It Works, It Works!

OK, I was so excited last night when I took this out of the etching bath.  A good year ago I was told that Graphic Chemical W/B Block Print Black 1659 was dicontinued because the company could not get an ingredient to make it. They replaced it, however it aparently did not work as a hard ground anymore.  Good ordinary lesson in life again - check things out for yourself. 

Personally I have lots of ink left for my selfish use, but I really felt bad for others just starting to experiment with non-toxic etching.  I really love rolling on the ink for a hard ground.

So, I tried the sample tube that was sent to me  (Graphic Chemical W/B Block Print Black 1459).

And this is what happened.

In the evening I rolled ink on the plate and with marker I tryed to document what I had done.  I also scratched into the wet ink. I did hair dry the plate a bit, but it was late and I decided to just leave it over night to dry for sure.  Next day I had to go out, but before going I scratched into the ink again.  It was very dry to the touch.  In the evening I put the plate in the Edinburgh Etch for 2 hours.

 After rinsing with water, the ink was a good scrub to get off with soap and water. A little cheat tip, use Mr Clean.

The etched plate looks great for a first test plate!

I love this roll on Hard Ground.  It is such a wonderful printmaking medium and very cost friendly.  A can lasts for a long time (years) in a Print Studio.  I would love to hear from other Printmakers about the new Graphic Chemical W/B Block Print Black 1459 being used as a Hard Ground.

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