Viscosity Printing

Viscosity printing is a multi-color printmaking technique that incorporates principles of relief printing and intaglio printing. It was pioneered by Stanley William Hayter. The process uses the principle of viscosity to print multiple colors of ink from a single plate, rather than relying upon multiple plates for color separation. It is a fine art printmaking technique, as it is too slow and allows too much variation between proofs to make the printing of a large edition feasible.There are a number of different types of original prints to be aware of. Intaglio prints: for example a dollar bill-the bills we handle and most stamps we use are engraved in metal plates and are printed after a viscous ink (about the consistency of oil paint) is forced into grooves, scratches, etched lines or indentations. The polished surface is then wiped clean using newsprint and tarlatan, leaving ink only below the plate level. The plate is then covered with a dampened paper and felt blankets. It is run through the press where great pressure (approximately 8 tons to the square inch) pushes the paper down into the engraved or etched grooves to pick up ink. In other words, in intaglio we see printed what is below the surface of the plate and the ink is now embossed on the paper. Among the greatest masters of engraving and etching are Durer, Holbien, Rembrandt, Goya, and Picasso. Color viscosity printing is among the latest developments in intaglio printmaking. Stanley William Hayter in Paris developed it during the late 1960s