Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: paradisetrader on April 30, 2007, 09:43:09 AM
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The americans have a term "Plate etched" or "plate etching".
We seem not to use it here. (Zero hits on Ebay UK for the term)
Does anyone know what we call it ?
Here is a more recent (1960's ?) example :
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQitemZ170103665904
but I believe that the technique goes back to at least 1910
Does anyone know what the technique involves in practical terms ?
Presumably it was introduced to cut costs. Is it therefore regarded as a negative among collectors ?
Thanks
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Hi Pete,
'plate etched' could it mean mould etched? This is what I have learnt so far: they did not etch the glass but the mould prior to pressing glass into it. The result is that plate etched is high on the surface of the glass, whereas etching the glass would result 'as engraving'
??? Just an idea that sount correct...
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We just call it transfer printing. But it could be that this is a variant that uses a metal plate with a raised design that is used to cut through a wax coating on the glass prior to etching. There are probably various names for the subtly different ways of mechanising etched designs. (Update: The metal plate was used to transfer the design to another 'flexible' transfer medium and not directly to the glass... which made no sense.)
The use of an actual printed transfer in which the ink is also the etchant tended to be cheaper but what the individual costings of the different methods I have no idea. Unfortunately most of the patents have useful titles like "An improved method of transferring etched designs".
Hajdamach gives a good overview of the early history of the techniques but does not pretend to be comprehensive, most of the other accounts I have read have been related to substantially later methods. I hope to find some more buried in my library but that is not possible right now!
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Clearly what is needed is a uniform set of terms.
Etching, should really refer to the removal of base material using chemical media, as in acid etching.
Plate etching is what exactly? etching using a template, engraving using a template?? Application of a transfer?
Obviously, a need for more rigorous definitions, of frequently, and I suspect erroneously, applied terms.
Regards,
Marcus
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thank you so much Marcus for this! Etching removes, and if you etch the mould, the pattern will be high on the surface as it seems in this item Pete has submitted?
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I assumed the etching was by acid. The plate is used to reproduce the image.
The problem is there are so many different ways it was done and all with their own vocabulary :P
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Hi Frank, why not etch a mould by acid?
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Hello:
From the National Heisey Glass Museum webpage:
"Plate etching is produced by engraving a design onto a metal plate. The plate is inked, then the ink is transferred to a paper made especially for etching. This paper print is fitted to the article to be etched and the ink is firmly pressed against the glass. When the ink is transferred onto the glass, the paper is removed. Except where the design is to be etched, the glass is covered with beeswax. The glassware is then submerged in acid, which eats the exposed glass. After the wax is washed off in hot water, a silver-gray plate etching results."
http://www.heiseymuseum.org/resources/glasstypes.htm
Hajdamach describes this technique on page 197 but calls it the "transfer print resist method" instead of the term plate etching which is widely used in North America.
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Thank you for the clarification, Sid.
Regards,
Marcus
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For the record this is the item which lead me to investigate this technique.
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For future reference, here's a thread showing a steel etching plate:
http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,4637.0.html
Coincidentally, I have another Rodefer Gleason plate purchased from the same seller (a member of the GMB). Nice bit of glass history. Maybe I'll add a photo of it to the "Decoration" section of the gallery, unless Ian would rather add his.