Carbon paper
Materials:
- Gum arabic
- Nitric acid
- Turpentine
- Carbon paper
- Asphaltum
- Shellac
- Rosin and talc
Carbon paper (usually black or navy blue) is a great drawing material. It is covered with a greasy substance and therefore leaves marks on the stone. You can put it directly on the stone or cover it with a piece of paper and draw on the paper. The carbon paper is thin, well adheres to the surface of the stone and transfers the trace of the tool used to draw over it. It can be used as a drawing material that can be rubbed on the stone while leaving delicate smudges.
Carbon paper is also a very stable material – a drawing made with it prints usually without problems.
Place a piece of carbon paper the greasy (shiny) side down on a well-grained lithographic stone. Drawing should be done directly or indirectly (through a piece of paper placed on top of the carbon paper). Remember to check the effect of your work after picking up the carbon paper – it is difficult to make corrections in the same place (it is not transparent). The solution is to attach a card on which you’ll draw (indirectly) using a paper adhesive tape to the edge of the stone. The paper can be lifted to check the effect of work without the risk of displacement.
Carbon paper is a greasy material. So do not leave it directly on the stone during breaks in work (eg until the next day). There is a risk that the grease will leave a mark.
When the drawing is ready, dust it with rosin and talc and etch.
The etching solution should not be too weak. The carbon transfer material penetrates the surface of the stone quite well and too delicate an etching will cause the subsequent blackening of the drawing. Typically, the appropriate etch should be about 10 drops of nitric acid per 30 ml of gum arabic.
Delicate, bright traces (eg smudges) should be etched slightly; darker, layered – stronger.
After etching and drying the layer of gum arabic, wash the surface with turpentine and rub with asphalt. When turpentine evaporates, you can start dampening and rolling up the stone.
Drawings made with carbon paper slowly saturate with ink. Full density should stabilize after several proof prints.
The second etching – depending on the drawing.