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Alfonso Crujera
April 2010
Grand Canary Island, Spain
Old processes were rediscovered and new methods were incorporated using modern materials such as polymers for the practice of
intaglio, digital and laser processes etc. Virtually all these techniques have proved popular with those printmakers who are more
health-conscious and environmentally sensitive, and amongst those who are more curious and eager to experiment.
Fortunately, these alternative processes have been gradually spreading across the world of modern print arts. More and more
publications, and websites such as this one, now feature extensive information about many of these alternative methods.
Among the rediscovered techniques is electro-etching, developed in the 19th Century by Thomas Spencer and then almost
forgotten in the printmaking world. Why, I do not know. But now it has been revived through its association with safe or low-risk
modern printmaking, thanks to research by Nik Semenoff, Cedric Green, Marion and Omri Behr, and the workshop of Ole Larsen
(where I had the opportunity to begin my own research into the technique). These printmakers have been testing and
demonstrating the usefulness and safety of electrolytic processes for etching.
The reinvigorated technique offers a wide range of new features, graphics and innovative possibilities but has not enjoyed the
same spread or level of acceptance as other non-toxic processes - perhaps because of an unfounded fear of electricity, or the
apparent "expensive paraphernalia" to set up an electro-etching unit. In truth, the electrical "know-how" is very simply, and you do
not need expensive equipment.
I believe that electro-etching is a 21st Century technique that's here to stay! And I hope to contribute to its revival and
popularity by showing how with these easy instructions.
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The Fundamentals of the Electrolytic Processes and Electro-Etching
The electrolyte contains positive metal ions and negative sulfate ions. When the
current flows, positive and negative ions of the electrolyte are attracted to the plate of
opposite polarity. Positive metal ions are adhered or "attached" to the cathode
(negative pole) and the negative sulfate ions are attracted to the bare areas of the
anode (positive pole) and react with the metal surface oxidizing and eroding it. The
result of this process is a bite in the metal that is comparable with an acid etching; but
with some very useful differences!
The plate you wish to etch is attached to the anode (+) and placed in the tank facing
(in parallel with) another plate that is attached to the cathode (-), with a distance of 6
to 10 centimeters between them.
While positive metal ions are becoming solid metal at the cathode, an equivalent
amount of metal is being extracted from the anode, thus the electrolyte keeps its
original concentration.
The amount of sulfate in the solution does not change, and the electrolytic bath is
reusable. The solution is not depleted with use. This balance and stability in the
solution allows you to calculate bite-times more accurately than with acids.
By using the same concentration in the electrolytic solution, the same time, and same
voltage, the printmakers is able to produce a consistent bite. If you have several plates of the same dimensions and etch identical
areas on those plates using the same formula (i.e. consistent electrolyte concentration, time, voltage) you will produce identical
results on all the plates.
This process does not release toxic gases such as those produced by etching zinc or copper plates with nitric or hydrochloric acid.
And, by taking some minor precautions when you introduce and remove plates from tanks or during the washing process for
example, you can consider it a fairly harmless technique.
Electrolytic processes, using electricity, have the advantage of not producing waste, such as gas bubbles which with traditional acid
etching can block the bite, nor does it produce sediment that can builds up on the plate and at the bottom of a tank as with other
methods.
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Vertical tank
Power supply - direct current (DC)
Cathode grid
Electrolyte
Vertical Tank
Always use a plastic tank, never metal. You can begin with small plates and an improvised tank made from a plastic water
container with its top cut off, until you become familiar with the technique. You can use a flat tank or tray too: Cedric Green provides
information about this method on his GREEN PRINTS website.
Tank DIY with a plastic water container Direct Current (DC) Power Supply
Power Supply
You will need a power source that supplies direct current (DC) about 5 volts and between 3 to 5 amps at least, equipped with digital
displays and power controls. This power supply will provide a constant flow and more secure control over the process, especially
for those who are beginners and have no knowledge of electrical etching. Cedric Green and Matt Farrar show how you can prepare
your own power supply or use batteries (cheaper systems). You can use whichever power supply you want, but always use direct
current (DC).
Cathode Grid
In order for the electrolytic process to take place, a metal plate must be immersed in the tank and connected to the negative pole (-)
cathode, and positioned opposite (in parallel with) another plate of the same metal, which is connected to the positive pole (+)
anode. The plate that is attached to the anode is the plate that will be etched.
