For that reason, vitreographs are always printed on an etching press, whose rigid bed will support the glass plate firmly. Īlthough glass is unaffected by compression in the printing press, it will break under tension. This is done by placing the drawing face down on a light table (to allow for the reversal of the image in printing) and placing the vitreograph plate on top of it. The transparency of the glass plate can be used to advantage, in that the plate may be placed over a preliminary drawing on paper to guide the artist in creating a drawing on the plate. Printmaker Ken Kerslake wrote, “The glass plate will last indefinitely because, unlike copper or zinc, it will always return to its original configuration no matter how much pressure is applied.” A disadvantage to this is that unwanted lines or marks on the glass plate cannot be burnished out, as they can on a zinc or copper plate. Īnother advantage of vitreograph printmaking is its ability to withstand the pressure of the printing press with no discernible breakdown of the imagery, even after numerous runs. According to Claire Van Vliet of Janus Press, intaglio vitreographs also have an advantage over metal in that the glass plate wipes cleanly in non-image areas, allowing bright white to coincide with “black that is velvety as a mezzotint” in the finished print.
It does not oxidize, nor does it change or interact with the composition of printing inks, especially yellows and whites, which can turn green or gray in contact with metal plates.
In addition to being relatively inexpensive, glass is chemically inert. 1 Advantages/disadvantages of vitreographyĪdvantages/disadvantages of vitreography.
0 kommentar(er)
