• 130/

    ACEITE DE LINAZA POLIMERIZADO
    POLYMERIZED LINSED OIL
    HUILE DE LIN POLIMERISEE

    125ml. 250ml. 1000ml.

  • 131/

    ACEITE CALCOGRAFICO
    PLATE OIL HEAVY
    HUILE CHALCOGRAPHIQUE

    125ml. 250ml. 1000ml

  • 147/

    GEL MEDIUM
    GEL MEDIUM
    INTAGLIO GEL MEDIUM

    250ml. 1000ml.

  • 143/

    CERA NEGRA EN PANECILLOS
    HARD BALL GROUND LUMP FORM
    CIRE NOIRE EN PAINS

    100 grs. 35 grs.

  • 144/

    CERA BLANDA (CERA MOLLE)
    SOFT BALL GROUND (LUMP FORM)
    CIRE MOU (CERAMOLLE)

    100 grs. 35 grs.

  • 146/

    BLANCO ESPAÑA
    SPAIN WHITE (MAGNESIUM CARBONATE)
    BLANC D’ESPAGNE

    250 grs. 1 Kg.

About our Plate oils, grounds, powders and Gel

130/ POLYMERIZED LINSEED OIL

131/ PLATE OIL/HEAVY

147/ INTAGLIO GEL MEDIUM 

Our intaglio oils are formulated for use as traditional ink additives to fluidify and alter the viscosity of the ink (when that is desired).

Our INTAGLIO GEL MEDIUM which is a new product, may be used in place of the traditional oils as an ink additive to impart certain handling characteristics to the inks.

As all oil mediums will lengthen the ink mixture and reduce its viscosity, they should be used sparingly. Naturally they dry slowly by oxidation. Through the use of our oils and dryer the intaglio artist can formulate his own ink mixtures imparting to them those characteristics which best suit his individual needs.

Our INTAGLIO GEL MEDIUM, which is an exclusive Artools formula, is a gelatine-like transparent oil paste. When mixed with our intaglio inks it does no alter the consistency of the paste or the tone of the colours. This medium is especially useful for colour intaglio works, viscosity printing and the collagraph print.

It allows the artist to work more rapidly and flexibly than he would be able when using the traditional oils, additives and extenders in his inks.

Its advantages become immediately apparent in multi-colour printing.

As the artist is able to work with much greater speed, the vexing problems of expansion and contraction of the dampened paper are minimized, thus making polychrome printing much easier and resulting in the highest professional quality prints with a minimum of off-register proofs.


143 HARD BALL GROUND (In lump form)

Available in lumps of 100 gr.

Solvents: Turpentine, benzine, mineral spirits.

This is our traditional ball ground shaped into lump form. It is rubbed directly onto the moderately heated plate and spread thinly with a taffeta dabber. It may be smoked it the artist desires although that step is not essential to the use of his ground. When applied to a properly cleaned plate, our HARD BALL GROUND yields superior results in the intricacy of detail which may be needled into it without fear of flaking, foul biting or failure in the strongest acid baths normally used in the etching process.


144 SOFT GROUND (Also called Soft Wax or Ceramolle)

Available in lumps of 100 gr.

Solvents: Turpentine, benzine, mineral spirits.

This is our traditional soft-ground shaped into lump form. It is applied to a moderately heated plate with a dabber.

As the name implies, the ground remains soft on the plate and may be worked in the two traditional soft-ground techniques.

Method 1: A thin sheet of paper is placed over the soft grounded plate after it has cooled from the heater. The artist draws directly onto the paper using a pencil, ball-point pen, stylus or other similar instrument. The pressure of the point through the paper removes the ground to a greater or lesser degree according to the paper and stylus used and the pressure applied in drawing. The resulting print, after the plate has been etched, shows a distinctly crayon-like or soft pencil like quality in its lines and worked passages. The lines are soft and grainy rather than precise and unbroken as one would achieve by needling directly onto a hard grounded plate.

Method 2: The SOFT GROUND may also be used innovatively by pressing textures such as fabrics, leaves, twine, paper or similar materials through the ground and revealing those textures on the bare metal of the plate. The textures are pressed through the ground by placing the desired objects on the soft-grounded plate, adding a protective sheet of waxed paper on top and passing the plate through the press with slightly diminished pressure. The plate is then etched and the resulting print will show in finest detail those objects which were pressed through the soft-ground.


146/ SPAIN WHITE (Magnesium Carbonate)

Available in 1 kg. and 250 gr.

This pure, carefully milled powder serves three useful purposes for the intaglio artist; 1, for polishing and de-greasing the plate (both before ground is applied and in the final cleaning before the plate is inked); 2, in obtaining maximum whiteness in printing the plate (for hand wiping); 3, as an additive to inks to render them more dryer or to otherwise alter their viscosity.