As every expert or simple lover of the graphic arts knows well, it’s difficult to transmit the aesthetic result of an engraving through digital media, since its nature and beauty resides in the material itself. For this reason, we will limit ourselves mainly to showcasing the ‘formal’ advantages of our technique and we’ll accompany them with photographs, without suggesting that these represent a faithful reflection of the printed result.
Main characteristics and advantages of our process with photopolymer plates compared to other methods of photomechanical or chemical production of prints:
(Scan of photogravure print on cotton paper)
The precision and sharpness of the image is entirely comparable with those achieved through chemical methods of photographic printing/development or with plotters, and even improves the focus in the printed image.
The original work can be in analogical or digital format (high resolution scanning), opening the door to the possibility of application to an infinite number of artistic formats (photographs, drawings, monotypes etc.) and facilitating their delivery to our workshop.
(Scan of photogravure print on cotton paper)
It has a greater capacity than héliogravures (heliographic prints) when it comes to translating the subtle tonal gradations of the photograph, without creating any cut-lines, thanks to its extremely fine grain. To the naked eye and even with a thread counter, this is probably the best imitation of a continuous tone achieved by any existing photomechanical technique. It offers great depth in the shadows, and deep and warm blacks (typical of the ink used in intaglio techniques) unmatched with those of any other photomechanical printing process.
Thanks to its focus precision its ability to reproduce details (wide range of tonal gradations), as well as its effect in recreating continuous tone, our technique opens the field to an infinity of aesthetic expressions that were previously impossible to reach through other intaglio or photogravure methods.
50X lights
50X medium areas
50X dark
Prints obtained through our technique are more stable over time when compared to those made with silver salt (halide) printing techniques. The image is printed on a rag paper with a neutral pH and the inks used are made with natural pigments and oil, giving prints that use this technique one major advantage in terms of conservation and collecting: sustainability and durability over time.
The photopolymer plates we use are extremely easy to clean and don’t suffer any significant deterioration during the printing process: the result, combined with other attributes such as the stability of the inks used, enables the production of large editions in which each copy is identical to the others.
Regarding color printing, two fundamental factors should be highlighted. The first is the ease of registration that these plates offer in the overprint processes. The second relates to the typical reaction of the support with the color. It must be noted that no color reacts in contact with the surface of the matrix. Therefore, unlike the metal plates used in héliogravure, the photopolymer plate is also a better support for polychromatic printing.
Compared with other photo-etched techniques, the use of photopolymer plates has a very low environmental impact as well as practically zero toxicity levels: the matrix is generated with light and water only!
