amberperrodin.com

To begin, I use a combination of equal parts Easy Wipe Compound and etching ink. Easy Wipe is an additive that is optional. I use it to soften up my ink so that it "wipes easier". It causes it to be smoother and doesn't affect your ink color at all. If you ever begin printing (or already do), you'll quickly realize that applying ink to your plate is a tedious and messy process that you can use a little slack wherever you can get it! For me, it's Easy Wipe.

I mix my Easy Wipe and ink into a creamy, delicious medium that is about the consistency of a smooth cake icing. Slightly thick, but very elastic.

Now comes the fun part of getting your plate dirty. At this point you will need to put your gloves on and grab a small square of left over mat board (I have a basket of these pre cut pieces on hand...you're going to need a lot). I generally scoop up a small amount as seen above to begin the application.

Now you should begin to liberally apply your ink while moving your mat board applicator in all directions. At this point you are pushing ink into your small etched lines. I try not to be gloppy at this stage (or any for that matter)....but you don't need to be shy about putting the ink all over your precious plate.

Here is what my plate generally looks like after I'm done applying the ink.

I have some very old cheese cloth that I reuse to remove the excess ink. This stage is critical to a good print. You are not rubbing the ink off like you would scrub your bathroom floors (if you do that sort of thing)...You are merely pressing and slightly spinning the cheese cloth (by turning your wrist) in order to see your image again.

After the cheese cloth.

This next step was hard to document since I had my messy gloves on. But In order to get to this point, I tore a piece of phone book paper and without wadding it up or wrinkling it, I simultaneously rubbed and pushed on the plate with the paper. This removed even more of the ink and pushed it into the small crevices and delicate lines. I know that it looks like I simply just wiped ALL the ink off, but you'll see that once it's printed, there is still plenty of ink left on it. This step is an acquired skill. You will simply need to print and screw up {several times} before you get into a rhythm and train your eyes and hands to know when you need to stop.