Duplication of uniqueness: electrotyping in nature printing and its application in contemporary art
Abstract The nature printing technique was designed for the electrotyping reproduction of leaves and other natural products. Authentic impressions could be performed by inserting leaves between two lead plates or pressing leaves into the lead plate by a press. The impression obtained in the soft lea...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2019-03-01
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| Series: | Heritage Science |
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| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40494-019-0263-0 |
| _version_ | 1818292188564422656 |
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| author | Valentina Ljubić Tobisch Albina Selimović Anna Artaker Martin Klobassa Wolfgang Kautek |
| author_facet | Valentina Ljubić Tobisch Albina Selimović Anna Artaker Martin Klobassa Wolfgang Kautek |
| author_sort | Valentina Ljubić Tobisch |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The nature printing technique was designed for the electrotyping reproduction of leaves and other natural products. Authentic impressions could be performed by inserting leaves between two lead plates or pressing leaves into the lead plate by a press. The impression obtained in the soft lead plate could then be further reproduced by copper electroplating. Electrochemically deposited copper is hard-wearing and therefore very suitable for the production of printing plates. However, depending on the technical implementation and the choice of the materials used, decisive differences in the faithfulness of reproductions of original motifs may occur during the electrochemical deposition. A central topic in electroforming of printing plates is the choice of the conductive layer on the mould. In the present study, it has been shown that graphite powder represents a conductive phase on the siloxane mould superior to silver and copper powder. The grain size of the copper electrodeposit depended on the powder grain size. The copper plate deposited on graphite powder showed the lowest grain size (5–20 µm) and the highest homogeneity of the print background. Hand polishing of the printing plate resulted in a much better faithfulness of the motif details than that of the machine polished version. However, the background of the print derived from the machine polished plate was the most homogeneous. Electrochemical investigation showed that remnants of the silver powder could result in local elements that could enhance corrosion and thus impair the durability of the printing plates. This phenomenon was negligible with the conductive layers consisting of graphite and copper. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T02:55:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-12d7e5c24fed4233aeb4c013d9c5a76b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-7445 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T02:55:59Z |
| publishDate | 2019-03-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heritage Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-12d7e5c24fed4233aeb4c013d9c5a76b2022-12-22T00:01:57ZengSpringerOpenHeritage Science2050-74452019-03-017111010.1186/s40494-019-0263-0Duplication of uniqueness: electrotyping in nature printing and its application in contemporary artValentina Ljubić Tobisch0Albina Selimović1Anna Artaker2Martin Klobassa3Wolfgang Kautek4Department of Physical Chemistry, University of ViennaDepartment of Physical Chemistry, University of ViennaAcademy of Fine Arts Vienna, Elise-Richter-Research FellowSculptor and Metal DesignerDepartment of Physical Chemistry, University of ViennaAbstract The nature printing technique was designed for the electrotyping reproduction of leaves and other natural products. Authentic impressions could be performed by inserting leaves between two lead plates or pressing leaves into the lead plate by a press. The impression obtained in the soft lead plate could then be further reproduced by copper electroplating. Electrochemically deposited copper is hard-wearing and therefore very suitable for the production of printing plates. However, depending on the technical implementation and the choice of the materials used, decisive differences in the faithfulness of reproductions of original motifs may occur during the electrochemical deposition. A central topic in electroforming of printing plates is the choice of the conductive layer on the mould. In the present study, it has been shown that graphite powder represents a conductive phase on the siloxane mould superior to silver and copper powder. The grain size of the copper electrodeposit depended on the powder grain size. The copper plate deposited on graphite powder showed the lowest grain size (5–20 µm) and the highest homogeneity of the print background. Hand polishing of the printing plate resulted in a much better faithfulness of the motif details than that of the machine polished version. However, the background of the print derived from the machine polished plate was the most homogeneous. Electrochemical investigation showed that remnants of the silver powder could result in local elements that could enhance corrosion and thus impair the durability of the printing plates. This phenomenon was negligible with the conductive layers consisting of graphite and copper.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40494-019-0263-0Nature printingPrinting platesElectrotypingConductive layerHeritage scienceContemporary art |
| spellingShingle | Valentina Ljubić Tobisch Albina Selimović Anna Artaker Martin Klobassa Wolfgang Kautek Duplication of uniqueness: electrotyping in nature printing and its application in contemporary art Heritage Science Nature printing Printing plates Electrotyping Conductive layer Heritage science Contemporary art |
| title | Duplication of uniqueness: electrotyping in nature printing and its application in contemporary art |
| title_full | Duplication of uniqueness: electrotyping in nature printing and its application in contemporary art |
| title_fullStr | Duplication of uniqueness: electrotyping in nature printing and its application in contemporary art |
| title_full_unstemmed | Duplication of uniqueness: electrotyping in nature printing and its application in contemporary art |
| title_short | Duplication of uniqueness: electrotyping in nature printing and its application in contemporary art |
| title_sort | duplication of uniqueness electrotyping in nature printing and its application in contemporary art |
| topic | Nature printing Printing plates Electrotyping Conductive layer Heritage science Contemporary art |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40494-019-0263-0 |
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