Zea Mays Printmaking/Etching Studio Maintenance - Remastered

Etching Studio Maintenance - Remastered

Empower yourself to take care of your etching equipment and tools! Zea Mays Printmaking founding Director Liz Chalfin takes you through the basics for caring for your press, blankets, tools and mordants.

Each section focuses on a different aspect of the etching studio.
  • Press Maintenance: lubricating, calibrating and setting pressure on an etching press.
  • Blankets: felt uses and procedures for cleaning
  • Tools: Etching tool use and sharpening techniques
  • Mordants: Mixing and maintaining ferric chloride for etching copper and copper sulfate saline for etching zinc and aluminum

Contents

Part I: Press Maintenance

Get to know your etching press, learn how to do basic maintenance and how to calibrate the microdials.
Press Maintenance

Part II: Blanket Care

Understand the felt blankets and their uses. Learn how to clean and care for them.
Blanket Care

Part III: Tools

Tool uses and maintenance, including sharpening.
Tools

Part IV: Mordants

How to make mordants for etching: ferric chloride for copper plates and copper sulfate saline for zinc or aluminum. Maintaining and adjusting strength and proper disposal
Mordants