Photo-etching is a way of transferring an image directly to the surface of a sensitised metal plate using ultra-violet light.
It can be a photograph but all kinds of images including drawing and text can be used.
The plate has an intaglio (indented) surface that will hold printing ink in the same way as a traditional etching or engraving.
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Photo-etchings by past students

Christine Taylor
Photo-etching

Josephine Dickinson
Photo-etching

Cherie Steele
Photo-etching

Chris Waites
Photo-etching

Andrew Pattullo
Photo-etching Tryptich

Fyl
Photo-etching

Norma Dance
Two-plate photo-etching

Edward Bianchi
Photo-etching

Mandy Pattullo
Photo-etching

Sue Pine
Two-plate photo-etching

Mandy Pattullo
Photo-etching

Mandy Pattullo
Photo-etching

Norma Miles
Two-plate photo-etching

Louise Taylor
Photo-etching

Louise Taylor
Photo-etching

Caroline Hewitt
Two-plate photo-etching

Peter Saunders
Photo-etching

Rosalind Glover
Two-plate photo-etching

The photo-etching method we use was developed by Keith Howard in Canada in the 1990s but springs from a longer history of photo-mechanical printmaking. Early photographers experimented with photo-gravure in the 19^th century and various types of light-sensitive plates have been available to artists since then. Keith Howard initially used his own photo-intaglio emulsion but then had a major breakthrough with a photo-polymer film used in the printed circuit board industry. This blue, light-sensitive film, (initially called ‘Riston’, now available as ‘Imagon’ or ‘Photec’) has some extraordinary properties, which make it very adaptable for the artist-printmaker not least its ability to hold ink in developed image areas.

All photo-mechanical printmaking processes (screen-printing, lithography and etching) require the production of a piece of artwork on clear film. This is called a ‘positive’. It can be a drawing or painting on drafting film or tracing paper, a photocopy onto acetate, a digital image printed onto inkjet or laser film, or a photograph enlarged onto lith-film. You can even use real objects like leaves and lace! The main property of the positive is that light passes through the non-image areas and is blocked by the dark image areas. For this reason they are usually created as monochrome black artwork but can later be printed in colour. I like to combine drawing on drafting film with ink-jet positives for a wide range of lines, marks and image information.

This positive is laid onto a steel plate that has been laminated with the blue film. (At this stage it is important not to accidentally expose the film so semi-dark working conditions are required.) The image/film sandwich is exposed to ultra-violet light for a specific time then developed in a soda solution. Tiny fragments of film wash away leaving a lightly grained surface on the image areas of the plate. Once dry, the plate can be inked up in the traditional etching way: rubbing ink into the grooves, wiping the top surface clean and printing under high pressure onto damp paper through an etching press. The plate is reasonably durable and can be printed a number of times.