Creating a Plate

Once I had my concept in place, I decided to do a photo intaglio print using Imagon film.

I used copper as my plate. After sanding the surface with a fine grit wet/dry paper, I cleaned the plate with some rubbing alcohol to make sure it was grease free. A piece of Imagon film was cut to size and adhered to the plate. The first step was to expose the layer of film to an aquatint screen. Mine was purchased from Elizabeth Dove, an artist I worked with in Canada, at a Keith Howard workshop. (http://www.elizabethdove.com/artwork/index.html) With that completed, I applied a second layer of Imagon over the first and exposed the image to the film.

I use a Nu-Arc exposure unit that I was extremely fortunate to find it on Craig's List for an unbelievable price. It has been a welcome addition to my studio and a vital piece of equipment if you work with any type of polymer plates. It's extremely important to have a good vacuum table and light source when using this process.

After exposure, the plate was processed in a bath of soda ash and water for nine minutes. It was removed from the soda ash, washed with water and sprayed with vinegar to stabilize the plate. Finally, I used a heat gun to dry the plate and it was ready to print.