A: Is this the printing plate? The shiny metal surface is so elegant.
B: Yes, this copper plate was engraved using the mezzotint technique. Mezzotint is Italian for “half tone,” and the French term for it means “black manner,” as the resulting print looks like black velvet. It’s a kind of intaglio printing.
A: Good Heavens, so much terminology, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Could you please explain it in layman’s terms?
Photo: Tania Chou, Taipei Times 照片：台北時報周姲醇
B: Basically, the intaglio printing technique involves applying printing ink over an engraved plate, allowing it to seep into the engraved lines, and then wiping the excess ink away, before pressing the plate onto paper to print the image.
A: So this gold copper plate needs to be covered in black ink to make the print? If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to bring myself to do that. I think the engraving is a work of art in itself.
A: 這個就是印版畫的版嗎？亮亮的金屬質感，好精緻喔！
B: 嗯，這銅版是用「美柔汀」技法刻的，美柔汀是義大利文，意思是「中間的調子」，法文把它稱作「黑色的方法」，因為它印出來的效果很像黑絲絨，這是屬於一種凹版印刷。
A: 天哪，太多專有名詞了，我都聽不懂！可以麻煩簡單解釋一下嗎？
B: 凹版印刷的基本做法，就是把油墨塗在刻好的版上，讓它滲進刻凹的部分，再刮掉表面上多餘的油墨，然後加壓印到紙上就完成了。
A: 所以這金黃的銅版要塗得黑黑的才能印版畫喔？要是我會捨不得下手。我覺得它本身就是一件獨立的雕刻作品了。
(Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱)
Audio recordings for Speak Up! dialogues will be suspended until further notice due to the pandemic.
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