Intermediate Photopolymer Gravure

Photopolymer gravure combines the best of two worlds: printmaking and photography. The photogravure process, developed in the 1870s, involved etching a photographic image into a copper plate, from which prints could then be produced. The modern equivalent – photopolymer gravure - replaces the copper plate with a photosensitive polymer plate, making the process faster and easier to learn, as well as reducing the maker’s exposure to hazardous chemistry. This Intermediate workshop will take members through all the key aspects of the process including: 

• Preparing the digital transparency (negative) using desktop inkjet printer

• Establishing the correct timing for the initial aquatint (stochastic screen) plate exposure and for the subsequent exposure under the image transparency

• Calculating and calibrating the necessary adjustment of the digital image, using Photoshop curves, to ensure that the etched plate produces even tone graduation from white to black that fully matches the complete tonal differentiation of the origination…