Making
Ink from Scratch: The
ink used for intaglio printing is oil-based. Traditionally it is made
from plate oil, vine black, and bone black pigments. These pigments
are truly made out of burnt bone and burnt vine. Plate oil is linseed
oil that has been heated in a closed chamber beyond it's burning point.
Under these conditions it changes character and becomes a bit more rope-like
and clings to itself. Each printer will have his or her favorite mixture
for ink and may select different characteristics for each print, or
even for specific areas within one plate. Mixing
ink from scratch: By starting with the actual pigment and oil one can
make their own ink from scratch, however, it improves with age and is
best used after being allowed to sit for up to two weeks. Starting on
a glass surface with bone black and vine black one should put out quantities
of pigment approximately equal to a golf ball in volume for each pigment.
These piles of pigment ( usually conical) should be mixed with an amount
of oil comparable to yet another golf ball. In other words, there are
two volumes of pigment for one volume of oil. One
then should take a putty knife and, tentatively at first, begin to paw
or simply manipulate the pigment inside the oil and fold it over onto
itself. Push down and pull until the pigment begins to bind with the
oil. Repeat this folding over and pulling until all tof the pigment
is consumed. The goal at this point it to make the stiffest possible
combination of oil and ink. You
will soon discover that if you stop mixing the ink that it's appearance
will change. While you are mixing the ink with the knife, it may have
a granular appearance. As soon as it is allowed to settle, a gloss will
come over the surface. This is because the oil has not been thoroughly
integrated into the pigment. Working with a larger volume of ink this
stage will eventually develop ink with a distinctive property. As you
pull the knife towards yourself the shine, or gloss, will follow the
knife approximately 1/2inch behind. Hand made ink should be set to one
side once it reaches this condition. The
next step in making one's own ink is grinding or mulling. The glass
muller is usually shaped like a very large Hershey's kiss. Mulling begins
by... placing a smaller volume of ink, perhaps a quarter of the volume
discussed above, on the glass slab... placing the muller on top of the
ink gripping it in two hands... then beginning to force the muller back
and forth across the glass. This action tears the ink into smaller components
and reassembles it. If it is one's intention to print the same day the
ink is mixed, the majority of one's time should be spent mulling this
is where the ink reaches it's finish. To assure consistent results the
printer might count fifty or a hundred strokes, back and forth, tearing
ans reassembling the ink. Characteristics
of Ink: The
major difference between commercially made inks and its handmade counterpart
becomes evident when ink is allowed to stand overnight. The handmade
ink will still be usable the next day and will, if anything, improve.
The commercially made inks will have, at least, a dry skin over the
surface and will be unusable. The
qualities that can be made in the ink can be determined by oil content.
They can be extremely oily which results in an overall gray film, or
they can be extremely stiff in which case the results is a relatively
clean print. The
more bone black that is in the ink the greater the contrast. This is
caused by the abrasive quality of bone pigment. Vine
pigment is a finer pigment that clings to the surface. Thus,
oil will cling to a surface and vine by itself will cling to a surface
and the resulting ink, if they dominate, tends to create a brownish
coat over the entire plate regardless of how the plate is wiped. The
artist can make their decisions after printing proofs as to the quality
they fine desirable. Traditional
"Run and Break" Consistency: A
traditional way of mixing ink for printing is to add #3 plate oil with
a knife until a consistency is reached at which a string of ink flows
from the knife when held aloft. A guiding standard consistency will
run and break in a rhythm comparable to one calmly saying "run"
and "break". The
choice of oils with which one mixes the ink will have an impact also.
Number 3 plate oil has a specific syruppy consistency .Lower numbers
including those with 0000 are more like water and inkmaixed with them
is shorter and comes off the plate quicker. Higher, numbers all the
way up to #8, become increasingly stiff and sticky. This makes more
work for the printer but the result is a darker plate overall. Inks
Supplied in Class: Commercial
inks that will be available in this shop include for the most part graphic
chemicals etching black #514 which is a bone black. Other inks you mat
find in the shop will are Organic Black from Daniel Smith and occasionally
Portland Black by Gamblin. Unlike the handmade ink all of these commercial
inks will dry and coagulate within themselves overnight on the ink slab. WIPING
AN INTAGLIO PLATE Applying
Ink An
intaglio plate takes time to print. The first step in wiping the plate
is to place the plate on the hot plate designated for this purpose.
The plate should be allowed to warm to a "blood heat." Coat
the plate evenly with ink and through the use of rollers, cards or something
called a dauber assure that ink is in every crevice. The ink is picked
up from the mixing slab on a roller and spread over the warmed intaglio
plate. At this point it might be helpful to take a card a stiff piece
of matt board, or even a plastic squeegee and squeegee the ink into
the tiny crevices of the plate. Any small places that have not been
inked will show themselves against an even black coat of ink. Remaining
areas can then be worked with the card or the dauber. The
dauber is a rolled piece of felt which is taped into a hard cylinder.
It is most useful after it has been aged and coated with dry ink. Initial
Wiping: Once
coated the plate has to be wiped with tarlaton. The first tarlaton should
be a relatively dirty one and the printer works his or her way toward
cleaner tarlatons. The most efficient tarlatons are actually somewhere
in between clean and clogged. They have some dried ink already coating
them, but remain open. These tarlatons attract ink better than brand
new ones. When
tarlatons are first brought out they contain a great deal of starch.
Depending on one's preference, much of the starch must be removed by
rumpling the tarlaton up between your hands or rubbing it across a sharp
edge of the press, pulling from one end to the other, as if one were
pulling a bath towel behind one's back. This breaks the starch and loosens
the fabric. You can actually see white powdery starch falling from the
tarlaton when you do this. One
begins printing by wiping the tarlaton over the plate while it is warm.
The tarlaton is passed across the plate with down force or pressure
fairly minimal. Most beginners over- estimate the amount of pressure
used. Comparing the down force to stroking a cat sitting in one's lap
is perhaps a good description of the maximum down force. The lightest
force used near the end might be comparable to stroking the hairs on
one’s forearm. The
first tarlaton used should be one that is well aged and coated with
ink. Ideally, it should not have completely clogged areas. one can examine
the tarlaton by loooking through it to see that the pores are still
open. Tarlaton should not be torn in to small scraps. Pieces roughly
a yard square should be balled up so that no lose edges are showing.
Generally wiping proceeds while the plate is hot until the image is
half visible. At that point the plate is moved off the hot plate to
a cooler surface where the ink begins to set up. Wiping
continues with progressive cleaner tarlatons and may conclude with the
heal of the hand or combination of the hand and the tarlaton. Students
should avoid the temptation to leave selected areas of ink on the plate.
Instead the entire surface should be wiped evenly and if an area is
to be enriched one should use retrossage which is described below. |