In this example of a etching—Vermont Castles, plate size 7" x 9.75", by Luigi Lucioni—you can see some useful points.

The upper enlargement shows the fine detail and precise line quality possible in etching. The lines are often reminiscent of fine pen-and-ink drawing.

In the next lower enlargements, the arrows point to the edge of the printing plate. While its indentation into the paper isn’t clearly visible here, we can see that the edges are left a bit darker, with a bit more ink. This is intentional. When the artist wipes the excess ink from the plate, the edges are often wiped more lightly, letting the ink around the edges create a visual border just slightly darker than the area they enclose. This is useful in light-colored areas, like the upper right corner of sky in the lowest enlargement. Note also the very fine complex, faint lines that portray the clouds.

The bottom enlargement is of an etching plate by Lyman Byxbe. This metal plate was inked and then printed, with the final print showing the reverse of what we see here. Faint remnants of ink down in the etched lines make the image visible.



Above: about 1" x 1.5" area of the print

Above: about 1" x 1.5" area of the print


Above: about 1" x 1.5" area of the print

Back to the Fine Prints page