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The advantages of the photo resist method are almost to numerous to mention when it comes to working with artists of varied disciplines in the intaglio studio. Photo resist has all of the advantages for the artist who may not be familiar with printmaking techniques of being both a "what you draw is what you get" approach much like lithography and in its' most helpful manifestation can allow the artist to work with any materials that they would normally be familiar with in their own studio without ever picking up a gravure tool, an etching needle, or for that matter even touching a print matrix or plate.

In the example above the artist Sharon Kopriva worked first with graphite and paper at about 1/4 the scale of the actual finished piece. We scanned the 8"x 10" drawing into the computer and enlarged the image to produce the first film positive that was used that to burn the primary polymer gravure plate. This first plate was then used to print a first black and white trial proof. 

Using the black and white trial proof as a guide, Sharon then went to work with a permanent black marker on acetate laid over the image to draw in all the areas she was going to want colour. I asked her not to worry too much about which marks she was making for the yellow and which ones would be the strokes she was applying for the red. That would be the work done by the master printer as dictated by the artist later with a little variant wiping technique. The drawing on acetate was then used to burn a secondary polymer plate for the those general areas of color.

For Sharon's image above we used the secondary plate first to print two colours, yellow orange and then magenta. We used the primary plate to print the third and forth colours indigo and then black. The outcome gave the illusion of perhaps a three or four plate image with fewer plates to make and fewer registration problems.

This example is just one of the dozens of ways we have started working easier and I believe more creatively with the photo (light) resist method. Objects both translucent and solid can be can be laid on the photo sensitized plates and burned to make a print matrix. Also we've used guash on velum, sumi brush and ink, ball point pen and paper, of course film positives from photographs either scanned into the computer or digital from the camera, collages on the vacuum table glass, and scanned collages and details from paintings ......... one series the Richard Stout did was based on the shadows his sculptures cast on the surfaces they rest on while at the same time he was able to work back into the plastic plates with a little sandpaper and drypoint. 

I think the process revolutionizes the way the intaglio printmaker will be working with his artists from now on. The ease of the lithography process with the random "juice" one gets from charging the relief matrix followed by the hand wiped plate. By the way lithography is to the intaglio process what elevator music is to Jimmy Hendrix. WELL ...... IT IS.

DMA