To simplify the process, instead of a cathode plate, you can use a stainless steel grid that fits the dimensions of your tank. You
can appropriate the type of stainless steel grill popularly used for roasting meat. I would recommend using a different grid or grill for
each of the metals that you are intending to etch.
So remember: you must use a metal salt that matches the metal to be etched:
These sulfates can be obtained from suppliers of industrial chemicals. I recommend using pure sulfate, free of any impurities that
can cause unknown waste and undesirable consequences in disposal (see ETCH ZINC, STEEL, ALUMINUM for more information
about copper sulfate use and safe disposal). If you buy sulfate in garden stores, be very careful that it has not been mixed with
other products such as fungicides etc., as the resulting electrolyte may not work.
Because the electrolyte solutions are not exhausted with successive bites, and therefore they do not have to be continually renew, I
would advise using maximum purity sulfates.
Copper sulfate Zinc sulfate
The concentration of metal ions in the electrolytic solution will set up the current flow and, consequently, the amount of metal that
will be dissolved from the plate you are etching. Low concentrations do slower work but effective etching. Saturated concentrations
are faster but require a power supply with more amperage. A high concentration joined with a high voltage can stimulate the
generation of oxygen at the anode, forming - if the plate is copper - a thin but solid oxide layer, which is not dangerous but can
cause etching to stop as the copper oxide is not electrically conductive. If this happens you must dilute the electrolyte.
If the plate is zinc, and the electrolytic solution is fairly concentrated, and used with a high voltage, the solution will slowly begin to
change. As the zinc hydroxide is very alkaline it will increase the pH of the solution and thicken it. The earliest attempts at anodic
etching were geared to these facts, and it necessitated the use of acids to neutralize the effects. There were etchers who added a
small amount of sulfuric acid (0.03% / liter of solution) to their copper sulfate solution to prevent disagreeable oxidations -
something which works on copper plates; but it is not recommended that sulfuric acid be added to zinc sulfate solutions since the
current flow will produce a large quantity of gases.
Copper sulfate and zinc sulfate are salts which are usually supplied in the form of crystals, or sometimes crushed into coarse
grains. When handling these crystals or powders, you should avoid breathing in the dust or allowing the material to come into direct
contact with the skin. Protect yourself with a dust mask and rubber gloves while they are solid salts. Once the salts are diluted in
water there is no danger of breathing in the solutions. The solutions are safe because, as explained above, they do not emit
harmful gases. However, you should avoid letting the electrolyte solutions touch the skin, and be careful when you are immersing
or taking plates out of tanks so as not to cause splashing into the eyes. Use goggles to be extra safe. (See more about Precautions
and Safety below.)
Electrolytic solutions should be made with neutral pH water, thus the chemistry of the electrolyte will be more balanced.
Remember, you must use a wooden stick to dilute the salts in water, never metal.
Before you fill the tank, prepare the electrolyte in advance, in a plastic container - you can filter it if necessary.
Add one part sulfate salts to the water. Stir gently. Let the mixture stand a few minutes, then add more sulfate. Stir until the
crystals are completely diluted.
A concentration is measured as the amount of salt per liter of water.
The temperature of the solution is very important. The electrolytic bath should be kept at BELOW 32º C to prevent the
electrolyte penetrate between the metal and resist.
Electrolyte solutions that are not being used can be left in the vertical tank. Cover the tank to avoid the
solution getting contaminated or evaporated in warm weather. If you are using small quantities, the solutions can be stored in
plastic bottles with caps, with an information label indicating the concentration of sulfates, date, etc.
I have worked with several electrolytic concentrations (amount of salt per liter of water), each of them has given me slightly different
nuances. I recommend you start experimenting with a low concentration in the solution. Later, if you have sufficient amperage of
power supply, you can increase concentration and continue practicing and researching.
Concentration
Concentration
Concentration
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Preparing the Plate
Contact-Strip
You should prepare a "contact-strip" that serves to carry or conduct current to the plate that you are going to etch. Cut a strip of the
same metal that you are etching; it should be 1mm thick, 1.5cm wide, and about 12cm long. Next, prepare a piece of self-stick
plastic that is a little bigger than the plate size. Place the contact-strip on the back of the plate and cover both with the self-stick
plastic: this serves to attach the contact-strip and to protect the reverse of the plate from electrolytic corrosion at the same time.
It should be noted that any small amount of grease left on the plate, for instance fingerprints, will prevent etching in that area of the
plate.
