A technical dictionary of printmaking, André Béguin.

1. DEFINITION.
The granulated surface of an engraved plate carries the traces of a multitude of little intaglio or relief "dots" which are meant to hold ink. When the plate is printed the impression will feature a more or less accentuated and more or less regular background tint which creates values and half-tones. The term can be used to denote any type of plate treatment, even when the granulation is not discernible, as long as the impression will carry something resembling a grain. A granulated plate surface is obtained by graining, by etching, and by attacking a plate in other ways. The object of creating a granulated plate surface is so that, after printing, the impression will bear a grain.
The idea of granulating a plate surface came from the first attempts to find an intermediary between whites and blacks, i.e. to express half-tones. The very first attempts were made in the 15th century, using what has been called the dotted manner. In this method the juxtaposition of white dots on a black background was obtained by a punch that removed little parts of the block meant to print black. The halftone process of the present (a relief process) also relies on a kind of breaking up of the image but in this case it is obtained by using varying sizes of screens which are put between the image to be reproduced and a process camera. The function of the screen is to make the plate carry evenly spaced parts of the image (transparent parts of the screen) and relief areas (blacks of the screen) [photo-engraving and half-tone].
Between these two extremes there are, however, many different processes. There is, for example, stippling which appeared in the 16th century. Stippling was used by Domenico Campagnola in Italy before being adopted and improved upon by Bartolozzi in England in the 18th century. Curiously enough, stippling was new to 18th century England even though the pole and rocker method of graining was already known in this country [ mezzotint]. In the second half of the 18th century aquatint developed in France. Aquatint used resin dust to granulate the plate. This process was then to become the basis of the first attempts to use photographic means to make an intaglio plate [photogravure].
Granulation can thus be considered to be a means of turning black areas into half-tone areas both in intaglio and relief plates. Furthermore, the granulation of a plate can also create half-tones in white areas, both in the case of intaglio reserves (relief impression) and in the case of relief wipings ( intaglio printings).
Granulation is opposed to solid colours. The term is, on the other hand, close to shading which uses a screen for a uniform fading down from a maximum tone. It is also close to "vignetting", which is a passage from one tint to another. Granulation is also distinct from line and relief line, as well as from intaglio or relief dotted plates, even though the latter type of plate is such that the juxtaposition and crossing of dotted areas may result in a real granulation of the plate surface.
At times the word grain is used to mean granulated plate but, in my opinion, it would be better to use the word grain only for the result (on the impression) of a granulated plate. By making such a distinction this description will gain in clarity and precision.
Insofar as concerns values in wood, lino, and plastic work, turn to the articles treating these various techniques as well as to the articles on lines and on cut.
One does not speak of granulation when refering to the graining of a lithographic stone. Usually one speaks of the grain obtained by graining even though, in this case, the term "grain" is used to mean both the texture on the stone and the result on the impression.
There are basically two ways of graining a plate: either by chemical biting or by directly working the plate with tools. The granulation can be either total or partial in both of these graining techniques. [shade off , ].

2. PROCESSES OF GRAINING THE PLATE BY BITING.
A. SELECTIVE PLATE PROTECTION BY DEPOSITING A GRAIN.
This system granulates a plate by etching the areas that are not protected. The printed result will be a negative grain in that the impression will feature white areas on a black background.
1 GRAINING PROCESSES USING RESIN OR ASPHALTUM. A grain can be quite simply dusted from a little bag which is tapped at a certain height above the plate. However, the result will be better if the dusting is done in a dust box [aquatint]. The grain can also be suspended in alcohol, in which case the plate must be placed in a basin with a corrugated bottom so that the plate can be picked up from below. The next step is to pour the alcohol and resin mixture onto the plate until it is totally covered. Wait until the grain has deposited. Then take the plate out of the basin, being careful to keep it horizontal. Heat the plate slightly in order to accellerate the drying of the alcohol or whatever other liquid has been used to suspend the grain. Then heat more strongly the dry or damp grain deposited (cook it) so that it will stick to the plate [aquatint (heating the grain) and cooking]. The final granulated surface will vary according to the grain, its quality, and the success of the graining.
2 PROCESSES RELYING ON SPRAYING VARIOUS SUBSTANCES. Various types of substances such as lithographic ink, varnish, paints, etc. can be projected or sprayed onto a plate. The spraying is done using a blower (the same type as that used to spray fixative), by rubbing a brush dipped in the acid resistant substance over a grating (crachis or spatter work ), with an aerosol can, or with an airbrush. The spraying is done from a distance of about 30 or 40cm (1 ft about) and, if so wished, one can protect certain areas of the plate with stencils.

