What is photogravure, and how does the process work?
Asked 5/5/2015
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I’ve seen Edward Steichen prints described as photogravures. What exactly is photogravure? Is it essentially an intaglio printing process, and what are the basic steps involved?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
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I find that the Wikipedia article on Photogravure gives a good detailed overview of the subject. An easier to follow and shorter version can be found in this description of the process. Here's the summary of the technique:
- Contact-print a positive onto a layer of gelatine sensitized in potassium dichromate. This hardens the exposed parts of the gelatine.
- Transfer the gelatine layer onto a copper plate.
- Soak this plate in hot water. This will dissolve the unexposed parts of the gelatine.
- Etch the plate in a ferric chloride. Here the remaining gelatine slows the etching, resulting in smaller wells that will hold less ink in printing.
- Make prints from the plate.
I have tried to create the following illustration that might help understanding the process:

As you can see, this means that photogravure is a form of intaglio printing, as the image is incised into a surface and the sunken areas hold the ink.
On a sidenote, this article on Photogravure by the Getty Conservation Institute gives some historical background, discusses important variants, and also talks about identification of photogravure prints.
Finally, see also Photoengraving for the more general family of processes related to photogravure.
Originally by user27070. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user27070
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—photogravure is essentially a photographic intaglio process. A photographic positive is contact-printed onto a gelatin layer sensitized with potassium dichromate, which hardens the exposed areas. That gelatin layer is then transferred to a copper plate. When the plate is soaked in hot water, the unexposed, softer gelatin dissolves away. The plate is then etched, commonly with ferric chloride. Thicker or more hardened gelatin resists the etchant more, while thinner areas etch deeper. Those etched recesses hold ink, and the plate is then printed like other intaglio plates.
In practical terms, the image tones are translated into deeper or shallower etched areas in the metal, which control how much ink is retained and transferred to paper. So the term “photogravure” refers to combining a photographic image with gravure/intaglio plate-making and printing methods.
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