Colour Techniques with Intaglio Printing

Achieving colour in intaglio printmaking is a highly enjoyable and skillful craft. These techniques often revivalise a plate, bringing a new insight to the print. This course would fully suit those with previous experience of printing intaglio plates. Printmakers are invited to bring along any plates/blocks created using an intaglio printmaking process (eg: etchings, collographs, photographic etchings, drypoints etc).

What will you learn?

During this course we will discover four intaglio colour techniques that will allow you to utilize colour in your prints without creating additional plates/blocks:

A la poupée
The term a la poupée means “with a doll”, which refers to the wad of fabric, shaped like a ball. The “doll” is used to add highlights or spot colour to an inked plate. The effect is a very subtle addition of a flash of colour to accent an area of the print.

Chine collé
Chine collé roughly translated from French, means “tissue glue/paste”. By using Chine Collé you are able to print on much finer, more delicate papers which are bonded onto a more sturdy paper during the printing process. The effect can either be subtle (by using muted Japanese papers) or bright (by using colourful acid-free tissue papers).

Wiping Technique
During the wiping technique, colours are introduced by wiping and blending over various areas of the plate/block. Colours can either be of a similar hue or completely different to achieve a highlight of colour or pick out an element of the plate.

Viscosity Printing
Viscosity printing is a multi-color printmaking technique that incorporates principles of relief printing and intaglio printing. It was pioneered by Stanley William Hayter. The process uses the principle of viscosity to print multiple colors of ink from a single plate, rather than relying upon multiple plates for color separation.

* Please note: you will be required to bring along a variety of pre-made plates / blocks for this course (we will not be creating the plates during the course time).

Topics covered:

• A brief history of colour printing and its terminology
• Paper types, tools and materials in intaglio printmaking
• How to produce your own prints using the methods covered
• How to sign and edition your prints