Making Photogravures With Polymer Plates: A modern technique of historical photo-mechanical printing using steel-backed polymer plates, etched with ... by hand with traditional intaglio processes

Learn photogravure with this step-by-step instruction book. It has over 250 images and 140 pages of explanations that reveal what is needed to use steel reinforced, photo sensitive polymer, to create stunning intaglio plates. Applicable for experts and beginners alike, individuals with small home-made darkrooms or large universities, the methods shown will open the possibilities of intaglio image making without the need for acids, high v.o.c. solvents, fine rosin dust, or petrochemical asphaltum. The aquatint and image are made with film positives and UV light. The plates are etched with water. Both traditional oil based inks and modern "safe" etching inks can be used to make the final print. Photogravure is a photo-mechanical process in which etching ink is pushed into the recesses of a fine matrix ("aquatint") of a printing plate. Excess ink is wiped from the surface by hand. Damp cotton paper is run through an etching press with the inked plate, where it picks up the image. The resulting print is one of the most archivally stable ways of photographic reproduction known. Included inside the book is a unique method for visually creating adjusted digital transparencies. The technique can easily be adopted for the creation of digital negatives for any of the "alternative" photographic processes that are seeing a resurgence in recent years. Practitioners of polymer photogravure are not limited to just photographs. The same plates make beautiful etchings and reproductions of hand drawn images. Many artists use hybrid drawing and photographic methods to create intricate and beautiful work with the polymer plates. The author encourages feedback about the book, and wants you to share your experience with the process.