"Etcher" redirects here. For the software, see Etcher (software).
The Soldier and his Wife. Etching by Daniel Hopfer, who is believed to have been the first to apply the technique to printmaking.
Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal.[1] In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types of material. As a method of printmaking, it is, along with engraving, the most important technique for old master prints, and remains in wide use today. In a number of modern variants such as microfabrication etching and photochemical milling, it is a crucial technique in modern technology, including circuit boards.
In traditional pure etching, a metal plate (usually of copper, zinc or steel) is covered with a waxy ground which is resistant to acid.[2] The artist then scratches off the ground with a pointed etching needle[3] where the artist wants a line to appear in the finished piece, exposing the bare metal. The échoppe, a tool with a slanted oval section, is also used for "swelling" lines.[4] The plate is then dipped in a bath of acid, known as the mordant (French for "biting") or etchant, or has acid washed over it.[5] The acid "bites" into the metal (it undergoes a redox reaction) to a depth depending on time and acid strength, leaving behind the drawing (as carved into the wax) on the metal plate. The remaining ground is then cleaned off the plate. For first and renewed uses the plate is inked in any chosen non-corrosive ink all over and the surface ink drained and wiped clean, leaving ink in the etched forms.
The plate is then put through a high-pressure printing press together with a sheet of paper (often moistened to soften it).[6] The paper picks up the ink from the etched lines, making a print. The process can be repeated many times; typically several hundred impressions (copies) could be printed before the plate shows much sign of wear. The work on the plate can be added to or repaired by re-waxing and further etching; such an etching (plate) may have been used in more than one state.[7]
Etching has often been combined with other intaglio techniques such as engraving (e.g., Rembrandt) or aquatint (e.g., Francisco Goya).
^"Etching | Definition of etching by Merriam-Webster". Merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
^"The Artist's Studio : What Is Etching?" (PDF). Cairnsregionalgallery.com.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
^"Abraham Bosse" (in French). Expositions.bnf.fr. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
^"Abraham Bosse" (in French). Expositions.bnf.fr. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
^"Abraham Bosse" (in French). Expositions.bnf.fr. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
^"Abraham Bosse" (in French). Expositions.bnf.fr. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio...
Isotropic etching is a method commonly used in semiconductors to remove material from a substrate via a chemical process using an etchant substance. The...
Acid etching may mean: Glass etching, etching glass Etching, acid etching of metal surfaces in printing Printed circuit board § Chemical etching, acid...
The etching revival was the re-emergence and invigoration of etching as an original form of printmaking during the period approximately from 1850 to 1930...
In the United States, VIN etching is a countermeasure to motor vehicle theft, that involves etching a vehicle's VIN onto its windows to reduce the value...
Plasma etching is a form of plasma processing used to fabricate integrated circuits. It involves a high-speed stream of glow discharge (plasma) of an...
make electronics. These include molding and plating, wet etching (KOH, TMAH) and dry etching (RIE and DRIE), electrical discharge machining (EDM), and...
Glass etching, or "French embossing", is a popular technique developed during the mid-1800s that is still widely used in both residential and commercial...
strength. The primary methods currently used in industry are sodium etching and plasma etching. Results of ion beam treatment and laser surface roughening have...
Dry etching refers to the removal of material, typically a masked pattern of semiconductor material, by exposing the material to a bombardment of ions...
techniques. Common types of matrices include: metal plates for engraving, etching and related intaglio printing techniques; stone, aluminum, or polymer for...
The Etching Club (also known as Etching Club, the London Etching Club, and the British Etching Club; or the Junior Etching Club for its younger membership...
desired shape. Other names for chemical etching include photo etching, chemical etching, photo chemical etching and photochemical machining. It is mostly...
Rembrandt produced a total of about three hundred paintings, three hundred etchings, and two thousand drawings. Unlike most Dutch masters of the 17th century...
speed the etching rate. In bubble etching, air is passed through the etchant bath to agitate the solution and speed up etching. Splash etching uses a motor-driven...
Liposuction, or simply lipo, is a type of fat-removal procedure used in plastic surgery. Evidence does not support an effect on weight beyond a couple...
White etching cracks (WEC), or white structure flaking or brittle flaking, is a type of rolling contact fatigue (RCF) damage that can occur in bearing...
Atomic layer etching (ALE) is an emerging technique in semiconductor manufacture, in which a sequence alternating between self-limiting chemical modification...
earliest years in the 1820s, normally a combination of etching and true engraving, with etching becoming dominant in later examples, after the technique...
Metal Assisted Chemical Etching (also known as MACE) is the process of wet chemical etching of semiconductors (mainly silicon) with the use of a metal...
ion etching (RIE). Other methods for forming a similar structure include electrochemical etching, stain etching, metal-assisted chemical etching, and...
Etchinghill may refer to Etchinghill, Kent Etchinghill, Staffordshire This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Etchinghill. If...
Patterning by Etching at the nanoscale (PENs) is a soft lithographic technique in which the bonds in the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix are broken...
The following is a list of etchings by the Dutch painter and etcher Rembrandt, with the catalogue numbers of Adam Bartsch. Each change or addition to the...
Global Information