Guide for Setting your Pressure for Intaglio, on your Etching Press
Guide for Setting your Pressure for Intaglio plates, on your Etching Press is simple once you know how.
During this guide blog, I will show you how to set the pressure on your press for all of the below plates.
- Any Intaglio or Relief plate under 3mm thick
- Etching Plates – Steel, Copper, Zinc and Aluminium – any metal that is thinner than 3mm thick and has been etched or insisted into
- Drypoint plates including plastic and metal
- Collagraphs – card cut out, plaster of Paris, collage
- Monoprint and Monotype
- Photoetchings – Dryfilm, Solar plate and photo emulsion
- Double Drop plates
- Viscosity plates
The list goes on and on – and for any plates between 3mm and 80mm thick we have superb registration systems for multi-plate and reduction printing as well. Tune in soon for that movie! It is in the making again – for older movies have a look at our tutorials pages. And for written details and pictures carry on below.
Turn your Tommy Bars Right to Tighten and Left to Loosen
Make sure your roller is in the middle of your bed and then turn your Tommy Bars Left to Loosen and Right to Tighten.
Turn all the way down with both hands hard until the pressure is all the way down.
Make sure you turn them at the same time and be tough with them – you won’t break the press! Our Gunning Etching Presses are built to be used. They are workhorses.
When the pressure is down all the way you know the pressure is even because you won’t be able to turn them any more – now come back on yourself half a turn and do a GHOST PRINT
Before we do A GHOST PRINT we want to talk about Blankets and why we use them and what order they go in.
Put the tightly woven 100% woven wool blanket next to the paper you are printing on.
With Tishue in between – (NOT NEWSPRINT AS THIS CREASES), The tissue will protect your blankets nicely.
WHY WOVEN 100% WOOL BLANKETS???
Because they don’t go out of shape, plus, you can wash them on a wool wash or take them to the dry-cleaners- so they will last you a lifetime if you look after them.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY – The tight weave will transfer your image across from the plate to the paper beautifully.
DONT – Print with a loosely woven blanket next to your paper because you will end up with the weave coming through to the print.
I love my 1.5mm swanskin, then my 3.7mm and then my 8mm raised felt but most of the time I just use the thin and thick one together! Even for the toughest of plates – mezzotint and photogravure – this works so well on our Gunning etching Presses Direct Drive or geared.
Next to the paper (with tissue in between)
Next do A Ghost Print
You just need dry paper and a plate – whatever plate and papoer you want to print with – collagraphs will need less pressure than solar plates – the thicker the plate the less pressure your plate will need.
Left to loosen and right to tighten.
Printmakers have been doing Ghost Prints for hundreds of years and it’s a sure way to get used to using your press.
Simply pop your dry paper through the press with your plate and then check your emboss.
Remember it will be lighter than your actual print will be because it is on dry paper.
Every time you do a print check out your emboss – that way if you have a great emboss but a washed-out-looking print you will know to check out the way you are inking your plate.
What Paper should I use?
Paper I use all the time and we recommend and stock here at Ironbridge Finew Arts are as follows.
For Proofing – Bread and Butter 270 gsm – This is a hot rolled paper – very flat and smooth and not bright white and very cheap so perfect for proofing and even final prints as well sometimes!!
For Intaglio with texture – Southbank course – a beautiful paper
For Relief plates, I love Southbank’s smooth – creamy hot rolled and flat! Lovely!
For thin relief prints, I love Shoji 48 gsm Japanese Paper very strong and perfect for relief printing by hand or on a press.
For Best Intaglio Prints Somerset 300gsm or Fabriano!! I love these – if you want to ink to sit on the surface of the paper as well as within it then use the Fabriano and if you want to ink to sit completely within the paper then use the Somerset.
HAPPY PRINTMAKING
And if you would like to come and have a workshop, online or in your studio or ours get in touch.
Jenny Mason-Gunning, Specialist Printmaker and joint owner of Ironbridge Fine Arts Gallery, Framing and Printmaking.
