The contemporary photogravure is a procedure that allows the reproduction of graphic artwork from photographic images, achieving extraordinary definition and colour calibration.

This process is the bridge that connects cutting-edge digital photography with traditional stamping processes.

Its complexity lies in the fact that the full domain of both digital languages and technical skills in the printing of the plates are required to reach the final result of the artwork. This is the main reason why very few workshops in the world implement this technique.

The matrixes of the photogravure are photosensitive surfaces that record the photographic image´s information. A plate is required for each of the primary colours that compose the image to achieve a full colour image, made up by yellow, magenta, cyan and black which by being overlapped will result in the full chromatic spectrum.

Once the matrixes have been processed, the printing will allow the paper to pick up the corresponding information and colour of each plate. A very high quality paper is required for this, and only a skilled master printer will be capable of completing the task of manually applying a specific traditional ink made up of pigments and flaxseed oil -the same elements Rembrandt used to stamp his graphic artworks- and afterwards performing the actual printing using a chalcographic press.

This procedure therefore connects the most cutting edge technology of digital photography with stamping and inking processes that have barely changed since its origins in the XVth century, ensuring the perdurability and plastic quality of the artworks compared to other modern methods of reproduction which are exclusively mechanical.

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