As
we have said before, the idea of placing a photographic image on a metal
plate and subsequently printing it, set the parameters for photographic
printing from the earliest times to the present. However, it was not until
the end of the 19'th century that photo etching was used seriously. The
use of the half tone screen to make a plate made the reproduction of photographs
in books, magazines, and newspapers a viable proposition. By breaking
up the photographic image into a series of fine dots it was possible to
produce a print with the appearance of a continuous tone image. If you
look at a newspaper picture with a magnifying glass you can see the effect.
Magazine illustrations before the mid-1880's were all hand drawn engravings
made by artists copying photographs. The use of half tone illustrations
led to an enormous increase in the productions of cheap magazines and
newspapers. One consequence of this was that many engravers went out of
business or had to quickly learn the skills of photographic etching plate
making. A similar complaint is now heard from photographers who claim
they are losing business through the introduction of computerised digital
imaging.