What Is Etching?

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Etching is one type of intaglio process, a category of printmaking defined by the printmaker’s incision of a metal plate with lines that will then hold ink during the printing process. Unlike engraving, in which the plate is incised by hand with a burin, etching relies upon the action of metal-dissolving acids upon the plate. A layer of acid-resistant wax ground is applied to the plate which when hardened can be then removed with an etching needle, allowing the artist to “draw” in the ground as easily as they might on paper, a far cry from the effort needed when handling a burin. After the image has been drawn, the plate is then submerged in an acid bath which eats away at the metal plate only in areas that are not covered in the ground, which will appear as lines on the final print. Once etched, the plate is cleared of the remaining ground and ready to be inked and pressed. The printmaker applies ink to the plate, which then must be wiped off the surface, ensuring ink only lies in the incised lines—although some etchers chose to leave some ink on the surface in selected areas to give a different effect to the print. Finally, the plate is run through an etching press with paper to produce the completed print. Test prints, known as artist’s proofs, are made with the plate until one is approved by the artist, which then serves as the benchmark for the numbered print run. Although the printing plate would wear down if used enough, many plates were purposefully destroyed after the printing run was complete to keep the number of impressions on the market finite, helping to ensure that a print’s rarity and value would increase as time went on.