What is a photopolymer etching?
With photopolymer etching (solarplate), a photosensitive gel coating on a metal base-plate is converted to a solid printing surface by exposure to ultraviolet light (using sunlight or a UV lightbox), which hardens the gel. In areas where the gel is protected from light (because the light is blocked by an image on a transparency, for example), the gel stays soft and is washed away before the plate is cured. To print, the cured plate is inked and cleaned. Then, the image is “pulled” to damp paper by passing the plate-paper sandwich through a hand-cranked printing press. I usually get about six good prints from a plate. They can be slightly different (prints in a small series). Or they can be very different (different ink colors or types, different inking method, layering different plates). I often print the plates “intaglio” (ink is rubbed into the etched crevices of the plate) but sometimes print them “relief” (ink is rolled onto the raised surfaces of the plate). Similar to a positive
