Engraver and Printmaker (Intaglio)

Intaglio printmakers create images by incising or acid-biting marks into metal plates (copper, zinc, steel) and then printing by forcing dampened paper into the inked grooves under the pressure of a printing press. Engraving is the oldest technique — the image is incised directly with a burin (a small hardened steel tool), producing clean, precise lines with characteristic swelling and tapering. Etching uses acid (or electrolytic ferric chloride) to bite through a wax ground, allowing the artist to draw freely with an etching needle. Aquatint creates tonal areas by acid-biting through a porous resin ground. Drypoint scratches directly into the plate with a sharp point, leaving a burr that holds ink and produces a rich, velvety line.

City & Guilds Level 3 in Printing and BA Fine Art with printmaking specialism are the principal training routes. The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE) is the premier professional body and provides associate membership by portfolio review. Specialist studios including Curwen Print Study Centre, Edinburgh Printmakers, and Spike Island in Bristol provide open-access press facilities and workshops. Most intaglio printmakers are self-employed, combining gallery sales, limited edition print sales, residencies, and teaching.

Original intaglio prints are collected, exhibited, and sold as unique hand-made works of art — the pressure mark of the plate, the ink-filled grooves, and the physical presence of an original print cannot be digitally replicated for collectors who seek the authentic object. The limited edition model creates controlled scarcity that sustains market value over time. Print fairs (London Original Print Fair, Edinburgh Art Fair) generate a regular, accessible collector market. Teaching — workshop instruction at studios and art schools — provides a reliable supplementary income that grows with the artist's profile and reputation. The heritage conservation aspect of historic plate printing (restoring and re-inking existing plates) employs a small but specialist set of practitioners.

Morning: complete the aquatint stop-out process on a new zinc plate — apply resin ground, bite successive tones in ferric chloride, and check progress under a loupe. Proof the plate on the etching press using a test sheet to check the tonal range. Afternoon: print a limited edition of 30 from a completed copper plate — prepare the press, ink the plate, wipe back to leave ink only in the incised lines, and print each sheet individually. End of day: prepare a slide talk on contemporary engraving for an evening workshop class at a print studio.