Place a little printer’s ink on a slab (which can be of stone, slate, or
even glass) and spread it out thinly with a knife, then roll until
distributed evenly and thinly. Avoid rolling out too much ink at once;
more can be added easily, but to take away means cleaning the whole with
turpentine and rag, or scraping with a knife. If a dabber be used, beat
the ink, which is placed more in the centre of the slab, until quite even.
The amount to roll or dab on to the block will be discovered quite easily
after a trial or two—too much ink will blur the work; too little will
print grey. Place the paper on the inked block without slurring it, and on
the paper drop a thin piece of card—a postcard will do—hold down by the
left hand and rub on the top of the card with the burnisher until an
impression is taken. The print can be examined from time to time by
lifting a corner, holding the remaining paper down firmly with the left
hand on the card. More burnishing must be applied to those parts which
have not taken the ink. If the engraved lines be fine, light pressure must
be given to the burnisher lest the lines be bruised, whereas if the parts
are black heavier pressure must be given. A little oil rubbed on one side
of the card—the side on which the burnisher is to be applied—then rubbed
off again, will allow the burnisher to slide over with ease and prevent
sticking; while if the burnisher is applied without the card, bruising is
liable to occur to fine lines. India paper is excellent on which to take
proofs by hand. Other kinds can be used if free from ridges and not too
thick. The thicker the paper the greater will be the difficulty in getting
a print, for the ink does not stick it to the block, as is the case with
thin paper, and any examination of the print nearly always moves the paper
out of position and “doubling” is the result.
This first print is often called the “overlay.” It shows not only the
engraving but all the surrounding wood and pieces between that have been
too large to be cut away by a scauper. To take a proof of the engraving
only, these black pieces on the overlay must be cut out cleanly with a
sharp knife or the point of a tint-tool, and, after inking the block
again, these pieces are placed on their corresponding parts on the wood.
They are thus blocked out—overlayed—by the pieces of paper cut from the
first print. Place fresh paper on the block and proof as before, greater
care however is necessary to prevent “doubling.” Where plenty of black is
in the engraving the process is simple, but if the subject is of thin
lines, such as fine lettering, it is a somewhat delicate operation. In
this case the less it is examined whilst the proof is being taken the
better.
During the process of engraving, in order to see exactly what has been
done so far, one may wish to take a proof. But the inking of the block
would obliterate that part of the drawing which has not yet been engraved.
Instead, therefore, of taking a proof with ink the following method will
be found convenient:—Press some _precipitated chalk_(obtainable at any
chemist’s) into the engraved part and wipe the surface clean with the palm
of the hand thus leaving the chalk in the hollows and incisions only. The
block will then appear exactly as in a print (only not reversed), i.e. the
surface of the wood will show dark against the white chalk.