by Andro Cecovini
Etcher
How to prepare an etching
First of all the etching is carried out on a metal plate which, as we have already seen, can be of copper, zinc or steel and this is the matrix. The small plate is then covered in ink and polished by hand. This technique alone explains why Etching has never been developed industrially.The cleaning makes sure that the ink on the plate remains in the areas bitten into by the acid alone. The next stage is printing which is carried out by placing the paper on the plate through a roller type printing press.
Star press for printing etchings and some of the tools required for the etching processThe strong pressure, over one thousand Kg., of the press permits progressive entry into the etched lines on the plate and therefore a print of the drawing on the paper. This is where the tradition of numbering artistic prints comes from. Each print is an original work. There is in fact always a slight difference between one print and another, as they are inked up individually and signed by the artist.
See also:An artist who works in the midst of the Tuscan countryside e
FAN-Florence ART News
by
Silvia Messeri & Sandro Pintus
