What is Etching?

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A quick guide to how an etching is made.

Etching is a printmaking media that was invented as a way of getting pictures into books. It has been employed by many artists including Rembrandt. The process involves using acid to burn an image into a metal plate. The image can then be printed. It is an intaglio process which means that the lines that are drawn are the lines that are printed. The other forms of printing are relief printing (eg lino and woodcuts) and screenprinting (using a masque to create the image and pushing ink through a mesh).

How do you make an Etching?

A guide on how to make an image on an etching ...more

Printing an Etching

A guide on how to print etchings. Each etching is unique as the plate needs to be inked up every time it is printed ...more

How do you get different colours with an etching?

Traditionally etchings are printed in sepia, but you can print in colour. Here is a guide on how to use multiple colours for a single etching. ...more

What is an edition?

An edition is the number of prints that are produced from a single plate. A print will always have an edition number eg 5/10 - the fifth print of an edition of 10. You can also have an artists proof (AP) for each 10 prints in an edition.