Etching was commonly used with other processes, including engraving and dry point. Identification. Along with the general intaglio traits (physically raised ink, plate mark, etc), etching has the following specific traits. While engraving is known for its stoic careful lines, etching has much more freely drawn lines. Etchings often resemble ink sketches. Etching uses a rounded needle to make the line, and the end should be more blunt than the sharp end of an engraving. The edges of the line should be less clean than that of an engraving. The combination of the crumbling wax and acid can create uneven edges.     STIPPLE ENGRAVING, CRAYON ENGRAVING, CHALK ENGRAVING These techniques are commonly used with engraving and etching. Similar appearing techniques were used in other process, most notably lithography. These are centuries old techniques that are still used today by artists. Stipple. The stipple technique was first used in engraving in the 1500s, and was later used in other types of printing including etching. Stipple engravings were especially popular around the turn of the 19th century. Stipple involves using many dots or small marks of varying size and shape to create tonal areas not possible with lines alone. Various tools could be used to make the marks in the plate. Often times both engraving and etching were used together. For example, the general design could be made with etching, then the stipple mark could be engraved. In general, the engraved stipple dot will look more like a flick, or short line, while the etched stipple mark will be more like a dot. Crayon or chalk manner engravings. Though called engraving, this is more often used in etching. This technique gives the appearance of a crayon or chalk drawing. A tool called a roulette is used. The roulette is a metal wheel with sharp points that created a seemingly random series of dots along a line, which appeared much like a chalk line. Different sized roulettes produced effects. MEZZOTINT Also known as black manner, mezzotint is a form of intaglio printing that produces subtle gradations in tone not possible with most other forms of manual intaglio. It was invented in the 1600s. While engraving and etching can create only light or dark at a specific point, Mezzotint can create black, white and any shade in between. Mezzotints often have a rich, velvety look. It was used alone or with other intaglio prints. For example, etching may be used to create the basic outline, while mezzotint is used to create the shading. The printing plate is created by pricking the surface with many, many tiny holes that hold ink, and make large areas of dark tone during printing. Different tools can be used to prick the plate. A roulette is a small wheel with sharp points. A rocker is a tool with a toothed edge that, when cutting the plate, creates rough edges. These edges are called burs. The burs are scraped away in places intended to be white in the finished print. The mezzotint is identified by the thin and often cross-hatching lines in the grey tones. These are made from the scraping of the toothed edge tool. These lines also appear at the edges of the print. The mezzotint will typically have plate marks and raised ink levels typical to intaglio prints. Early mezzotint plates were prone to heavy wear. This means that later prints can be substantially lighter than earlier ones. In the twentieth century new methods have been used. Many of these look like old mezzotints, but lack the richness and do not have the just described lines in the grays.   DRYPOINT Dry point is an engraving method. A pointy tool scratches the design into the metal printing plate. This scratching often throws up a ridge of metal on the edges of the scratched line. This ridge is called a burr. When ink is added to the plate, the burr will hold ink, often giving the printed line a distinct fuzziness. This fuzziness can disappear over several printings. Due to the violent nature of the scratching into metal, the dry point line is often violent and angular. Dry point is most often used with other printmaking techniques. Dry point was first popularized in the late 15th century and is used by modern artists. As with other intaglio prints, it will usually have a plate mark surrounding the image.   AQUATINT Aquatint is a variety of etching techniques used by printmakers to make a wide range of tonal effects. The prints often resemble wash sketches. The technique consists of exposing the metal printing plate to acid through a layer of granulated resin or sugar. The acid bites away the metal only in the spaces between the resin or sugar grains, leaving an evenly pitted surface that creates broad areas of tone when the plate is printed. An infinite number of tones can be achieved by exposing various parts of the plate to acid baths of different strengths for different periods of time. Etched or engraved lines are often used with aquatint. As with all intaglio prints, an aquatint will ordinarily have plate mark surrounding the image. close up of a Goya aquatint MAKING YOUR OWN INTAGLIO PRINTS Due to special printing requirements, making intaglio prints is more difficult to do at home. In particular, a high amount of pressure is needed during printing which necessitates a printing press for consistent results. However, the reader who wants to experiment is welcome to try, and may end up make nice prints. For a printing plate you can use linoleum. You might wish to start with one you already designed to make a linocut. Or you can start with a new one. When you ink up the printing plate, realize that the ink goes into the cut areas and not on the top surface like with a relief print. For printing, you need especially soft, absorbent paper. This is so the paper can go into the recesses of the printing plate without tearing. The paper should also be damp. Good paper is available at many art stores, but you can practice with a piece of soft paper towel. During printing, there are two requirements. First, great pressure is needed. Second a soft cushion is needed in between this pressure and the paper. The printing presses that artists use have soft blankets as the cushion. The blankets press the paper into the recesses in inked areas, make sure the printing pressure is applied smoothly and evenly, and helps prevent the paper from tearing. When more pressure is used, more blankets are often used. At home you can use a variety of materials as the cushion, including a soft bath towel or other cloth or a roll of paper towel. As these materials may get inky, make sure to used old material you don't mind having to throw away.   cycleback.com................prints main (c) david rudd cycleback, cyclback.com all rights reserved

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