Above: Martin Lewis, "Relics" (1928) Drypoint
Drypont is an intaglio printmaking technique that creates sharp lines with fuzzy, velvety edges. A diamond-pointed needle is used to incise lines directly into a bare metal printing plate, displacing ridges of metal that adhere to the edges of the incised lines. This displaced metal is called burr. Inking fills the incised lines and clings to the burr. Damp paper is placed on the plate and run through a press, picking up the ink from the incised lines and the burr, resulting in a characteristically fuzzy line.
MARK MAKING TOOLS
There are a variety of tools at your disposal to make marks in the matrix. Check out this great list of tools from artist Holly Morrison TRADITIONAL HAND TOOLS
POWER TOOLS
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MATRIX + SUBSTRATES
Matrix Suggestions:
RESOURCES |
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INKS
Water based means the main ingredient is water and does not mean it is water soluble, especially after it dries. Water soluble means it will dissolve in water. Water-Soluble Ink suggestions:
Alternatives Inking Methods:
High Quality Water Based Crayon Options: CROWN POINT PRESS oil based ink info
"Specifically for drypoints printed in black we like to use a 50/50 mixture of the Charbonnel 55981 and Graphic Chemical Bone Black 514. The 514 ink is a bit shorter, which makes it a little easier to gather the ink against the burr in the plate. The Charbonnel ink on its own works well too, but it is a bit oilier, which can make it hard to really tighten up a drypoint mark so that it’s very clean and not surrounded by faint tone. All we do to modify these inks is to add some #00 burnt plate oil to condition them a bit. As for our color inks, we generally use Charbonnel colors for their vibrancy and their pigment-rich color. Some of these inks are quite sticky, which calls for adding some #00 plate oil to loosen them up. Beware of inks that are very dry and short. If you ink your plate and then go wipe the plate with the tarlatan and the ink comes up very quickly it’s very likely that the plate will be over-wiped." Click here for full text |
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WIPING
Materials for wiping the drypoint plate:
RESOURCES
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PAPER
Paper suggestions:
Gampi – Any gampi papers are ideal because their smooth surface has the ability to show very fine detail. The Chinese characters for gampi literally translates as “goose skin”. This paper is sometimes referred to as “silk tissue.” Learn more about Gampi from Japan.
Kozo – Kozo papers with a crisp, smooth surface work very well.
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