I have been testing some non-toxic printmaking techniques, using a mixture of collagraph, drypoint, and other things to produce prints that look like etchings, without having to use resists that contain toxic chemicals, and without even immersing the plate in etchant. The following print was made on a thin, very cheap piece of aluminium flashing tile (cost: less than a dollar). It's sort of a random and jokey image, but it serves the purpose:
A - Dark aquatint style area created by pouring Z-acryl acrylic-based hard ground with carborundum grit in it.
B - Where the Z-Acryl is thin and without carbordundum, it creates an area of relief that can be wiped clean.
C - But you can also scratch or incise marks into the thin hard ground, and these marks will catch ink and print almost like etched lines.
D - Drypoint.
E - Chine colle.
I cleaned the plate and took a second print from it, which is also good to know: it means that although the flashing tile is thin and can't produce large editions like .018 gauge copper or steel plates, you could still print small editions of maybe five prints from this very inexpensive metal.
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