Photogravure questions

[nick mulder]

Hello all,

I'm interested in photogravure - the instructions outlined at a few websites talk about gelatin pigment paper - the wikipedia article says:

"Macdermid Autotype, the last manufacturer of the gelatin pigment paper (tissue) needed to make traditional copper plate photogravure, announced in August 2009 that the product would no longer be manufactured."

I'm not so interested in solarplate (in which I've played with a little) and want to learn the proper copperplate gravure. I get the feeling that if they were doing this process over a century and more ago that it could be done independent of some specific product or other.

Anyone have any info on etching copperplate photographically ? I guess like the they did 'back then' ...

Have a look at these - really inspiring stuff:



http://www.magical-secrets.com/artists/middleton/video

Kind Regards,
Nick Mulder

[Wyno]

Nick,
you should go to Bostick and Sullivans website. Dick Sullivan has started making a transfer medium for the process. He did have a special forum for this but it has disappeared from their website. You might want to email him about it.
Mike

[nick mulder]

Hello from Melbourne !

http://bostick-sullivan.invisionzone...t=0&#entry6965


Still though, photogravure from what I understand has been around since almost day 1 - So I guess my question is how was it done back then ? I read about people etching daguerreotypes, but that is a process I don't think I'll get around to.

They made their own gelatin sheet as Richard is ?

[Joe VanCleave]

The printing part of gravure is done with an etching press, of the type using in traditional printmaking shops. Good presses are expensive and take up lots of room. It might help to work with a local printmaking shop, the type that use etching presses, since after the copper plate is properly made it's mechanical reproduction.

[nick mulder]

Yup, I have a printing teacher and her personal studio press to assist with the printing I've done some solarplate work with her previously...

I'm interested in the photo sensitive etching procedure for copper at the moment - keen to understand how it was done before the Autotype gelatin sheets were made available.

[polyglot]

What about buying chemicals (photoresist and etching acids) from electronics stores that are designed for printed circuit board manufacturing? The photoresist generally comes in spray cans and exposure to light changes its resistance to the etching chemicals, which chew away the copper. That tends to give you a binary (etched / not-etched, no shades of grey) result though.

[nick mulder]

Yup,

I've done PCB etching - you can achieve tonality via halftone screens, as some have indeed done on PCB's even ...

I'm really after the traditional pictorialist methods however.

[André E.C.]

Well, hope this help, sorry, no brain to align the pages.

[André E.C.]

...

[André E.C.]

Done...


Source: Gravure

Authors: Taneli Eskola and Kari Holopainen

University of Art and Design Helsinki UIAH




Cheers