Photo Etching 2.

I went back to Vernon street today to actually etch my image onto my plate where as last week I only, put the photo onto the copper plate and did tonal prints.

Since i had already applied my photo to the plate I didn't have to go through the first bit of the process again.

I started by taping the back up with parcel tape and then submerged it in an acid bath, this is left for 30 mins then to be taken out and rinsed with water, then to go into a stripping solution for a further 10 minutes. After taking it out and washing it well, you can then print with your etching plate.

The prints i got from it weren't very detailed but i really like the antique quality etching gives the photo. Also the more you print with one load of ink on the plate the less and less it comes out on the paper which gave a nice old feel. I couldn't use this for wallpaper as it is far to sensitive to how much ink you put on it and the ink it takes off after using one print. It could look good for card design but not for a repeat pattern perhaps and a repeat pattern is what i want to achieve in my wallpaper.

Here are some images showing my final prints... and also my plate after the acid and stripping solution...