Inking and Printing – part4

A successful attempt! After inking the 6 the plates (the explanation of technique, previous attempts and progress can be followed in part1 and part2 and part3) this time I went back to the original printing press which has the correct measures for my print. The paper was soaked for 3 hours and the plates were padded by a 6mm stiff metal sheet. The plates inking was double checked and then was run through the press… and a beautiful first good print came out. Now I need to print my second lot of 6 valves.

First 6 inked plates on table:

Harry F Rochat Printing Press

Inking and Printing – part 3

I have been attempting to print six plates featuring my images of valves in one piece of Somerset satin. My attempts can be seen in blogs  part1 and part2.  I tried to solve it by using different wetness of paper but that didn’t seem to be the problem and also by packing the bed with print paper the same size as my output print to increase the pressure. Evaluating the print, there seems to be a lack of contact between the plate and the paper. The brand of paper used, soaking time, and pressure settings of the press are all factors that will greatly affect how the print will look. A considerable amount of pressure is required to get good prints using a fine aquatint screen. A solution to even the amount of pressure from the printing press could be to cut irregular concentric shape out of print paper to prop up the problematic areas.

So this time the paper was soaked for 3 hours but very well blotted so there were no wet patches. I actually moved the printing to a different press. This printing press was quite tight for the size of the paper, the edges where slightly hanging out of the bed and I had to trim my registration sheet to fit it. Still, I wanted to see if the pressure of this press was working on my plates before doing all the irregular concentric shape padding. I run the press again and…unfortunately there were still a few white patches which meant that this press although not as worn out it was still a bit worn out and the pressure wasn’t even or I  just didn’t add enough pressure. I’ll have to try again.

Different stages of inking the Toyobo Printight Solar Plate (KM73):

Inking and Printing – part 2

Second time inking. I followed the same process to ink the six Solar plates. When the time came for printing I used Somerset satin paper again, but this time it was a little wetter than the first time. Another variation was that the bed of the press was packed with 7 print paper sheets, the same size as my Somerset paper, to make the pressure greater. After running the press the result wasn’t too dissimilar to the first attempt. I believe that the paper being a little dryer with no visible wetness works better. It seems that I the problem lies with the pressure applied onto the plates and the amount of print paper sheets underneath wasn’t enough. The press that I am using is a very old machine and it is a bit worn down which explains an uneven pressure. Saying this I also have to take into account that  I am trying to print six plates on the same paper so that makes the possibility of uneven pressure more likely to happen as well as pulling the paper down with different tensions. I know it is a complicated process, but I will keep on trying.

The beautiful press I am using

Inking and printing

First day of inking the first six plates. I made an acrylic sheet registration plate, marking with a pen the outline of the six plates in their correct position and the paper size.

The fine stochastic screens I used create a very delicate aquatint, especially in the soft highlights.  I used Charbonnel black etching ink
55981, is a universal supple black, viscous but easier to wipe than others. I applied the ink initially with a square bit of card spreading an even thin layer. Then I used cheesecloth with a twisting motion of wrist, lightly grinding the ink into the tooth of plate and at the same time wiping off the excess of ink and smoothing it out. I followed this with a tissue paper wipe to control and smoothen highlights.  Once the plate was cleanly wiped I took a clean piece of cheesecloth and lightly dragged it over it in a random pattern.  This is called retroussage, it cleans up and smoothens remaining micro-clumps of ink in a random fashion.

Finally,  I wiped the edges with flannel rag changing the angle so it moves the ink toward the back of the plate. When the rag came back relatively clean, I flipped the plate face-down onto clean newsprint and wiped the back with the rag too. Then I double-checked and rewiped the edges. This process took about 40 minutes per plate. Luckily I had some help from Claire Alonge, who made the whole process much more bearable

Towards the end of the day the plates were ready to print. The paper, Somerset satin 410gms, had been soaking for the last forty minutes and it was time to place the plates in the right position on the bed of the press, following the marks of the registration plate underneath. The paper was then blotted and put on top of the plates facing down and covered with two sheets of tissue paper with the blankets on top. I run the press with some help as it was a big heavy wheel due to the pressure needed to print, trying to move through the press consistently and not too quickly (if you stop once the press is in motion you may leave a heavy roller mark on the print).

Once it was through I had a look at the print. Unfortunately it hadn’t printed properly. It looked like some parts of some of the plates didn’t print; there were white patches near the center of the two columns, especially in the two last plates. It  may have been due to the paper being too wet or not wet enough, it could be due to the pressure of the printer.  However, I was not certain of which.

What I am trying to achieve presents a challenge. Printing six plates at the same time on a single sheet of paper puts six different pressure points on the single sheet, the tension applied to the paper when it goes through the printing press is irregular and to achieve uniformity is very difficult.

Disappointing after a days work but next week I’ll do it all again.

Printing first plate

Toyobo Printight Solar Plate (KM73)

I got the first stochastic positive printed from the inkjet printer Epson Stylus Pro 4800 at collage using Wasatch RIP program. For the settings I choose the Epx800Promic- Han German paper setting in the printer driver at 1440 dpi. My first positive was successfully printed. I could now use it to make my first plate. I went onto exposing the Toyobo Solar plate.

Steps for the exposure:

• Firstly it was exposed in the UV light unit to an aquatint screen for 15 light units.
• Secondly it was exposed to the positive for another 15 lu.
• To develop the plate it was washed for 3 minutes and then blotted with newsprint paper to stop the etching
• Once dried under the fans for a few minutes it was exposed again during 30 lu for hardening.

I applied a thin layer of ink (F66- is a soft medium black) to the plate with a roller and then blotted it with Tarlatan (cheesecloth) until all the excess ink was removed. To finish the inking of the plate I used a technique called retroussage:”The method of bringing ink up from incised lines (or dots) in an intaglio plate; dragging a soft cloth across the ink-filled lines prior to printing to spread the ink to the adjacent areas and to render certain passages darker and richer”.

To print it the paper (Somerset satin) needed to be soaked for 30 minutes and subsequently put between blotting paper and pressed with a rubber roller to remove the excess moisture. It was then ready to be printed. Laying the printing press bed with tissue in order not to dirty it,  then the plate is placed and on top the soaked paper good side down and some more tissue and the blankets on top for pressure. The pressure on the printing press indicated 3/9. Finally it is passed through the press and dried afterward between blotting paper.

I am happy with the result of this process, the dot of the stochastic positive has given the print a very fine quality that resembles old grainy photographs. Now that I have had this result I have confidence on following this method of printing, which means that I don’t need to research Lambda printing any further.

Valve 1. Solar plate print

Valve 1 detail. Solar plate print