There’s a world of difference between the giclee print that my trusty old Epson R3000 churns out and the exquisite little intaglio print of a drypoint etching that hangs in pride of place on my study wall.  

If the house ever catches fire the Epson giclee will have to take its chance but I’ll risk the flames for my Lynn’s etching!

Analogue - Silver Halide

Traditional black and white darkroom prints developed from 35mm or Medium Format negatives on Ilford papers plus some experimental stuff with old glass slides and papers 40 years out of date …… and then there’s all the other alternative processes!

Analogue - Photograms

Camera -less photographic images made by placing objects on photo-sensitive paper and exposing with sunlight or in the darkroom with the enlarger - and then that magic moment when the image appears in the Developer tray!

Analogue - Cyanotype

One of the earliest methods of print making and the origin of the engineer’s design drawing being called a ‘blueprint’ - brought up to date and to a new level of creativity by Lynn’s application of alternative processing through her fabulous “Wet Cyanotype" techniques.

Digital - Archival Giclee

Giclee (from the French ‘gicleur’ meaning ‘nozzle’ ) prints are produced commercially or on modern inkjet printers usually with pigment based rather than dye based inks because of their colour fast longevity with a life expectancy of archival quality.

Relief - Woodcut

Take a nice flat bit of wood, mark out your design, cut away the areas that you don’t want, ink up the bits that are left standing out in relief, press some paper onto the wet ink, peel off and away you go - simples!

Relief - Linocut

‘Like woodcuts only easier’ some folk say because the Lino doesn’t have awkward grain like wood. So easy children at school can do it. Pablo Picasso had a bash at it too - his Buste de Femme au Chapeau which he created in 1962 using his Reduction method of colour application is currently valued by Christies at £200,000 to £300.000.

Relief - Collograph

This ‘Relief’ process is all about adding layers strategically to a flat surface rather than cutting away and leaving bits sticking up in relief. The properties of the layers or part layers added, along with the inking process, directly affect the finished print often resulting in monoprints - one-off, unique pieces of art.

Intaglio - Drypoint

If Relief is ‘cut away and ink what’s left’ then Intaglio might be described as ‘make some scratches and fill them with ink’ - bit more to it than that but you get the idea. Unlike engraving with a v -shaped burin which produces hard edged lines, Drypoint uses sharp pointed needles which raise burrs, giving the printed line a softer and distinctive edge.

Intaglio - Photopolymer

Take a nice bit of copper plate, coat it with a thin layer of wax, scratch your work of art in the wax, bung it into a bath of acid, wait a bit, wash it off, get rid of the wax, ink the plate, wipe the plate, dampen paper, press and peel – Voila et Voici – that’s etching for you!

Fast forward, swop the copper, wax and acid for a plate coated with UV light sensitive polymer, a digitally produced negative and a bath of water  - Hey, Presto – that’s photopolymer printing for you!