Intaglio
The etching process, or intaglio, begins with a copper
or zinc plate, prepared with a surface coating called a "ground." The original
drawing is then scratched onto the surface, cutting through the ground, exposing
the bare metal of the plate. The entire plate is then submerged into an acid bath
which bites the exposed drawing into the plate. The longer the plate is in acid,
the deeper the line is etched. A deeper line, when filled with ink and printed,
will produce a darker line. Some drawings require up to six baths to produce desired
line depth. The ground is then removed from the plate, the plate is warmed and
covered with ink, which is then carefully wiped off the surface, leaving the lines
full. Etchings are printed on 100% rag paper, which is first dampened, placed
over the etching plate and covered with blanketing to equalize the tremendous
pressure of the rollers as they pass over the etching plate making a distinct
mark on the paper and the darkest lines of ink moulded in relief. Each etching
requires inking and wiping of the plate, resulting in each original etching having
a vitality and spirit of its own. Following completion of the edition, the plate
is cancelled, preventing the printing of additional etchings.
Rarity
Prints exist in multiples, and the price of each print
is generally commensurate with the size of the edition. Prints from a limited
edition, all other things being equal, are worth more than those from an unlimited
edition. The limits are imposed by plate wear, which occurs at a different rate
with each type of print. Intaglio (etchings, aquatints, mezzotints, drypoints,
photogravures) editions are the smallest because the copperplate is soft, is subjected
to great pressure as it rolls through the press, and wears down quickest. Among
these, the delicate burr of a drypoint disappears after 20 impressions at most,
while the others can sustain more impressions, depending on how deeply etched.
Steelfacing can extend the number of printable impressions, but at the cost of
some loss of plate tone and subtlety. True intaglio prints show a distinctive
platemark from the pressure of the etching press on paper and plate. Lithographic
stones and plates, and silk-screens, can produce editions in the hundreds, and
woodblocks are sturdy enough for thousands of impressions. Digital prints, Iris
prints (a k a giclees) are physically unlimited, though edition size may be artificially
limited to support a price desired by the publisher. Their current proliferation
challenges accepted notions of scarcity, asserting that all value inheres in design
regardless of the number produced. Collectors may decide otherwise, however. Silver-gelatin
photographs printed by the original photographer are often designated 'vintage'
to distinguish them from later images made from the same negatives. This distinction
makes sense where the original photographer made important changes in the darkroom.
If the same photograph could be made by normal processing of the negative, the
'vintage' designation merely reflects age rather than the specific hand of the
artist. In a similar way, 'restrikes' of etchings made from plates by others after
the artist's death have less value than those made by the artist.
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