You can also use the ACRYLIC RESIST ETCHING options recommended on this site in the INTAGLIO MANUAL of Acrylic Resist Etching
by Friedhard Kiekeben and the BEGINNERS COMPENDIUM by Donna Adams, which give information about a large number of acrylic
products. I have successfully used the acrylic wax Future produced by Johnson - applying two coats of varnish and drying
thoroughly with hot air between each layer.
Applying an acrylic resist Drain the remaining resist from one side of the plate
Finish draining the excess resist on the other side of the plate, dry the resist using hot air
Proof of acrylic resist on copper:
Electrolyte concentration 250g to 1 Liter of water.
Voltage 0.5V.
Bitten at two intervals of 10 minutes and two of 15 minutes.
Voltage
With any of the metals and concentrations shown above, I usually use a very low current of 0.5 volts. With this voltage and after 15
minutes of electrolysis, we will have a printable line. A plate will need to be etched up to 60 minutes to get deeper lines.
I recommend you make step tests of single and crossed lines at intervals of 15 minutes up to a total of 120 minutes so you can
discover the times needed to reach the intensity of etched lines for your work.
You can also etch with a current of 1.0 volt. But remember you ought to etch with low voltage, it is not necessary to use higher
current and this may cause the varnish/resist to be detached.
WARNING:
With 10 volts, oxygen will form at the anode and hydrogen on the cathode,
and these gases together are an explosive combination.
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Prepare the plate with the contact-strip, then degrease it very well and cover with your chosen ground or varnish.
Fill your tank with a suitable electrolyte solution up to about 5cm from the rim of the container.
Once you have finished drawing put the plate into the tank which has previously been filled with a suitable electrolyte.
The plate should be fully submerged in the tank, and opposite where you have already installed the cathode grid.
The plate should be placed at a distance of approximately 6cm from the cathode. Remember that the plate and cathode grid
should be parallel across the whole surface and they should not be tilted.
Connect the wires from the power supply with the help of some crocodile clips.
The CATHODE grid is connected to the BLACK negative pole (-).
The ANODE contact-strip joined to the plate should be connected to the RED positive pole (+).
see image (4) and image (5) below
Next, switch on the power supply which regulates current with controlled voltage from 0 volts, until it reaches 0.5 volts. You
will see how the amperage increases gradually - this depends on the amount of bare metal on the plate.
Once the desired time has elapsed, switch off the power supply, remove the plate from the tank and flush it with water.
Cover any area with stop-out varnish, and then return the plate to the tank and repeat the process above.
concentrations of electrolyte
voltage (within safe limits)
time
distance between poles
On copper, open bite generates a micro-dot with a scale of tones ranging from pale gray to the darkest and most
intense tones using solutions of low concentration and low voltage. A current of 1.0 V does not produce a more intense tone of
micro-dot.
Alternatively, you can apply a layer of intaglio ink to the plate with a roller (it is best to remove some of the ink from the roller on a
newsprint sheet first). When ink is applied to the plate it creates a network of tiny ink dots that will block the whole plate or smaller
areas where it has been applied, like an aquatint. Obviously this method requires skill to achieve good results.
You can make stop-outs with wax and lithographic pencils. You can also use splashes of varnish. A micro-dot can also be
generated through galvanizing - by changing the polarity of the plates. If you wish, you can use traditional (but toxic) rosin or
asphaltum to aquatint plates, but these have a tendency to lift off at certain stages in the electrolytic action. The challenge is not to
use these toxic methods! Since turning away from acids, powdered and melted rosins, and methanol or turpentine cleaners the
etching workshop has become a new space, so why not try out the new ways to AQUATINT.
I have not experimented with modern methods of acrylic aquatint applied using an airbrush, since you need two layers of varnish to
resist electro-etching. Perhaps using an acrylic spray aquatint and etching for about 10 minutes and then continuing to apply acrylic
sprays and etching for several intervals, will produce interesting results?
There are so many more nuances to electro-etching than I have space to go into in this simple 'How-To' guide, and so much more
experimenting to do!
Step Test: Electro-etching "micro-dots" by open bite on COPPER PLATES
Cu 1 - Electrolyte concentration 160g to 1 Liter of water. Voltage 0.5V. Bitten at 15 minute intervals.
Cu 2 - Electrolyte concentration 200g to 1 Liter of water. Voltage 0.5V. Bitten at 15 minute intervals.
Cu 3 - Electrolyte concentration 250g to 1 Liter of water. Voltage 1.0V. Bitten at 15 minute intervals.
