MULTIPLE PLATE PRINTS

For multiple color prints a separate plate must be drawn for each color used. I do color separations in my head to determine how much of each color to use in each area of the print. The two to four colors are blended in the printing to create all the desired colors on the finished print. The corresponding areas of each of the plates must be drawn so that they will "register", that is, match up when they are printed. After the first plate is drawn, a technically involved image-transfer method is employed to leave a "ghost" of the first plate on subsequent plates to be etched. This ghost image is used as a guide to help the artist draw the subsequent plates in register with the first plate.