An etching
is a print taken from a sheet of metal, usually copper or zinc,
into which the image has been bitten with acid. In a line etching
the metal plate is first covered with an acid-resistant "ground".
The artist draws the image through this ground, exposing the metal
surface, and then immerses the plate in an acid bath. The acid etches
away the unprotected metal, creating lines which hold ink. The artist
may use more complicated methods to create different effects, but
always relies on the acid to etch the plate. Some of the images
on this site have been made using safe etching techniques
developed at the Edinburgh
Printworkers Workshop.
Once the image has been etched into the metal plate the artist-printmaker
is ready to produce an image on paper from the plate. Firstly the
plate is "inked up". In the case of coloured etchings
there area number of techniques used depending on the desired outcome.
Most of the work here is created by mixing and applying the ink
locally to the plate. With one colour this is a relatively straightforward
process and in the past the printer would faithfully reproduce the
artist's image. When more colours are involved, applying the
ink is a creative process and integral to the outcome. It is more
demanding and time consuming (and therefore more expensive) and
hopefully more rewarding. Once the artist is satisfied with it,
the plate is ready to be put through the press.
The paper is
specially made for printmaking and it too is carefully prepared.
It is "damped" by soaking in water then placed between
sheets of blotting paper to remove the excess. This softens the
paper so that when it is placed over the plate and put through the
press, the pressure forces the paper into the grooves created by
the etching process so that it can pick up the ink the artist
has applied. Thus when the paper is pulled back from the plate after
it has been through the press, it has the image as the artist intended,
miraculously and permanently created and recreated.
