Our last post about the top 2023’s Best 5 Printmaking Tips as concerned paper calendering prompted alot of questions on our website! So, I thought I should elaborate a little on the practice and value of calendering paper here at Intaglio Editions Fine Art Prints!
The verb ‘calender’ comes from the root word ‘cylinder’, which is what is used to make paper flat. In our case, we use the steel-faced drum of an intaglio printing press! All paper is calendered to a certain degree of flatness from the paper mill.
Calendaring paper with Jon Lybrook of Intaglio Editions.
However heavy-weight art papers often have added texture to their surface. Hahnemule Copperplate 300 g/sm is one such paper. Such texture can add noise in the continuous tones of photogravure prints, so we stretch and press the paper even flatter to address this.
At Intaglio Editions, we soak paper for at least an hour. We then blot the paper between towels, and use a drafting brush to remove any particles or hairs that may have gotten transferred to the paper. The paper is then laid printable side down on the press bed against a smooth plexiglass, and covered with two similar sheets of heavy-weight paper. Paper is run through the press at least 2 times at hand-tight pressure. We then remove the paper and cover sheets, wipe down the bed, and register the plate. The plate is typically printed at slightly less than hand-tight pressure on the press bed.
Some finer papers, such as quality Japanese gampi, will not be made any smoother through calendering. These papers should be ‘ready to go’ straight from the vendor with no calendering needed.
When printing photogravure quality plates, also be sure to use 2-4 backing sheets to help ensure the pattern from your blankets doesn’t interfere with your continuous tones. Also remember to use pressed wool blankets – never woven – as these can leave a more noticeable pattern in continuous tone areas of the print).
Check out this excellent demo video on calendering paper on an intaglio press by Jeffrey Dell.
Jerry is one of our favorite artists to work with, and in this video you’ll see why. His talents behind the camera and the computer are only exceeded by his capacity for telling bad jokes and cringe-worthy puns in front of it! Photography and videography by Kathleen LoFaro.
“Some of the design details from the late 1950s cars were pretty crazy – they where like chrome & plastic sculptures from a bizarro, futuristic world! However, I think the tail lights of the 1957 Cadillac Coupe de Ville were the most amazing, especially for it’s Mohawk topped, humanoid expression of surprise.
I first encountered this Ford truck on a neighbor’s property in 1997, shortly after we purchased our home just up the road from them. I thought it was pretty cool, but it somehow didn’t even occur to me to photograph it at the time. However, when the rusty bug finally bit me all these years later, I went out on a hot spring day in 2018 to find it still quietly tucked away, though much further out in the woods than I remembered.
I’ve photographed this beautiful barge of a car abandoned in the woods a few times, but “Panic on Main Street” is the first time I encountered a restored vintage model at a car show. I got to the huge Elm Street Classic Car Cruise in Manchester, NH late that September day, and as it was winding down I saw this car getting ready to drive off from it’s spot. I quickly asked the owner if I could take a few shots before he did, and I went right to the back and laid down on the hot pavement to capture this!
Jerry LoFaro holding the first intaglio proof of “Panic on Main Street” 2022
We recently made a major change to our plate making workflow at Intaglio Editions, and added new quality-control steps for monitoring any changes in plate sensitivity among plate batches. We also confirmed changes in plate sensitivity occur in Toyobo KM73 plates over time — even when stored in ideal, light-safe conditions. Thanks for Clay Harmon for bringing this important variable to my attention in his artful book on making Double-Exposure polymer photogravure plates: Polymer Photogravure: A Step by Step Manual Highlighting Artists and their Creative Practices
This change in workflow includes employing a new method of deriving our process compensation adjustments using the Easy Digital Negatives system by Peter Mrhar. His method for deriving adjustments is effective, comprehensive and includes calibration workflows for scanners, spectrophotometer readings, as well as eyeballing it for those interested in doing it the hard way! The ability to calibrate a process compensation adjustment for any colored ink and paper has given us a much greater degree of control, no matter the ink color or medium.
Although his color blocking system looked promising for creating deep, rich blacks, foregoing it worked better for our workflow as it was introducing posterization we couldn’t address.
With such highly calibrated plates, I wanted to verify our assumptions about the go-to papers I’ve used for over a decade, and introduce some newer papers, and those we’ve had trouble with before, including 100% cotton papers, which introduced a white haze in our solid, rich blacks consistently. We’ve generally had much better luck using Hahnemuhle Copperplate papers. Wood fibers in the alpha cellulose seem to provide more solid fields of black with our workflow and custom 1245 dpi aquatint screen.
The Torinoko 92gsm gampi from Japan had the best fidelity of the three gampi papers we tested this round. The solid blacks, shadow detail, and crisp transfer from the plate make up for the fragile surface, which can easily be abraded in handling. The paper has an antique, suede feeling and texture and prints as well as the most expensive gampi papers.
Fine art printmaking papers used in our testing include:
NOTE: We have intentionally photographed the images below under a raking light to best illustrate the benefits and shortcomings of the different papers proofed under identical conditions. All the papers were pre-calendared and had the same approximate drying time. Click to enlarge details on any of the images below.
Hahnemuhle Copperplate Bright White 100% Alpha Cellulose (detail)
Consistent in continuous tone and image integrity, Hahnemuhle Copperplate remains our go-to paper for proofing and editioning.
Hahnemuhle Durher 100% Cotton Rag (detail)
Unlike the Copperplate, this radiant white Cotton Rag paper by Hahnemuhle did not hold up as we had hoped. It tested out as the worst paper for photogravure with our plates. We were consistent in steps for calendaring the paper, as well as printing without to give each paper every opportunity to show its unique qualities.
Arches 88 – 100% Cotton Rag (detail)
This classic waterleaf paper is designed for silkscreen and monotype. It’s 100% Cotton fiber makeup and zero sizing did not provide adequate structure to absorb the ink from our plates as cleanly as other papers.
We likewise had high hopes for Incisioni as it was the brightest white paper we tested. Although the contrast and quality of blacks created the most photographic-looking prints, it was too much of a good thing. With work, calendaring and careful assessment of paper moisture before printing we were able to get acceptable results.
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Hahnemuhle Copperplate Bright White 100% Alpha Cellulose (detail)
Conclusion: While 100% Cotton paper can be problematic in getting optimal continuous tone with Intaglio Editions plates, the cotton papers Lanaquarelle and Somerset Velvet printed relatively well, with the clear champions remaining Hahnemuhle Copperplate “Bright” White and Warm White, and the 92gsm Torinoko gampi for the best looking Asian paper for the price for simple, one-drop photogravure prints and editions.
