Charbonnel Traditional Etching Ink Basic Bistre is an earth tone intaglio ink - a brown with hints of red. Charbonnel earth tone intaglio inks are made from synthetic and natural oxides and iron bases. These pigments help you create darker mixes, featuring a vast range of browns and greys.
In the second half of the 19th century, fine art printmaking coalesced into a full-scale movement and the notion of the ‘painter-printmaker’ was established. The epicentre of this movement was Paris and a young chemist, Francois Charbonnel, had in a timely fashion opened a shop in the artists' quarter close to the Ecole des Beaux Art and the Louvre. Selling his own formulations of inks and grounds his shop became a meeting place for the leading artists of the day. Formulations were continuously enhanced, taking in artists' feedback while incorporating new advances in chemistry. New materials were developed in response to new reproduction techniques. Over 150 years later, Charbonnel remains the international reference for fine art printing inks.
The Charbonnel range is designed to meet the requirements of the most exacting printers and artists. The pigments are not only selected for their excellent lightfastness but also according to their degree of acidity and anti-ageing properties. Pigments are blended with top quality, medium viscosity linseed oils and then finely milled to give an ink with excellent grip on the image element of your plate. The Charbonnel Intaglio Ink range consists of 54 colours including two metallics and ten blacks. Choose from 60ml tubes for colours and selected 60ml tubes and 200ml pots for blacks and the transparent base.
