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Re-Organizing My Printmaking Studio

A while ago, I undertook a task that I had been meaning to do for ages: organizing my etching studio to be more efficient. Previously, I haven't had enough surfaces in one area to be able to perform all the necessary tasks (plate preparation, etching, cleaning, inking, printing) without having trays spread out all round my studio.

The first thing I did was to buy a new set of shelves. From top to bottom, this now has:
  • My DIY hot box, and my DIY aquatint spray booth.
  • The stripping bath (soda ash & hot water, and the airbrush & compressor.
  • The brightener bath (vinegar & salt), the ferric tank, and a water tray.
  • Tray storage area, and the filter bucket for the spray booth.
Below the printing press, I finally have some blotter boards for flattening and drying prints:

The narrow work table has a fresh coat of paint, a new shelf above it, and is now free to hold the paper soaking tray:
The large work table has a thick sheet of glass, for adding and removing resists, inking plates, etc:
I did a run through of the new set-up, from aquatinting a plate all the way through to proofing it, and it was a huge pleasure to have everything to hand simply by turning around.
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