The etching process is an intaglio printing technique involving a waxed metal plate, an etching needle, and an acid bath to create prints with varying depths and darkness.
- The intaglio printing process that requires the application of a waxy ground on a metal plate, then etching lines into the plate with an etching needle, and finally using acid to 'eat' into the metal, is known as etching.
- Firstly, a protective wax-based coating is applied to the plate.
- The artist then uses a tool, such as a burin, to create an image by scratching through the wax, exposing the metal.
- This is followed by the plate being immersed in an acid bath, etching the exposed lines.
- The depth and darkness of the resulting print are determined by the duration of the acid bath exposure.
- Unlike engraving, which is the oldest of the intaglio techniques, etching does not involve cutting directly into the plate.
- Drypoint, on the other hand, is similar in that the image is scratched directly onto the plate, but it does not involve the use of acid.
- Finally, woodcuts are a form of relief printing and not intaglio, where the image is created on the original surface of the matrix, and the non-image areas are cut away.
Question:
Which intaglio printing process requires the application of a waxy ground on a metal plate and then an etching needle pulled across to reveal the areas to be eaten by acid?
- engraving
- drypoint
- etching
- woodcuts