Solar Plate Etching Technique

Etching using solar plates is a technique which emerged from the early days of photographic engraving.

Solar plate etching technique.

Solarplate is a light sensitized steel backed polymer material used by artists as an alternative to hazardous printing techniques. Solarplate is a prepared light sensitive polymer surface on a steel backing for artists to produce fine prints. A brief history of photographic etching and its terminology. Etching a method of making prints from a metal plate usually copper into which the design has been incised by acid.

Overlay it on a solarplate and expose the film and plate together in the sun. An eco friendly alternative to traditional etching traditional etching is a printmaking process that dates back 500 years. The plate is then inked wiped and printed on a traditional etching press giving. A light sensitive metal plate is etched through the action of ultraviolet light enabling a wide range of tones to be bitten into the plate.

There currently is a discussion how to improve safe handling and protective measures for artists using solar plate type plates. Gently scrub the entire image with a soft solarplate brush for. Paper types tools and materials in intaglio printing. Never use the double exposure technique for relief plates.

Step three rinse plate in water. In modern manufacturing other chemicals may be used on other types of material. Cool water is used instead of acid. Light through specially prepared digital imagery and developed in water.

Solarplate process etching using dan weldon s method. Always test before using large plates. The copperplate is first coated with an acid resistant substance called the etching ground through which the design is drawn with a sharp tool. You can create a piece of artwork on a transparent film.

This technique is another version of photographic etching in which a prepared solar plate is exposed to u v. Unfortunately it is not a very environmentally friendly technique as it involves sheets of metal usually made of copper or zinc and acid used to etch the print onto the metal. The ground is usually a compound. Printmaking with solarplate is a simple approach and safer alternative to traditional etching and relief printing.

Wash out etching the washout process is a substitution for the etch process in traditional intaglio. Dan explains how it works. He was the inventor of this printmaking technique.