Drypoint, is the technique of making scratches onto a surface that will hold ink, in order to be printed. It can create prints with fine, delicate lines. The design is scratched onto a plate by hand or etched using acid, and then printing ink is applied to the surface and pushed into the cracks. The ink is then polished off of the plate. Dampened paper is applied, and then the plate is passed through an etching press. The plate can be printed several times before ink would need to be reapplied.
Polishing the plate. Ink has adhered to the burrs made by scratching. This plate was made of plastic but I have also tried using aluminium previously. I found that the aluminium was easier to polish cleanly, and it could be sat onto a hot plate to let the ink melt into the design fully. The advantage of the plastic plate is that designs can be easily transferred by tracing, which would be advantageous when creating lettering (which needs to be reversed on the plate)
Placing the dampened paper on top of plates before printing. Dampening the paper makes it more flexible and less prone to becoming crumpled in the press. It also helps the ink to adhere and pick up the finer detail.
Tissue paper can be applied for a colour blocking effect. The tissue paper is placed over the plate, and dried wallpaper paste is sprinkled liberally over it. It will then adhere to the damp paper when pressed.
The printed plates. The entire area of the plate is visible since it is difficult to polish away all of the ink.