I will be teaching my final polymer photogravure workshop in Asheville this January. Bookworks will be closing as a public-facing entity at the end of March 2019, and this is the last photogravure class I will be teaching there.
The workshop will use a modern polymer coated plate to create an intaglio-etched surface, which will then produce the photographic gradation of tones making the photogravure one of the most beautiful continuous tone photographic printing process. The process presents a fantastic opportunity to expand the range of visual content that can be included in books and other similar projects.
This is a two and a half day workshop that will introduce you to the basics of making polymer photogravure plates. Bring your digital files on Friday evening and walk away with some beautiful photogravures by Sunday afternoon. Sign up at the Asheville Bookworks website.
Check the downloads section for a new downloadable pdf file that covers the process of creating a linearized calibration workflow for positives used in making polymer photogravure plates. This new piece of software from BWMastery.com allows the use of QTR to create perfectly calibrated positives from which to make polymer intaglio plates.
Here is a direct link to that download page:
BWMastery.com has created a Mac-based software tool called QuadToneProfiler-QuickCurve that enables a very streamlined linearization workflow for making digital positives for steel-backed polymer plates. This is a 20-page pdf description of that workflow.
This file is an image file that is useful in calculating the screen exposure time for polymer plates. Its use is described in the book Polymer Photogravure: A Step-By-Step Manual Highlighting Artists and Their Creative Practice available here. This file saves a step in that it can be used both for determining the screen exposure value for a polymer plate and also can be used for determining the upper and lower limits (Photoshop Levels) that will be used when printing the positive.
This is a downloadable template file that assists in making even screen exposure strips on an A6 plate during the calibration process for polymer photogravure. It is in the form of pdf that should be printed off at 100% scale on a laser printer or inkjet printer. The markings allow an opaque card to reveal additional plate material under the screen in even increments. Its use is described in the book Polymer Photogravure: A Step-By-Step Manual Highlighting Artists and Their Creative Practice available here.
Quadtone RIP profiles for making digital positives on the Epson R3000, 7800 and 1400 printers. These were created for use with the Toyobo KM73 flexographic plates. For more detailed information on the process go to polymerphotogravure.com.