What is Solarplate?

I have mentioned that I got into Solarplate prints in the last year and there may be some of you that are wondering what I am talking about.  In the next few blogs I will take you through the process of doing a Solarplate etching.  It is a great product that has a lot of potential in the printmaking arts.

Solarplate is a thin metal plate coated with a layer of photo-sensitive polymer that hardens when exposed to ultraviolet light.  The product I use is called Solarplate Copper, and is available through most of the art supply sources.  You can go to www.solarplate.com to read more about the product.  Dan Welden has developed the product and has a book out, called "Printmaking in the Sun".  You can get it through that web site or through Amazon.com.

The basic set up involves a cushioned board with a 1/4" glass plate and clamps for the plate exposing and either sunlight or a UV light box to expose the plates.  Below is a photo of the light box I built using 6 inexpensive blacklights purchased at Walmart.  You can also see the board with glass and clamps.

The first step in the process is preparing an image for the print.  The image is prepared on clear acetate, either by painting or drawing directly on acetate or by preparing an image on the computer and printing on the acetate with an inkjet printer.  I have used photo images and scanned pen & ink images as my original art for the acetate.  Photos must be modified in photoshop to be shades of grey and dot patterns or you must double expose the plate with an aquatint screen first or the darks will not print solid.  In the image above I posterized the photo and added film grain in order to acheive the dot pattern.

The image is then printed onto inkjet-printable clear acetate at the size of the solarplate you have chosen.  The acetate is then placed emusion side down over the solarplate and the glass is clamped on top.  The plate is then ready to be exposed.

In the next blog I will go through the exposure process and developing the plate.

Art is not created on the canvas, the potter's wheel or on the screen of the computer.

Art is created in the artist's imagination.

The rest are just tools.

Stephen M. Perry