Printing Processes

Relief Process

      With this method of printing, you can transfer images or print by hand.  You use a special block that you carve your design into in order to transfer ink onto your paper.  Instead of using a wooden block to carve out your design, you can also use a linoleum block.  The idea of having certain parts of the portrait fading into black or fading into white is to give it depth.

1) Carve your design into either wood or linoleum.

2) Cover your material in ink.

3) Use a baren to flatten the paper and transfer the ink.

Intaglio Process

      One of the ways of going about this process is dry point.  Dry point involves scratching your design into metal or some other material.  When ink is transferred, those scratches make a fuzzy line. You can also use different tools to make more diverse textures.  Etching is a very similar technique with just a bit more preparation in the beginning.  The main difference is that you cover the metal plate with a black ground and scratch that away to reveal the metal beneath.  

1) Wipe plate with ink, making sure it gets into all of the grooves created in the metal.

2) Clean up any ink on the edges of the plate.

3) Dampen a sheet of paper and lay it on the metal.

4) Put the design through the press.

Lithography Process

     This method involves taking a lithographic stone and drawing on it with a greasy material.  Then you use chemicals to cover areas water will be and remove acid on the stone, and use powders to get the etch further into the stone.  

1) Draw on the lithographic stone with some sort of greasy drawing utensil.

2) Pour talc and rosin on the stone.

3) Apply gum arabic, acidified gum arabic, and fresh gum arabic, then buff it in.

4) Apply lithotine and asphaltum. 

5) Go over the stone with a wet and dry towel, sponge the stone, then ink it.

6) Send it through the press 4-6 times.

      I think I'm most interested in trying the relief process, because Lithography sounds very easy to mess up, and with Intaglio, I'm afraid that if I were to scratch my design into wood or metal, it would make a noise similar to nail on a chalk board.  I think these processes have influenced designers because they can use these processes to incorporate negative space.