An image is captured on a plate that can be inked and printed by pressure through an etching press. Simple enough in theory. From the days of Fox Talbot through Camera Works to the early twenty-first century photogravure was the territory of master printmakers. It was a delicate difficult process involving so many steps and toxic chemicals. Like so much, digital now offers us another way forward to soulful prints. Modern inkjet printers let us make a transparent positive which is then placed against a plate covered with an emulsion of photo-initiating polymer. Exposure to UV light transfers the image to the plate where it can be “etched” with water. There are three basic ways to accomplish this: single exposure with transparency, dual exposure with screen and transparency, and most recently, direct-to-plate.
For a good, consumable explanation of earlier gravure process please see this excellent description at The Art of Photogravure.
