Aquatint vs Photogravure
アクアチント / フォトグラヴュール
Both sit in Intaglio Printing, so the question is not what they belong to but how they behave. They are reached for with some of the same intent, which is where they get confused.
Aquatint
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An intaglio technique that builds tone through small ink-holding recesses etched around a granular resist. Grainy greys and dark fields work alongside drawn lines. Its wash-like effects differ from watercolor itself and from the mechanically roughened plate of mezzotint.
Photogravure
A photomechanical intaglio method that transfers a photographic image to a plate and prints it in ink. Fine detail and apparently continuous tones acquire the character of paper and ink. It is distinct from a silver photograph, planographic collotype and the industrial context of rotary gravure.
| Aquatint | Photogravure | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 18th century–present | 19th century–present |
| Family | Intaglio Printing | Intaglio Printing |
| Kind | Technique | Technique |
| Cues | Tonal fields made of fine grain / Lines and areas share the shading / Distinct depths or stages of tone / Paper white against dark ink fields | Photographically derived detail / Rich printing-ink blacks / Fine grain carrying tonal changes / Plate image in relation to paper |
| Best used for | Exhibitions and teaching that compare Aquatint with neighbouring print techniques · Publications studying lines, tones and paper through documented works | Exhibitions and teaching that compare Photogravure with neighbouring print techniques · Publications studying lines, tones and paper through documented works |
| Type | Keep lettering in the work separate from added labels; place medium, artist and date outside the image. | Keep lettering in the work separate from added labels; place medium, artist and date outside the image. |
| Composition | Separate lines from tonal fields and test the balance of white, midtone and black. | Compare blacks, midtones and highlights so that dark areas retain useful detail. |
| Material | Check the collection medium record and the paper and ink; do not infer materials from screen colour alone. | Check the collection medium record and the paper and ink; do not infer materials from screen colour alone. |
| Caution | Texture overlays do not establish the technique. Identify the tonal process and any etching or drypoint used with it. | A sepia palette or plate border alone proves nothing. Check the recorded printing process and distinguish later reproductions. |