The Pad Printing Process - sources needed!
Posted: August 31st, 2022, 6:16 am
Another one of the great techniques that is documented rather scarcely…
Maybe some of you have literature or links to articles concerning the issue.
My knowledge so far is:
The „ancients“ used pads made of gelatin. These pads were cast into a mold and, once cured, they were heated upside down to lightly melt the surface. This would produce a perfect and sticky surface. The pad then needs to be powdered to be useable.
The clichées were etched with a resist of photographic lacquer. A dial would be painted by hand in large scale, then supposedly a coated metal plate was inserted into a camera, very much like a glass plate and a photo was taken to the right dimensions. The exposed parts were then developed, washed off and etched.
Another approach would be taking a photograph onto a glass plate and make a contact print onto the coated metal plate.
Two videos that show the pad printing process:
A small glimpse of a powdered gelatin pad @1:44:
A very nice machine:
https://www.nielsmachines.com/de/favori ... chine.html
I‘d love to plug into the collective brain on here and maybe shed some more light on this. Any info appreciated - modern or classic approaches.
- lacquer used
- gelatin mixtures
- what powder (pumice, talkum?)
- machines, sources, tutorials
Thanks for reading!
Maybe some of you have literature or links to articles concerning the issue.
My knowledge so far is:
The „ancients“ used pads made of gelatin. These pads were cast into a mold and, once cured, they were heated upside down to lightly melt the surface. This would produce a perfect and sticky surface. The pad then needs to be powdered to be useable.
The clichées were etched with a resist of photographic lacquer. A dial would be painted by hand in large scale, then supposedly a coated metal plate was inserted into a camera, very much like a glass plate and a photo was taken to the right dimensions. The exposed parts were then developed, washed off and etched.
Another approach would be taking a photograph onto a glass plate and make a contact print onto the coated metal plate.
Two videos that show the pad printing process:
A small glimpse of a powdered gelatin pad @1:44:
A very nice machine:
https://www.nielsmachines.com/de/favori ... chine.html
I‘d love to plug into the collective brain on here and maybe shed some more light on this. Any info appreciated - modern or classic approaches.
- lacquer used
- gelatin mixtures
- what powder (pumice, talkum?)
- machines, sources, tutorials
Thanks for reading!