Re: Photogravure question

Photopolymer gravure is an intaglio process; the ink rests in the grooves
and prints onto the paper in a slight embossed fashion.

You use a positive to do intaglio. You can also use a negative to do
relief. With relief you also want to use a thicker plate. The plates come
in varying thicknesses.

Where the dark of the positive/negative is, there is less exposure and the
polymer dissolves off to varying degrees in water with a brush. I don't know
what the photo sensitive stuff in it is.. Actually, in truth, the plate
starts out as a monomer and gets turned into a polymer with exposure to the
sun.

You don't have to use any chemicals--just water and sun.

However, the plate maybe won't do as many pulls (prints) as other metal
plate processes that are more durable--maybe 40-80 pulls, Dan (below) says,
on an intaglio, more for a relief.

A good book on the subject is Dan Welden's Printmaking in the Sun,
everything you'd ever want to know. Another is Non-Toxic Intaglio
Printmaking.

Can you tell I'm studying Printmaking in grad school? I've got 10
photopolymer plates sitting by my UV unit right now.
Chris

----- Original Message -----
From: "Greg Schmitz" <gws1@columbia.edu>
To: <alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca>
Sent: Monday, November 03, 2003 9:42 AM
Subject: Re: Photogravure question

I don't discount that it is possible to pull some very nice prints
from photopolymer plates. I would question if any process should be
called Gravure unless it is an intaglio printing process. Calling a
process, which is not an intaglio process, "Photogravure" is
misleading although calling it such would have some "retro" appeal
(good marketing hook). If it is possible to use photopolymer plates
so as to produce a plate that prints in the same manner as a Gravure
plate then I will have no problem calling it a Gravure process;
otherwise the terminology is just plain wrong.

-greg schmitz <gws1@columbia.edu>

On Mon, 3 Nov 2003, Jalo Porkkala wrote:

> Hello List,
>
> for all those thinking polymer gravure is not "real" photogravure a couple
of web sites to visit. Polymer gravure has been practitioned in Scandinavia
well over 10 years now, and the results can be stunning ...
>
> http://www.psy.ku.dk/ross/
> http://www2.uiah.fi/~teofilus/
> http://www.photoeye.com/templates/ShowDetailsbyCat.cfm?Catalog=ZB305
>
> Jalo
>
>
> jack reisland kirjoitti 02.11.2003 kello 21:29:
> >
> >
> > "Gordon J. Holtslander" wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > Are the resulting prints from photopolymer plates and traditional
> > > photogravure sigificantly different?
> > >
> > > Gord
> > >
> >
> > Yes, indeed they are. Photopolymer etching is a two dimensional process,
> > where
> > the variation in tone is acheived by spacing the ink closer or farther
> > apart,
> > much like an ink jet print. Copper plate photogravure adds a 3rd
> > dimension,
> > by
> > also varying the depth of the cells, or holes etched into the copper
> > plate,
> > and
> > thereby varying the thickness of the ink applied to the paper. This
> > results
> > in a
> > richness and depth in the image, especially in the darker tones, that
> > cannot be
> > matched by photopolymer plates.
> >
> > J. Reisland
> >
>
>
> ............................................................
> Maksuton sähköposti aina käytössä http://luukku.com
> Kuukausimaksuton MTV3 Internet-liittymä www.mtv3.fi/liittyma
>
>
Received on Tue Nov 4 00:13:16 2003