Step Test: electro-etching "micro-dots" by open bite on ZINC PLATES
Zn 1 - Electrolyte concentration 160g to 1 Liter of water. Voltage 0.5V. Bitten at 15 minute intervals.
Zn 2 - Electrolyte concentration 200g to 1 Liter of water. Voltage 0.5V. Bitten at 15 minute intervals.
Zn 3 - Electrolyte concentration 300g to 1 Liter of water. Voltage 0.5V. Bitten at 15 minute intervals.
Zn 4 - Electrolyte concentration 300g to 1 Liter of water. Voltage 1.0V. Bitten at 15 minute intervals.
Zn 5 - Electrolyte concentration 500g to 1 Liter of water. Voltage 0.5V. Bitten at 15 minute intervals.
Electro-etching lines and micro-dots on copper plate
Applications
The great thing with electro-etching is that you can experiment with all kinds of varnishes, acrylic and oil based. You can apply
all the usual techniques of intaglio. You can also use transfers and photopolymer sheets on the plates. You can experiment with the
nuances of galvanography. Electrolytic processes offer the printmaker a multiple possibilities.
Printing
Any plate that has been etched using the electrolytic processes described above can be printed in the usual manner. See sections
on printing your plate in the INTAGLIO MANUAL and BEGINNERS COMPENDIUM.
REMEMBER:
You still need to take precautions with the raw sulfates and resulting electrolytic solutions.
A feature of electro-etching is that it will bite isolated lines deeper than those that are close together, or cross hatched lines.
Also it tends to bite harder in the external areas than at the center of plates (edge-effect). In addition, electrolytic etching
bites harder on the edges of wide lines and edges of resists of large areas of open bite. This is more noticeable in prolonged
bites. However, all these drawbacks can be compensated for by using a cathode grid in the electro-etching unit instead of a
cathode plate.
Using electricity to etch may put off some etchers, because this source of energy may seem dangerous to them. As long as
precautions are taken to keep the voltage and amperage used very low, there is no risk of electric shock if you should
accidentally touch the electrical connectors at the same time. It is sensible, however, to avoid causing a short circuits by bad
connections or by accident.
Some printmakers may consider not using powdered rosin or asphaltum as a limit to achieving a flat and uniform tone of
different intensities - of the sort provided by the traditional aquatint.
It is a great time for looking forward in printmaking. With practice I'm sure we will find ways to avoid or
remedy any minor issues. It is necessary to give some time to electro-etching, to work with the
techniques to research its nuances, to make a virtue out of necessity. I hope this introduction will fire your
enthusiasm to give electro-etching a try!
Alfonso Crujera
Email: electro@crujera.es
Blog: www.acrujera.blogspot.com
If you would like to find out more about electro-etching Crujera's excellent, fully illustrated publication Manual del grabado
electrolitico is available in Spanish. There are plans to publish the manual in English. Contact the author for further details.
Alfonso Crujera is the co-founder of a number of art groups and initiatives. A highly versatile artist that has taken part in many solo
and group exhibitions, he works in a range of media including painting, engraving, sculpture, video, performance and also as a
curator. He learnt to etch with the master Felix Juan Bordes in 1976. Since 1998 he has taught intaglio printmaking at Luján Pérez
Art School in Grand Canary Island, Spain.
His first contact with electro-etching was in 2001 at the Ateljé Larsen in Helsingborg, Sweden. Since that time he has worked with
and extensively researched all aspects of the electro-etching processes. He has written a number of articles about electro-etching
and galvanography for specialised magazines: Grabado y Edición (Spain), Xilyon (Argentina), and published a handbook about this
technique in Spanish: Manual del Grabado Electrolítico in 2008.
He lectures and delivers workshops at conferences, art schools and universities. Under his direction, several electrolytic etching
units have been installed in workshops in Spain and Mexico, where he has given courses on etching with electricity. He
collaborates regularly with other Spanish printmakers - including Eva Figueras, Kako Castro, and Paco Mora - who have an
interested in non-toxic etching.
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NOTES:
Electro-etching = Electroetch = Galv-etch = Anodic etching = Polytypi = Electrolytic etching
Micro-dot = Microtint = Microtinting = Galv-tone
Websites and Publications:
Nik Semenoff: http://homepage.usask.ca/~nis715/electro.html
Marion and Omri Behr. http://www.electroetch.com
Cedric Green: http://www.greenart.info/green
Alfonso Crujera: http://acrujera.blogspot.com