William Blake was an artisan in the truest sense: his craftsmanship played a role in
every creative aspect of his poetic and prose works. William Blake thought, wrote, prepared, designed,
engraved, and printed all pieces his name would grace. Below you will find a brief description of the
latter stages of Blake's creative process. Please refer to the "Go to sources" button at the bottom of
the page to see where you can find more thorough information on the subject of Blake's craft.

Etching and Engraving

THE PLATE

Blake purchased his copperplates from a platemaker who cut them to size depending on the size and expense of the paper being used in printing. Although eighteenth and nineteenth-century copper plates varied a good deal in thickness, Blake's were usually 2mm. To preserve their structural rigidity, thicker copper plates were required for larger surface areas . After being planished by the plate-maker, Blake's copperplates still required considerable work before any etching or engraving could begin.

PREPARING THE PLATE

Blake then beveled the edges of his copperplates with a file to prevent cutting through the paper when printing. Corners were rounded to minimize their tendency to crease the paper as it moved through the press. The plate was then polished so it could receive etching ground, an acid-resistant film that would later receive the incisions of Blake's design. The polishing began with a series of grinding materials, starting with the coarsest and progressing toward a fine abrasive. Olive oil, metal burnishers, and rolled felt were then used to polish the surface to a clean finish. A smooth surface made the plate easier to wipe clean from ink and reduced resistance from the etching tool as incisions were made. Finally, the mirorlike plate was completely cleansed of the oil residue left behind by the last shining step. If any residue was left on the copperplate, the etching ground would have lifted off the plate when submerged in acid. To remove the excess residue, Blake would use a mixture of ammonia and whiting to absorb the slippery film.

SPREADING THE VARNISH

Before preliminary etching could begin, Blake covered the plate with a ground or stop-out varnish to resist the acid's action. Blake's intaglio plates were prepared with a soft varnish- containing a virgin wax (purified beeswax) and asphaltum. The varnish was cooled in water, wrapped in linen, and was daubed onto the heated plate so as to flow evenly over its surface. To provide an opaque background so Blake could see where the design was drawn, he would blacken the plate with smoke by inverting it over a candle. This darkening process provided the best contrast between ground and exposed metal.

CUTTING THE DESIGN

Once the varnish was hardened and blackened, Blake's design could then be drawn on the varnished plate. Blake could either compose directly onto the plate or copy from an original design drawn on paper. Once the image was reduced from the original to fit the plate size, it had to be transferred directly to the plate. One method of transfer from paper to plate was called "calking." The back of the preliminary drawing was covered with ground chalk and the sheet was then placed face up on the plate. Blake then transferred the drawing with a blunt and round-pointed needled called a stift or calking needle, thus depositing on the plate particles of chalk along every line in the original design. Because calking reverses right to left in a print taken from the plate, the preliminary drawing had to be counterproved - transferred in reverse-onto the plate face down. Actual etching could begin. All the etcher needed to do was expose the metal plate wherever a line was to appear in print. The basic tool for doing this was an etching needle - a sharpened metal rod stuck into a wooden handle. A very sharp needle would make a fine line; a rounded point will make heavier lines.

TOOLS

Blake's engraving was often done with the same tool as the etching (commonly called a burin). Blake had to hold his wrist fairly rigid to avoid making too deep. The shape and sharpness of gravers varied with the need of the desired image effect - Blake preferred a sharp shape somewhere between a square or lozenge.

BITING THE DESIGN WITH ACID

The next step was to bite the plate with acid. Blake used a mixture of vinegar, salamoniac, Bay salt, and verdigris. Blake often sealed the edges of his plates with wax (diked) and poured acid into the shallow basin formed by the wax. The plate needed constant attention with a feather or brush to wipe away bubbles or salt deposits. The amount of time given for the bite varied depending on a number of factors, including quality of the copper and temperature. Most believe Blake's total biting process lasted 9 hours - until the plate was roughly half its original thickness. After all the biting, Blake washed the plate clean of all the acid and removed the varnish. The varnish could be removed by heating the plate and wiping it with a linen cloth and rubbing with olive oil.

ENGRAVING AND PROOFING

The etched plate was then ready for Blake's engraving - not only to tidy up rough lines - but to add new ones as well. Parallel lines for cross-hatching were most often made in this step of the process because too many lines scored in the varnish would have caused it to crack and flake off. At any stage in his work, Blake could print a proof of his work to see how it was progressing. If some lines had been engraved improperly, he could have removed with a three-sided tool called a scraper, followed by polishing with the burnisher. If the surface was then lower in that area, it could be forced up from behind with a ball-peen hammer or punch.

MAKING AND APPLYING INK

Even when Blake was printing in relief, he seemed to use an itaglio ink. Intaglio ink is made by grinding pigments with burnt oil. Burnt oil helped to make the ink tacky and stiffer than boiled oil. Blake then applied the ink to the plate with an ink-filled ball of linen called an "ink dabber." The ball, approximately 2.5 and 3 inches in diameter, was rubbed over the plate, and evenly pounded force would place the ink into even the smallest incision. Blake then heated the plate on a grate so the ink would flow more rapidly. The surface of the plate was then cleaned of ink (in intaglio), progressing from a linen cloth to Blake's bare hand. Once this was done, Blake could reach from his stock of pre-soaked paper and prepare it and the plate in his press. After soaking, Blake would place the sheets of paper between two heavy presses (perhaps two boards weighted by a heavy object), to help remove excess water and re-flatten their surface.

PRESSING THE PRINT

Instead of a rolling-press, it is believed Blake used a screw press or simply pressed paper to plate by hand. There is, however, evidence that Blake might have spent quite a sum at one time to purchase his own in-home rolling press. This process would have required Blake to place the inked plate in the center of the press bed with dampened paper placed faced down on its surface. The printable paper was covered with a protective sheet of paper, and very often, several blankets. The rollers were turned, cylinders moved across the bed, and enough force was exerted to press the damp paper into the incisions: picking up delicate lines of ink. The paper was removed and hung on a clothesline to dry without further wrinkling.

COLORING THE PRINT

While Blake could have used a similar formula for coloring as his printing ink, he used a diluted
carpenter's glue mixed with pigments to make watercolors. To save labor, Blake and his wife would color
prints in editions as opposed to an assembly-line process. While coloring variation does occur among Blake's
different copies, it was not something that occurred between every edition.