After several days without fresh plates to work from, my order finally came from Boxcar Press today. Following up on the success from the other day, I once again went from a wet plate original. So far for me, the wet plates are more satisfying, but that may simply be because there are more flaws in the process that cover-up my beginner’s inconstancies. Still, they are looking pretty good and keeping me satisfied on my progress. Pretty much sticking with the same exposures… 10 units screen and 17 units for the image. Learning that can be tweaked a little bit through slightly extended development as well as by cuts in the image exposure by .5 units. These both give me a slightly deeper etch and therefore slightly darker image.
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I finally got a lot of the small bugs worked out of my workflow today and the results were much better and more consistant. A lot of the mottling problems I was having on my images came from the fat that I was not using Krylon spray, but an off brand found at Home Depot. Lesson #1, Use the stuff that is recommended. Don’t try to cut corners. Upon getting some Krylon today at Dick Blick, my plates got much better. I used my last one today to make the following print. Perhaps my best yet, I was able to print 5 without any great variation Now it is going to be a lot of inking and wiping practice until the new batch of plates comes.
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After much testing with Clay Harmon’s nifty test pattern, I finally got my exposure dialed-in for my plate/press combination. The final time stands at 10 units of light for the screen and 17 units for the image exposure. This yielded my the best black coupled with he best tonal separation. I also decided to work with someone else’s photograph in order to be completely objective. I found that I was overly critical while printing my own work. Enter another Clay… Lipsky this time. I will be working with Clay on an upcoming book for North Light Press on his recent Cuba project and chose an image from that body of work. Notice the nice blacks coupled with all of the subtle tones in the dashboard and windshield. Al in all a good day of printing. Tomorrow it is back to my own work to see if I can do as well.
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So today’s printing with properly prepared paper has been going much better. The first print didn’t get it, but they got progressively better as I went along. I’m guessing that after a few printings, the plate is more conditioned with ink and therefore yields a better print. Upon suggestion from Clay, I have also removed the fusion blanket from the press to get more pressure. The combination’s results were much better, although far from where I would like them to be. Practice will go along way in this process. Now it is time to make my own plate…
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So I get the press in fine shape and got it bolted down to the workbench where it will live. Anxious to get going, I break out the ink and commence wiping the plate made under Clay Harmon’s watchful eye. I figure this is the best place to start considering I had several successful prints pulled from that very plate and it would be a good starting point to compare my solo process to that with Clay’s help. The ink is mixed and spread on the plate. The tarletan is then used as I was shown to wipe the plate and finally using the soft part of the palm of my hand for the finishing touches. With great anticipation I get the plate on the press and cover it with a sheet of Rives BFK paper. The blankets are then layer over and the cranking begins. All has gone as planned and as shown… and I get this: Yuck… As you can see, a mottled and blotchy mess. Proof that even with the best teacher, the first solo flight can easily crash. Back to the drawing board. Possible issues are pressure in the press which was increased to better results, […]
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That’s right. I’ve taken the plunge. Thanks to Clay Harmon of polymerphotogravure.com, I’ve gone head over heals for the PolymerPhotogravure process. On order is a shiny new Conrad etching press, but in the meantime I’ve bought a Blick 906 on eBay to fill in the gap. I’m awaiting the rumble of the UPS truck as we speak.
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