Living Prints Mezzotint On-line
Scraping, polishing and burnishing
The usual way to print a mezzotint is called intaglio
printing and it depends on a textured plate, inked all over with
a thick, sticky ink (called etching ink). Texture holds the ink
as the printer then wipes and buffs the plate, so wherever no
texture is created, there is no ink. The plate is printed with
a heavy, high pressure printing press; padded and with a damp,
soft sheet of paper, the plate will leave an impression of the
ink on the paper, and an embossing of the plate, too.
Thus, making an intaglio plate is a process of texturing a
printing plate and then scraping, polishing and burnishing. A
mezzotint plate is textured over all and will therefore print
a dark (or middle, mezzo) tint, hence the name mezzotint.
Then the light, non-printing areas are created by scraping, polishing
and burnishing the surface. To some people, this is like working
backward, compared to drawing black-on-white.
When you came to this page on the World Wide Web, you may
be at a point in time somewhere in the middle of the plate-making
process. You can back-track or take sideways views of the processes
by selecting highlighted key words and images. If you want to
go back to the first day, select here.
- Above: Scraping the plate with a scraper removes hairline
scratches and other marks that would print where they are not
intended. Scraping also removes the burrs and pits made during
the stippling and rocking stages.
- The scraper is usually a three-edged, hardened steel tool,
and it must be sharpened from time to time. Next will be the burnishing.
Artists and crafts people work back and forth between scraping
and burnishing.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Select the highlighted words for information
©1999 Bill H. Ritchie, Jr. ritchie@seanet.com