Etching
Etching uses acid to make lines in printing plates. It has been used to make antique prints and nowadays is used in many ways including glass etching and integrated circuits
Etching is closely related to engraving. The difference is etching uses acid to make lines in a printing plate, whereas in engraving the lines are carved out with a sharp tool called a burin.
The first dated etching comes from 1513 so etching is about 100 years younger than engraving.
- Antique etching magnified 6x
- Showing combination of etching and engraving
- By Christopher Kelly, circa 1800ad
When making art in the olden days, etching was faster than engraving as it was easier to draw the basic details of an image on wax, rather than engrave them on a metal plate with a tool.
In antique prints, etching and engraving were often used together to make a printing plate. Etching was used to draw the basic details of an image, such as the straight lines of a building. Engraving was used for subtle and curved lines such as those in a face or clothes.
In antique prints, etchings were made as follows:
1) Wax was rubbed over the printing plate.
2) The etcher drew the picture on the wax using a tool called a burin. This exposed the metal underneath. The etcher could draw fine or broad lines by using different widths of burin.
3) The plate was bathed in acid, which ate into the exposed metal. The longer the plate was left in the acid, the deeper then lines etched. Deeper lines held more ink so printed darker lines.
4) The etcher might take the plate out of the acid and paint varnish over some lines. This would stop them being etched any more when the plate was put back in the acid. This is called “stopping out” and let the etcher keep some lines lighter.
Nowadays etching is commonly used in etching glass, and in manufacturing integrated circuits.
Here's a scan of the whole antique antique print seen above in close up. Both etching and engraving were used to make this print.
- Antique etching
- Showing combination of etching and engraving
- By Christopher Kelly, circa 1800ad