Different engraving and printing techniques

The engraving and printing techniques

Engraving and printing techniques are art methods that allow an image to be to reproduce an image on different media. Engraving consists in incising a surface to create an image in relief or relief. or intaglio image, while printing uses inks to transfer a previously transfer an engraved image onto a flat surface. Before discussing engraving techniques, it's important to note that there are two inseparable terms: etching and engraving.

The term "estampe", from the Italian "stampa" (press), refers to any printing any print made with ink on a flexible support from a matrix matrix that is engraved or drawn on. There are three processes: relief, intaglio or flat.

Wood engraving :

The wood engraving was known in Asia 2000 BC, but only appeared in Europe only in the XV ^th century. This technique, known as "high relief (works like a stamp), is executed with a burin or drypoint on a wooden wooden board. The engraver then inks this plate, and presses it against a sheet of paper. against a sheet of paper. Also known as "xylogravure", this technique is very difficult to master because it's very tedious; the preparation of the ink is very time-consuming, and inking is only good for a single print. This is why why it's still much admired and more expensive.

The copper engraving :

Copperplate engraving first appeared in Europe around 1430. It consists of engraving an image on a copper plate using a burin, a hardened steel tool with a wooden handle. The engraved parts retain the ink, which is then transferred to the paper during printing. Here, we actually "engrave" into the copper unlike wood engraving, where the drawing appears in high relief. The tip of the burin is diamond-shaped and incises the surface of the copper surface of the copper plate, resulting in a very fine rendering. Copper engraving will be highly appreciated by artists wishing to work in rich detail. details.

Etching:

The technique of etching appeared appeared in Europe around 1510, but had already existed in the Middle Ages in the East and in Spain. This technique involves printing an image from a metal plate from a metal plate (iron, copper, zinc or steel) on which the motif is engraved with a mordant (then nitric acid, now iron perchloride). iron perchloride). The plate (matrix) is covered with a thin layer of wax or varnish. The artist draws into lines where the acid will penetrate. After after protecting the back of the matrix, the latter is dipped in the acid bath which bites into the drawn areas. The duration of the bite varies according to desired effects. Free of its protective varnish, the plate is ready for inking inking and printing. 

Hommage à Rodin" etching depicting the symbolic 21st arrondissement of Paris, etched and aquatinted in full color, enhanced by hand, available in our online catalog.

Etching is an indirect (by etching the metal with an acid) as opposed to direct etching (using (using tools such as the burin or drypoint). The artist using etching is called an "aquafortist".

Mezzo-tinto (black manner):

This technique, invented in Germany but developed in Holland, appeared in the XVI ^th century. It is an intaglio engraving process, carried out by scratching a black grained plate to obtain gray values or levels, without the need for hatching or dotting. hatching or stippling for the first time in the history of engraving. of engraving.

Lithography:

Lithography is a printing printing technique that enables the creation of multiple copies from a design traced on a stone. It involves drawing on a limestone surface with a pencil with a pencil or greasy material, then applying ink to the surface. The image is then transferred onto paper or another printing surface using a press. This technique is not to be confused with lithography, in which the motif is carved directly into the stone.

Chromolithography:

Introduced to France in the mid century in France, this is the process of printing prints or illustrations in color. illustrations. The outlines of the motif are transferred onto as many lithographic as many lithographic stones as there are colors to be printed. the chromist applies, with pencil or lithographic ink, solids or solids or or to obtain the desired effect, when the prints are superimposed.

Two chromolithographs "Grand foyer de l'Opéra de Paris", in "Le nouvel Opera de Paris" 19th century

Screen printing :

This may seem surprising, but screen printing is the oldest printing process printing process in existence. In fact, it first appeared in China China between the X ^th and ^thirteenth centuries. The very first silk-screen prints were made on wood "prints". on wood. A little later, in the XV ^th century, that we find artists in Japan using this technique to transfer works and transfer works and drawings onto silk. This direct printing process works thanks to the stencil"technique: the ink passes passes through the mesh of a fabric screen, using a squeegee. It through only the bare parts of the fabric, thus printing a predefined predefined image. Originally, the screen was made of silk fabric and the frame of wood. In modern printing, these were replaced by polyester (or polyamide) and polyester (or polyamide) and aluminum.