Printmaking: Inking and wiping Intaglio plates
An intaglio plate is usually made of wood for collagraph printing or metal for engraving, etching, drypoint and mezzoting.
Most printmaking workshops or printmaking suppliers will have a range of steel and copper plates available for sale,
while wood plates/boards for collagraph printing can be bought from DIY shops and building material suppliers.
See also:
Etching Plates
Collagraph
Printmaking Ink is also available from art and printmaking suppliers,
with many of them now offering a non-toxic water based option as an alternative to the traditional oil based inks.
Preparation:
The plate needs to be completely washed and cleaned before you start inking up.
All ground and varnish must be removed with a solvent.
If the edges has been damaged during the etching process they should be filed down to a 45 degree angle.
Mixing the ink:
Printmaking ink can be bought ready-made in tubes or jars or as powder pigments that can be mixed with copperplate oil.
Use a large paletteknife to mix the ink on a mixing slab or a piece of flat glass or perspex.
If you use powder pigments, the oil must be mixed into the pigment until the ink has a smooth consistency or a consistency which suits the printing plate.
An extender can be mixed with the ink for more transperancy.
Inking the plate:
The ink can be transferred to the plate using a dabber, a small piece of mounting board or a piece of scrim (wiping canvas).
(You can also use a plastic card that has been broken in half)
The ink should cover the whole plate and must be thick enough to push into any deep marks and textures.
Wiping the plate:
Use a large piece of scrim to wipe the surface of any excess ink.
Make sure you don't wipe so hard that you remove the ink from the lines or marks,
but keep moving with at a flat angle and wipe in circular or half-circular movements.
The surface will slowly be cleared and the ink remains only in the lines and marks of the plate.
When you have wiped off all the excess ink and you can see the image clearly, use tissue paper to lightly polish the surface.
The last part of the wiping is done by hand, using the palm dusted with a bit of chalk.
This is to polish the white areas and create highlights.
Before the plate can be printed, the edges of the metal plate must be cleaned to avoid any dirty marks on the finished print.
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