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Techniques
Drypoint printing belongs to the intaglio family of printmaking. Intaglio printing relies on ink held in the grooves of the printing plate being transferred to paper.
Step 1
The design is scratched directly onto an acrylic plate with a sharp metal scribe.
Step 2
The transparent acrylic plate, is placed on top of a drawing which the artist can then trace.
Step 3
Oil-based printing ink is applied to the plate with a rubber squeegee. Excess ink is then removed with scrim (a coarse cotton cloth) and worked into the grooves.
Step 4
The inked plate is placed on the press bed and a damp sheet of paper is laid on top. Soaked paper has softened fibres which increases its ability to press into the plate and take up ink.
Step 5
The print rolls through the press under pressure from the roller. This pushes the paper into the grooves on the plate, transferring ink from plate to paper.
Final print
Chine-collé (pronounced: shin-kol-ay), from French words for ‘China’ (chine) and ‘glued’ (collé), is a printmaking technique originating from China and Japan. It incorporates collage and printmaking.
Step 1
The plates are created with the usual drypoint technique (see slides 1-4 above). Coloured washi (a tissue-like Japanese paper) is cut into shapes to correspond with the plate design.
Step 2
The washi cut-outs are then coated on one side with a rice-based glue and positioned onto the printing plate.
Step 3
Damp paper is placed onto the glued side of the washi which sits facing upwards on the inked plate.
Step 4
The washi sticks to the printing paper and the ink from the plate prints on both the washi and printing paper when it rolls through the press.
