VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS GRAPHICS MR. SHEA

A design incised or engraved into a material Scratching an image into Plexiglass. The DEEPER and CLOSER TOGETHER the scratches are the DARKER those areas of the image will be. Ink is held by the scratched out areas and then transferred to a wet piece of paper that holds the ink once it is pressed. Images should have a lot of fine detail and texture (hair, fur, grass, leaves…) INTAGLIO

The Process The image is incised into a surface, and the incised line or sunken area holds the ink. It is the direct opposite of a relief print. Normally, copper or zinc plates are used as a surface or matrix, and the incisions are created by etching or engraving, In intaglio printing, the lines to be printed are cut into a metal plate by means either of a cutting tool, held in the hand – in which case the process is called engraving; or through the corrosive action of acid – in which case the process is known as etching. To print an intaglio plate, ink is applied to the surface by wiping and/or dabbing the plate to push the ink into the recessed lines, or grooves. The plate is then rubbed with a cloth to remove most of the excess ink. The final smooth wipe is often done with newspaper or old public phone book pages, leaving ink only in the incisions. A damp piece of paper is placed on top of the plate, so that when going through the press the damp paper will be able to be squeezed into the plate's ink-filled grooves. The paper and plate are then covered by a thick blanket to ensure even pressure when going through the rolling press. The rolling press applies very high pressure through the blanket to push the paper into the grooves on the plate. The blanket is then lifted, revealing the paper and printed image. Brief history Intaglio printmaking emerged in Europe well after the woodcut print, with the earliest known surviving examples being undated designs for playing cards made in Germany, using drypoint technique, probably in the late 1430s. Engraving had been used by goldsmiths to decorate metalwork, including armour, musical instruments and religious objects since ancient times, and the niello technique, which involved rubbing an alloy into the lines to give a contrasting colour, also goes back to late antiquity. Scholars and practitioners of printmaking have suggested that the idea of making prints from engraved plates may well have originated with goldsmiths' practices of taking an impression on paper of a design engraved on an object, in order to keep a record of their work, or to check the quality.niello Martin Schongauer was one of the earliest known artists to exploit the copper-engraving technique, and Albrecht Dürer is one of the most famous intaglio artists. Italian and Netherlandish engraving began slightly after the Germans, but were well developed by Drypoint and etching were also German inventions of the fifteenth century, probably by the Housebook Master and Daniel Hopfer respectively. The golden age of artists engraving was 1450–1550, after which the technique lost ground to etching as a medium for artists, although engravings continued to be produced in huge numbers until after the invention of photography.Martin Schongauer Albrecht DürerDrypointHousebook MasterDaniel Hopferphotography Current use Today intaglio engraving is largely used for paper or plastic currency, banknotes, passports and occasionally for high-value postage stamps. The appearance of engraving is sometimes mimicked for items such as wedding invitations by producing an embossment around lettering printed by another process (such as lithography or offset) to suggest the edges of an engraving plate. lithographyoffset Plates are usually made from copper or zinc Formerly used extensively for high-quality magazines, fabrics and wallpapers Common uses still include some postage stamps and paper currency, at one time used for all mass-printed materials including banknotes, stock certificates, newspapers, etc.

Intaglio History Intaglio printmaking emerged in Europe well after the woodcut print, with the earliest known surviving examples being undated designs for playing cards made in Germany, using drypoint technique, probably in the late 1430s. Engraving had been used by goldsmiths to decorate metalwork, including armour, musical instruments and religious objects since ancient times, and the niello technique, which involved rubbing an alloy into the lines to give a contrasting color, also goes back to late antiquity. Scholars and practitioners of printmaking have suggested that the idea of making prints from engraved plates may well have originated with goldsmiths' practices of taking an impression on paper of a design engraved on an object, in order to keep a record of their work, or to check the quality. Martin Schongauer was one of the earliest known artists to exploit the copper-engraving technique Albrecht Dürer is one of the most famous intaglio artists.

Intaglio – Current Use CURRENT USE Today intaglio engraving is largely used for paper or plastic currency, banknotes, passports and occasionally for high-value postage stamps. The appearance of engraving is sometimes mimicked for items such as wedding invitations by producing an embossment around lettering printed by another process, like lithography or offset, to suggest the edges of an engraving plate. Plates are usually made from copper or zinc Common uses still include some postage stamps and paper currency, at one time used for all mass-printed materials including banknotes, stock certificates, newspapers, etc.

PLEXIGLASS INK WET PAPER PAD PRESS INTAGLIO INKING PROCESS

Examples

VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS GRAPHICS MR. SHEA

Relief Printing A process where protruding surface faces of the printing plate or block are inked; recessed areas are ink free. Printing the image is therefore a relatively simple matter of inking the face of the matrix and bringing it in firm contact with the paper. A printing-press may not be needed as the back of the paper can be rubbed or pressed by hand with a simple tool such as a brayer or roller. The matrix in relief printing is classically created by starting with a flat original surface, and then removing (e.g., by carving) away areas intended to print white. The remaining areas of the original surface receive the ink. Traditional text printing with movable type is also a relief technique. This meant that woodcuts were much easier to use as book illustrations, as they could be printed together with the text. Intaglio illustrations, such as engravings, had to be printed separately.

RELIEF PRINTING printing from raised images, as in letterpress and flexography Carving an image into linoleum. The DEEPER and CLOSER TOGETHER the scratches are the DARKER those areas of the image will be. Ink is held by the scratched out areas and then transferred to a wet piece of paper that holds the ink once it is pressed. Images should be more cartoonish or more of a graphic. Fine details and small words are discouraged.

LINOLEUM INK PAPER RELIEF PRINTING PROCESS PAD PRESS

Examples

Assignment Intaglio approx.:4” x 3” Relief approx.: 6” x 5” STUDENTS SHOULD HAND IN FIVE ORIGINAL PRINTS FROM EACH PLATE, AS WELL AS 5 MODIFIED PRINTS FROM EACH PLATE: 5 Original Intaglio Prints 5 Modified Intaglio Prints 5 Original Relief Prints 5 Modified Relief Prints TOTAL: 20 prints