B. SELECTIVE PLATE PROTECTION AGAINST BITING USING PERFORATED GROUNDS.
The granulated surface in the following process is brought about by etching unprotected areas of the plate. This granulation is a positive one since the grain on the impression will be black on a white background.

1. LIFT-GROUND PROCESSES. A water receptive powder is dusted onto a ground that is still warm and which covers the plate. After drying somewhat the plate is plunged into water. This makes the deposited dust expand, as it absorbs water, and cracks the ground. The substances used in the lift-ground process are salt, sugar, flower, fine sand, lamp black, calcified bones, wood dust, cork dust, etc. The methods of dusting the plate mostly depend on the regularity of the desired granulation. Dusting is done when the ground is still lukewarm. The ground must be thinned with turpentine oil so that it dries more slowly and is lain with a dabber white still hot. The plate should look as if it were covered with a layer of oil. The dusting must be done from quite high up and only very dry substances can be used. When the dusting is finished the plate must be heated a bit in order to make sure that the dusted grain penetrates the ground and touches the plate itself. After a partial drying, and without waiting for the plate to cool off entirely, plunge the plate into cold water (rain water is best for the purpose) which should be at room temperature. Then change the water so as to get rid of any particles that might have come loose. One will soon see the ground sprinkled with little holes. If necessary certain areas can be covered up with some more ground before the plate is etched.
It is also possible to crack the ground by directly plunging the plate into a mordant so as to avoid the quarter of an hour or more that it takes to crack the ground with water. As the dusted areas do not resist either water or mordant the result will be much the same and time will be saved when one plunges the plate directly into the mordant.
A variant of this process is to spray the plate with ordinary ink or India ink satured with sugar and then, after the ink has dried, lay a thin ground. When the ground has also dried plunge the plate into water and the ground will crack in the areas which were sprayed with the ink and sugar mixture. The plate is then dried with a very soft flannel rag. If this sugar-lift method is used make sure that the plate is scrupulously clean [scouring]. The water bath takes about fifteen minutes if the ground is neither too thick nor too dry [ ink lift].
2 PROCESSES ATTACKING THE GROUND DIRECTLY.
A ground can be removed selectively when it is still lukewarm, when it is dry and hard, and when it is dry and soft. One can also use cotton, silk, wool, mosquito netting, lace, wire netting, a grill, metal and plastic grids, etc. to make a grain [textile grain]. The ground can be hit with a metallic brush or broken by either a powdered abrasive, cloth, or paper [ carborundum (engraving)]. In order to accentuate the effects of graining one can pass the abrasive and plate through the press (the plate may be grounded or not for the purpose). Yet another way of graining is to use a roulette, a rocker, or another instrument which will prick through the ground.
Impressions of granulated surfaces can be made either by rubbing or by using an intaglio press. The printed grain will be more or less regular depending on the method chosen. Some very interesting results can be had depending on the textures used.

3. PROCESSES FOR DISSOLVING GROUNDS. Vaporize with a fixative blower, an airbrush, or a brush rubbed against a grill any liquid capable of dissolving the ground used. The liquid will then form little holes in the ground. The solvent can then be removed with blotting paper to stop the ground from solidifying again. This kind of graining will be more or less regular.

