Wishes for a very happy Christmas!

Sorry if I've been absent of late. But I have been working and I wanted to send my wishes to all for a very happy Christmas with this card.  I finished printing just last week after putting the finishing touches on the etching. You may remember this from a previous post (The First Print - 8/8/12) but I took it a few steps forward by reinforcing the darks and bringing out the lights.  Much more contrast now.

STEPS IN PRINTING:

1.wetting the paper

2. removing excess water

3. preparing the ink

4. cleaning the plate before inking

5.registering the plate on a dummy

These are the fundamental steps neccessary before a print is pulled.
 The final print is then dried flat between absorbant cardboard and protected with a small piece of tissue paper so that the wet ink doesn't smudge.