Etching in terms from the artzine on artrepublic.com

The process of making a print: The surface of a metal plate is covered in wax and the artist then creates their image by scratching into the wax. The plate is then immersed in an acid bath. The areas of the plate not covered by the wax are then ‘eaten’ away by the acid creating a grove for the ink to sit in.The plate is then covered with ink most of which is then rubbed off so only in ink in the groves remains. Dampened paper is then placed on an etching press and the plate placed ink side down on top of it. All this is covered with layers of padding and run through the press which looks a bit like a mangle. The image has now been transferred to the paper.Photo-etching (also called photogravure or heliogravue) uses a light reactive acid resistant ground. The image is then projected onto the plate reproducing the photograph.

History: Etching was used for decorating metal from the fourteenth century, but was probably not used for printmaking much before the early sixteenth century. Since then many different etching techniques have been developed, which are often used in conjunction with each other.