There are two different methods of incorporating an etching into a printing plate:
1. In drypoint etching , the drawing is carried out directly on the printing plate using an eraser needle made of hardened steel. Different depths can be created, from the most delicate lines to deeper furrows with raised edges that absorb a lot of ink and result in greater darkness when printed. The plate can be printed directly (without etching).
2. In etching , the drawing is scratched into a hard or soft ground applied to the plate. The plate is then etched with iron III chloride solution, only attacking the areas where the top layer was erased.
After cleaning, the copper printing ink is applied. Depending on the desired intensity, the excess is rubbed out again. An elementary step that requires some patience and experience. And because each repetition for an edition is slightly different, each print is considered unique.
A fine layer of printing ink remains in the depressions created in the plate. By pressing on moistened paper, the ink is sucked out of the depressions and grooves and creates the printed image on the copper printing board (grammage 150-300 g/m²). A roller printing press is used for this gravure printing process. Copper, zinc or brass are suitable as printing plates.
Special plastic plates can also be used for drypoint etching without etching (1.).