CMYK Subtractive Laser Etching

A1200, L12301

laser-etched screenprint, 36.5 x 75 cm, 2019. The image is based on an archive photograph. Image courtesy of the National Archives of Australia: A1200, L1230.

I have been experimenting with is a hybrid technique that couples screenprinting with laser etching to create highly saturated and tactile images.

This principle is similar to cameo glass or sgraffito ceramics. The process begins by screenprinting dozens of thick, flat layers of cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink on paper. The laser cutter is then used to precisely etch into the stacked layers of ink. Like a topographical map, the laser is set to assign etching depths to different shades of grey, where white is no mark and black is the deepest. The laser can reach distinct colours in the printed ink and create a sweep of hues based on the laser’s parameters. Similar approaches have been experimented with before, to my knowledge, by Justin Diggle and Yulia Pinkusevich. However, the technique I have developed differs in the intense saturation achieved by using the laser to excavate the colours back into view.

A cheeky tutorial of the process is available here.

Photographs: Rory Gillen