Solar Plate Etching Prints
Make sure you place this emulsion surface of the screen face to face with the plate surface for the first exposure.
Solar plate etching prints. He was the inventor of this printmaking technique. In 1972 welden discovered that polymer printers plates could be used in printmaking by exposing them to the sun. It is exposed with uv light and de. May 10 2017 explore marie english s board printmaking solar plates followed by 898 people on pinterest.
All flexographic plates contain large amounts of unreacted monomers of various and complex chemical compostion and the manual processing of these materials entail extensive exposure to. Remove the screen and expose your positive transparency to the plate for 1 minute. If you wash the ink from the solarplates with dawn dish detergent and water recommended you must blot the plates dry and post expose again. Solarplate printing or etching used to be regarded as less toxic than traditional etching but currently this notion is being questioned by some experts.
Images can be transferred from clear film such as acetate or true grain to the plate using a source of ultra violet light i e. Solarplate is a prepared light sensitive polymer surface on a steel backing for artists to produce fine prints. Post expose if washing with water or your plates will deteriorate and crack. Solarplate is a light sensitized steel backed polymer material used by artists as an alternative to hazardous printing techniques.
Sandwich the plate and screen between thick plate glass and a foam cushion on a flat rigid board. Clamp the entire unit together in the center and expose it to the sun perpendicular to the rays. Solar plates are easy to use with little experience of traditional printmaking processes. Solar plates are a simple safe and fast approach to etching and relief printing that does not use grounds acids or solvents.
The method is now widely used and welden and muir have produced the first book on this extremely versatile art. Bright sunlight or a uv bulb. Draw on a transparency place it over the plate expose it to the sun and the plate is in effect etched for printing. Printmaking with solarplate is a simple approach and safer alternative to traditional etching and relief printing.
When you have completed the second exposure remove the positive transparency and proceed to develop your plate in water dry post expose and print.