WEEK 10 _ Intaglio: Inking and Printing

Today I demonstrated the intaglio inking and printing process. This post serves as a reminder of the steps as outlined in the handout provided in class. There is also a video of my class demo at the end.

NOTE: You may not print your drypoint plate until you have showed me your plate and gone over the process with me. This is especially true for those that missed class today.

DRYPOINT _ Printing Process

 

A.) The Press

Printing Drypoint plates requires a different setup for the etching presses that includes additional blankets and higher pressure settings. Here’s a diagram of how the press will be set up for printing intaglio: 

Starting Pressure settings for the plastic drypoint plates =    Betty _ 18   / Boop _ D-0

 

B. Printing Preparation (do all of this before getting any ink out!): 

·       Tear your printing paper to size (minimum 8 x 10”)

·       Gather inking materials like newsprint, matboard inking cards, rags, etc. at the inking table

·       Press Setup = Confirm press pressure. Arrange blankets in correct order and even on the press bed. Make sure there is a clean protective cover sheet of newsprint between the blankets and the registration sheet. 

·       Confirm that the Registration Sheet is on the press and that it’s clean.

 

C. Soak your printing paper

Your paper will need to soak in clean water for a period of time (usually not less than 15 minutes, though this may vary by paper type) in order to loosen the fibers and make it pliable enough to be compressed into the plate during printing. It’s wise to get your paper into the soaking trays before getting into any of the other steps so that when your plate is inked and ready your paper will be too.

Note: In PENCIL, lightly initial your printing paper on the back to identify which sheets belong to you since we’ll be sharing tray space. This also lets you know what side is the front when printing.

 

D. Inking your Plate (Note that the ink for this process is not the same as the ink used for relief!)

E. Printing

·       Lay your inked plate upright on the registration sheet in the inner rectangle.

 

CLEAN HANDS ONLY FROM HERE ONWARDS!

·       Remove your gloves and retrieve a piece of printing paper. Hold it over the soaking tray until most of the excess water has drained off. (Slow individual drips)

·       Place your paper between two sheets of blotter paper and blot off remaining excess water. The paper needs to be damp and soft to print, not wet. If you see shiny spots on the surface blot a little more.

·       Place your dampened paper on to the plate using the registration sheet as a guide. 

·       Carefully lower the newsprint and blankets over the plate and gently smooth them out. 

·       Roll everything through the press at an even speed.

 

F. Print Drying/Flattening

·       While printing you may place prints on drying rack BUT before they dry completely it’s good to stack them with sheets of newsprint in between them and a little weight on top so that they dry flat. (in your cubby)

 

G. Wrapping up* 

·       Relieve the Pressure on the press and move blankets to lower shelf.

* NEVER leave the blankets under pressure! This will create a permanent impression in the felt and ruin them. 

Video DEMO: