An etching is a process of creating bitten lines in metal by first placing a resist on the metal plate, drawing through the resist and then placing the plate in an etchant. The etchant bites through the area where the line was created. The resist is then removed. This process can be repeated numerous times in the making of a plate. Gradations of tone are made through a process called aquatinting. In this case a fine mist is placed on the plate and serves as the resist. The plate is put in the same etchant and tiny dots are created to hold the ink later on in the printing process. The plate is then inked and the excess ink is wiped off the plate. The ink will only hold in the areas that were bitten down into the metal. The plate is then placed in a special press which must have a great deal of very even pressure. A piece of dampened paper is placed over the plate and special blankets on top of that. The whole thing is then run through the press and a print emerges. Each print requires that the plate be re-inked and wiped before putting it through the press again.
An edition is the number of prints taken from one plate. After the last print is made, the printmaker typically scratches a line through the plate so no further images can ever be made, thus insuring the collector that their etching is of a limited number.
Music "The Nightengale," Lute Duet.
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