Etching As Another Printing Technique

By Author: Brent Durell
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While your Dallas printer may specialize in offset printing or digital printing, there is also a printing technique called etching which has been around for hundreds of years. Etching is a printing technique closely related to engraving, another old printing method which your DFW printers may or may not offer. If you have any particular interest in the art of creating designs through the use of acids, here is a quick guide containing some facts, tidbits, and important information on the printing technique called etching.

One of the simplest definitions of etching is that it is a printing process which uses acid in order to create designs on metal or other materials. The principle is that by systematically covering up parts of the metal and leaving behind some parts uncovered depending on the design, the acid will eat up the unprotected portions, resulting in the design being revealed. The earliest forms of etching were by goldsmiths and other metal handlers who used the method in order to decorate armor, dishes, weapons, and other metal objects. Etching was a simpler and easier alternative to engraving, because it didn’t ...
... require as much skill in metalworking and only required skill in design or drawing.

The history of etching involved the experimentation with different metals, acids, and techniques like echoppe and stopping out. Suffice to say that many variations in etching had been developed and invented through the years particularly in France and other parts of Europe. Some of the types of etching and its variations are as follows.

William Blake was responsible for the invention of Relief etching in 1788. While the entire process he used was not entirely made sure of, the concept of his relief etching is basically exposing the “white” background to the acid, while covering the “black” areas with ground. William Blake used this technique in order to print both words and pictures together, writing with the use of an acid-resistant medium. Photo-etching, as the name implies uses light in order to etch the images onto the medium. This makes use of light-sensitive polymer plates. When the desired areas have been completely covered by photo-sensitive coating, it is then exposed to light in order to expose it. Other times, UV radiation is used for this purpose.

Photo-etching is not only used for creating different pictures and artwork. This type of etching is also quite useful in the field of electronics for the production of printed circuit boards. Before photo-etching, circuits were manually drawn onto boards using markers or special tape, after which the copper board is bathed in ferric chloride to strip off unneeded copper. With photo-etching, designs may be printed onto acetate and then fixed onto the light-sensitive board. After exposure, a developer reveals the imprinted design onto the coated board, which is again washed in ferric chloride. This process is faster and more convenient.

One may not expect it, but it is quite surprising to learn that even printing can make use of acids, metals, and other special substances in creating designs and figures. If you are lucky, then you can find Dallas printers or DFW printers that offer etching and other printmaking services. Definitely a unique printing technique, etching will survive for many years to come.