In the last few weeks I have started to immerse myself into the world of photopolymer, a printing process that is used by some photographers to create editions of archival prints. The course takes place at Spike Print Studios in Bristol and is led by artist and master printer Martyn Grimmer. As a process it is related to photo gravure which is an old etching technique involving copper plates and acids. It was described to me as difficult and, after my experience with tricolour gum bichromate printing, I believe it.
The photopolymer process is by comparison easy and, being a kid of its time, uses photopolymer resin as a UV light sensitive coating on metal plates. It can also be used to create paintings and drawings but essentially always needs a digital positive, similar to a digital negative, to create the image on the plate. When done correctly, it can give a very detailed rendition of a photographic image. The skill hereby lies not only in being very precise and careful when creating and printing the plates, some of my fellow course participants ended up with thumb prints, scratches or even squashed plates, but also in choosing the right type of image. This is because not every photograph is equally suited to be reproduced with this method. Having spent a long time now away from monochromatic photography, this has indeed been a steep learning curve and I only just begin to grasp what I want to realise with this method.
What to consider when committing to printing with photopolymer plates: It is a very exact process even on the rather messy end of printing. The pressure of the press, the condition of the blankets, the amount of ink on the heated plate, the dampness of the paper. Trying not to scratch the plate whilst inking up and cleaning and and and … At times I have really struggled with this demand on my attention span and often what I do seems to spin out of control leaving me with ink stains on fingers, paper and cheeks. Yet when it works it produces amazing results and this is simply hugely satisfying. Will I take this forward as technique to generate photographic prints? After quite a lot of deliberation and near sleepless nights, I actually decided that this will be a very good technique to include in my portfolio of artistic practices. My plan on how to take this up is to become a member of the Spike Island Print Studio and make, with a little help from Martyn Grimmer, an edition of prints next spring. Yes, and I am positively excited about this prospect!!!
About two weeks ago I also have tried out Salt Printing as a potential technique to produce unique photographic prints. The one day workshop was led by artist Martin Edwards and took place at the Folk House in Bristol. As a process, it is truly old and was invented in the mid 1830s by English scientist and inventor Henry Fox Talbot. Like Cyanotype, it is also a contact printing method that lends itself not only to be used with negatives but also with objects. In order to cover the paper with salt, it is gently placed on top of a salt water solution. This coats one side of the paper and the floating is rather lovely to watch. Then, as a next step, a silver solution is applied with a glass rod or brush. Not exactly easy but not too difficult either. Once the paper is dry, it is exposed to UV light using sunshine or a UV exposure unit. The results are very painterly and not necessarily precise as each print is unique with its imperfections and hues of brown. I would say, if you are after a perfect and detailed reproduction of your photograph then this process is not for you. Yet, when like me, you are drawn to chance and imperfection then this old technique can be truly mesmerising. For me printing with salt is definitely full of ‘what ifs’ and warrants further experimentation in the darkroom.
This is where I am at the moment in my journey into alternative photographic printing processes. Overall, I feel that I am getting somewhere and I have started to play around with some of the methods in my studio. From next week onwards I plan to spend time in the dark room at BEEF’s (Bristol Experimental and Expanding Film) new headquarter at Kitform/Jamaica Studios. Next to this I also will look into using mud as a developer and explore cyanotype printing in greater depth. More on this in my next post.
My exploration of alternative photographic processes is supported by an artist’s bursary by awarded by a-n, the artist’s newsletter.