Etching with relief printing

An intaglio technique that uses commercially developed photopolymer plates. A transparent positive is exposed to the plate, which has been pre-coated with a thin layer of light-sensitised polymer. When developed or ‘etched’ with water, a shallow image is produced on the plate with a subtle tonal range. Once inked-up, the plate is rolled through an etching press and the image transferred onto paper.

The family of relief techniques include woodcut, wood engraving and linocut. In this case, polymer relief blocks are used. Areas of the block are cut away using a laser to create the design. Ink is then applied with a roller and the different colours of ink are blended by hand on each block. The paper is laid on top of the block(s) and the image transferred onto the paper using a press.