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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;krispy, post: 896711, member: 19065&quot;]Actually, yes, the paper itself can attract and hold moisture and in the natural change of humidity, the paper itself does hold some minor degree of moisture from whats in the air. However the paper seems to have protected the plate over the years and likely it&#039;s just a minor polishing and cleaning that the plate needs. I&#039;d bet your printer friend will know how to address cleaning the plate prior to printing and you will get back a cleaned plate afterward. You might ask him how to store the plate in future. Keeping it wrapped in paper is safe. It is usually best to use a neutral pH (acid free) all cotton rag paper. </p><p><br /></p><p>Also worth noting that steel and copper intaglio plates are sometimes coated with a heavy wax based tar known as a &#039;ground&#039;. This ground is used in various etching processes to resist and block out areas of plates from acid when immersed in a mordant (acid bath for etching plates) but it doubles as a way to coat the plate for storage. The ground itself is typically removed with a solvent like mineral spirits and plates can be wiped free of minor surface contaminants with a soft cotton rag and a little denatured alcohol or acetone for a final cleaning before inking a plate for use. Again, your friend will know how to proceed here. </p><p><br /></p><p>If you are interested in intaglio printing processes which these days are mostly done, in artists studios by hand, watch some of the <a href="http://www.google.com/#q=youtube+expertvillage+intaglio&amp;hl=en&amp;prmd=v&amp;source=univ&amp;tbs=vid:1&amp;tbo=u&amp;ei=rXX2S5a9MsTflgeox-iLCw&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=video_result_group&amp;ct=title&amp;resnum=4&amp;ved=0CDAQqwQwAw&amp;fp=b88d779eb9f1a91b" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.google.com/#q=youtube+expertvillage+intaglio&amp;hl=en&amp;prmd=v&amp;source=univ&amp;tbs=vid:1&amp;tbo=u&amp;ei=rXX2S5a9MsTflgeox-iLCw&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=video_result_group&amp;ct=title&amp;resnum=4&amp;ved=0CDAQqwQwAw&amp;fp=b88d779eb9f1a91b" rel="nofollow">Experts Village</a> YouTube videos on printing processes. They don&#039;t show much engraving or the type of printing of security engraving plates and related presses, but it gives a good hands on overview of what the printers art and trade is like.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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