How to Engrave on Plexiglass
- 1). One of the nice things about engraving on plexiglass is that it is transparent. That means you can do a drawing and place it under the plexiglass to use as a pattern.
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A burin is used for incising lines
Alternately, you can just start cutting directly into the plexi-glass with the burin. - 3
Holding the burin
Hold the burin so the wooden top fits into your palm and your fingers rest along the top of the metal. Practice on scrap materials until you feel you can cut lines with a fair amount of control. If you make a mistake you can use a burnisher to try to rub the lines closer together, but this is a medium that doesn't easily forgive mistakes. The best way is to try to incorporate any stray lines or gouges into your picture. Harder pressure creates a deeper, wider line that will print stronger. - 4
Inked, engraved, plexiglass plate
Once you have engraved (virtually carved out) your design, you will ink your 'plate' by rubbing printing ink into the lines you've drawn. The surface ink should then be wiped clean lightly so you don't remove any ink from inside the grooves. I usually then polish off the remaining ink with a piece of newspaper. The flat smooth texture cleans the surface of the plate while pushing any remaining ink into the cut lines. - 5
Lay the inked engraving on the press bed to print.
Hand presses are the best way to print plexiglass engravings. You will set you plate on the press bed, carefully place a slightly damp piece of high quality printing paper over the image so the image beneath is is approximately in the center of the page. Lay felt printing blankets over the paper. Then crank the roller of the press over all the layers. When the press roller squeezes the blankets down, the paper is pressed against the surface of the plate and the ink is transferred to the page. Carefully peeling off the paper, you should have a nice imprint of your engraving in the paper. - 6
Another plexiglass engraving by the author.
You will not get as many copies of your image from a plexiglass print as you would from a copper plate as the edges will start to break down sooner with the softer material. But the quality of line is interesting, the lower expense of the plate and the advantage of being able to trace through a transparent medium all make this kind of printing well worth the effort of engraving on plexiglass. For more information, please check the additional Resources below.
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