When first shown copper plate etching, it was in a workshop, seen through a thick visor wearing equally thick gloves and an apron. Being inside meant an extractor fan and the timings were down to the second.
Ordering some ferric chloride online (although I have since been told there are more friendly solutions), a few copper plates and some soft ground, I got busy with Brasso, melting the ground and scratching into it. Opting for the ferric chloride powder, I added distilled water and stood back as the highly volatile mix combusted in a boiling mass, sending a plume into the air. Luckily I was doing all this outside, and with a few containers of clean water to hand just in case, including all the safety wear worn in the workshop. However, I found the result disappointing, even when heating the solution to around 40 degrees so bought a bottle of ready mixed solution instead.
Usually when buying a bottle of solvent and the like, it has many instructions, warnings, and just about anything else that can be put on a bottle. The highly caustic and poisonous ferric chloride has a warning about being toxic to the environment, but that's about it. Lucky we have the internet then!
The method learned when using this etching technique in the workshop is to scratch into the ground, leaving an exposed section of plate which, when left in the acid, will be eaten away creating a groove for ink when printing. However, coming across an etching site devoted to creating electrical circuit boards, a pen can be used to block off sections of copper, leaving the non-penned sections to erode.
So one method is scratching in the design and the other is blocking off and exposing the design; something to be borne in mind. I bought a waterproof Staedtler permanent lumocolour pen, but have since been told waterproof Sharpies have much the same effect.
For the second attempt, I chose to use the pen, enjoying the fine lines and random marks achieved. (See first image). The plate was put in the bottom of an especially-bought washing up bowl. It is worth noting that ferric chloride is highly poisonous so best not to mix and match with normal kitchen equipment. This was left for 10 minutes before removing and placing in another bowl of clean water and then wiped off with white spirit. The resulting plate has a design which to my mind looks a little shallow. I was hoping for a nice deep well for the ink to sit in, but that might have caused problems when put through the press. For the time being, I have played with some abstract designs, orders a soft and hard brayer and will look forward to seeing if all the work comes to anything other than some pretty, shiny plates.