C. DIRECT BITING ON UNPROTECTED PLATES.
In this method the graining is brought about quite simply by giving the plate a mat finish. The mordant is applied with a brush or a felt roller to equalize the application. One can also plunge the plate into a mordant bath after protecting the areas that are not to be grained [brush etching and mordant].
For selective work see the articles on honey process and on sulphur process.

3. GRAINING PROCESSES ATTACKING THE PLATE DIRECTLY.

A. STIPPLING .
The plate is punctured with a graver as many times as is necessary to bring about the desired granulation. However, one may also consider the various types of crossed lines ( square or lozenge shaped) as a kind of dotting.
The work done with a graver always takes a long time but one create all the tones and half-tones one wishes, from extremely light ones to the darkest ones (line engraving and stippling]. One may also use points of various kinds but these cause an extremely pronounced burr which will have to be taken into account. The burr may be removed, in order to simulate the effects of line engraving, or may be kept, in which case it will catch the ink as in dry-point. It must be said, however, that the dotted work in which the burr is kept often produces an irregular and "dirty" looking grain. Punches which are hammered into the plate are used (as opposed to gravers and points) to create a dotted pattern on relief plates. This type of graining is negative since the hollows are not inked. Such punches create a burr that must be flattened out.

B. THE ROCKER. The rocker is a tool used in mezzotint work. It is "rocked" back and forth on the plate for a long time and in all directions so that the rounded blade studded with fine teeth creates a granulated surface on the plate which, after printing, turns out to be a beautiful black grain. The granulation can be of varying depth depending on the type of rocker used and takes a long time to be properly finished. The next step is to level the granulated surface with a burnisher or scrape it with a scraper in order to create the half-tones and the whites.

C. THE ROULETTE. The roulette, or more precisely all the roulettes (since there are a variety of roulettes with different grains), are not usually used to bring about a granulated surface since they are meant to imitate a crayon line. However, if they are rolled back and forth in the same place they end up making a granulated surface not unlike the one created by a rocker. This type of granulation is both safe and rapidly made. In order to obtain regular surfaces one must always roll in the same direction making sure that the roller itself is well oiled and turns smoothly.

D. THE SAND-BLAST PROCESS. Tilghmann of Philadelphia observed in the 19th century that windows exposed to the wind coming from the sea, carrying sand and salt, quickly lost their brilliance. As a consequence he thought of cutting letters and images out of a plate which was then superimposed on a glass plate. The two plates were then exposed to a violent air current carrying sand particles. The same process was then adopted using a jet of water or steam. The outcome of such sand blasting is that the glass looses its brilliance but also that reliefs are created. The sand-blast technique allows for a very regular granulation on the surface of relatively thick plates. Blocking-out can also be done with gelatine or liquid rubber. This process is usually used by specialists since it requires a certain amount of equipment. The sand-blast technique is one of the methods used to prepare zinc plates for lithographic use. [graining].

E. GRAINING WITH SCOURING SAND. Very fine sand is pressed down onto the surface of a lithographic stone until it creates a granulated surface which will catch the greasy ink of a crayon. The resulting effect is comparable to pencil drawing on grainy paper. The same process can be used to grain metal plates, the result being a very fine and silky grain. This process does not permit blocking-out but one can later polish the plate as is done in mezzotint work. Other abrasives can also be used for graining in this way.

4. GENERAL COMMENTS. A granulated plate surface is always very delicate and it is best to have the plate steelfaced. Both the inking and the printing must be done very carefully. The inking in particular must be done carefully using muslin or a soft dabber covered with leather. Never use hard dabbers to stuff the lines. Before inking it is wise to prepare the granulated area by oiling it slightly and then wiping it with a soft, clean piece of cloth. Vaseline or glycerine can also be used. The paper to be printed must be very well dampened and should not have much grain itself. In fact, it may be a good idea to print on the wire side (i.e. on the verso side) of the sheet of paper as it is often smoother than the felt side (recto side) [dampening of paper and paper].
A final reminder is that any grounding, all graining, and the application of any substance at all on a plate surface must always be preceded by a proper cleaning to remove any traces of grease [scouring].

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