Zart Drypoint Etching Cardboard Pack of 30

Ensure the plastic side of the plate is facing up. Work on this side.

Draw a design directly onto the Cardboard Etching Plate (plastic side) with a soft blacklead pencil (2B-6B). The final product will be a reverse of the inital design.

Use an etching needle to draw and score into the plate’s surface – it’s these scored (incised) lines that will be printed. A precision knife or paper cutter can be used to remove the plate’s plastic coating. Removal of the plastic film will produce a solid printed colour.

Lightly mist or sponge a sheet of smooth, heavier weight paper (140-200gsm) with water, or briefly soak it in water to dampen. Ensure the paper is evenly damp but not overly saturated.

Use a straight-edged card or plastic scraping tool to work an etching ink (oil or water-based) into the incised lines. Remove as much ink as possible and return it to the ink container.

Clean the remaining ink from the plate by gently dabbing the surface with a clean piece of thin photocopy paper. This technique will lift the ink from the surface while retaining it in the incised lines. Be gentle and avoid applying too much pressure to prevent damaging/tearing the surface. Repeat as required with clean paper until the ink is removed.

To achieve contrast and tonal textures in prints, experiment with how much ink is removed from the plate's surface. For highlights, use a cotton bud to gently polish and clean sections. Leave ink residue or smudges to create tonal textures, depth and dimension in final prints.

Carefully position the cleaned plate, ink side down, onto the dampened paper.

Place a sheet of thick card on top of the plate and paper, creating a sandwich with the plate in the middle. For the best print try different thicknesses of top card.

Feed the sandwiched plate through a printing press or pasta machine. Alternatively, use a heavy roller to apply even pressure to the back of the card to transfer the print.

Gently lift the card and plate to reveal the print. Allow the ink and paper to dry.