Polymer Photogravure
Instructor: Clay Harmon
June 14 – 16, 2015
Clay Harmon has established himself among the more important educators working in the Polymer Photogravure process today. Having taught classes all over the country, including the very first workshop here at NLPW, there are many out there now working that have learned from him. You will be in very knowledgeable hands during this workshop and will come away ready to break out on your own.
The class is an introduction to the polymer photogravure process, the modern successor to the difficult Talbot-Klic copperplate process that was in common use in the late 1800s and early 1900s. You will first learn to make a printing plate using a modern polymer-coated plate to create an intaglio-etched surface. You will then be introduced to the art of hand inking and wiping the plate, perhaps the most important part of the process. You will then learn to use the etching press to print your images, producing the gradation of tones that make the photogravure one of the most beautiful and permanent of the continuous tone photographic printing processes.
The beauty of the polymer method is that the etching of the plate is done with tap water instead of the more chemically dangerous mordant used in the traditional copperplate photogravure process. The use of a digitally printed positive on clear film also allows the student to concentrate more on the technique of inking and wiping plates rather than spending time making a perfect positive in the darkroom. With a three day workshop, we will have enough time for each student to make at least four plates and several prints from each plate.
This workshop is appropriate for anyone interested in learning an alternative printing technique and who doesn’t mind getting black ink on their hands. However, the prospective student should have a basic familiarity with Photoshop. Workshop participants will be asked to submit approximately a dozen 5×7 to 8×10 (360dpi) images to an online folder one week prior to the class so that the first few positives will be ready to go when the class begins. All materials needed as well as the production of several positives for plate making will be provided by a lab fee that has been built in to the overall cost of this workshop.