Photogravure
www.heliogravuere.de
History of Photogravure
The history of the photogravure reaches back up to the photographic experiments of Nicéphore Niépce (1765-1833). In 1816 he tried to project a picture by a camera obscura so that it could be brought in a printable form. This first quite primitive photomechanical process is called Niépce Gravure Heliographique.
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Technique of Photogravure
The photogravure is a photomechanical intaglio process. From the original negative to the final print, there are five steps: making the positive (halftone film), sensitizing the gelatine tissue, making the gelatine resist, etching the copper plate, and, finally, printing the plate. A halftone film is made from a negative. To create an extremely fine pattern, an aquatint is applied to a clean copper plate. The positive is then exposed onto the sensitized gelatine tissue, which is then adhered onto the copper plate and developed with warm water. After the development, the gelatine resist is dried and the copper plate is etched in a series of ferric chloride baths with different density. Once the etching is complete, the resist is removed from the plate. The plate is cleaned, inked, wiped, and printed on an intaglio press.
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Gallery
On this page You see photogravures made by Gary Krüger from 2002 to 2007. All images are photos from the original prints.
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