Photogravure studio with printmaker and etching presses

Steffen Dibke

I am a graduate economic geographer (M.A.) and spent several years working in the innovation and startup ecosystem (including in Silicon Valley). I arrived at printmaking by detour – but my enthusiasm for photography accompanied me from an early age. I made my first attempts in analog photography with my grandfather's camera. Lacking access to a darkroom, I turned my attention to alternative photographic and graphic printing processes – and that is how I came across photogravure. After leaving my last employment and completing an extended journey through Europe, I founded photogravure.studio in Schwerte an der Ruhr at the end of 2025 – the first studio in Germany specializing in photogravure.

Exhibitions & Awards

  • 2026 – Selection for the exhibition at the Ironbridge Fine Arts Printmaking Competition

  • 2026 – Opening exhibition photogravure.studio together with Fotografie Forum Ruhr, Schwerte

  • 2022 – Mixed-Media-Printing Workshop, Druckvereinigung Bentlage


Portrait of Printmaker smiling

The Studio

photogravure.studio is born out of the idea and conviction that photos should once again be printed with a more hands-on, artisanal approach. The characteristic feature of a photogravure print is that it has thick layers of ink in the dark areas and very thin layers in the light areas, giving it a very wide and rich scale of grey and black tones.

In the traditional photogravure process, the image is exposed onto a photosensitive gelatin carbon tissue, and the exposed gelatin is then transferred to an aquatint-grounded copper plate. The plate is subsequently etched in a series of acid baths of decreasing strength, creating a plate with deep recessions in the dark areas and shallower recessions in the lighter areas.
Around 1980, industrial photosensitive polymer plates entered the market. They were designed for letterpress printing, but printmakers soon realized that when used for intaglio printing, they exhibited the same printing characteristics as classic photogravure plates.
Through technological progress and new process approaches, photogravure is slowly re-establishing itself in the world of fine art photo prints. photogravure.studio is the first and so far only studio in Germany to offer this process.

In my process, I use Direct-to-Plate (DTP) photogravure on polymer plates because it allows me maximum control over tonal values and image impact – without losing the character of classic intaglio printing. Each print is created through careful coordination of digital preparation, UV exposure, washing-out, and the actual hand printing on the press.

For me, photogravure means:

  • Deceleration instead of mass production

  • Precision instead of automation

  • Materiality instead of surface

Printmaking is a collaborative process.
In close cooperation, translations of photos into the medium of print are created – precise, reduced, and aware of the material. Artists and photographers bring their image ideas, and together they are further developed in the studio. Collaborative printmaking means exchange, responsibility, and a shared understanding of quality.

photogravure.studio is born out of the idea and conviction that photos should once again be printed with a more hands-on, artisanal approach. The characteristic feature of a photogravure print is that it has thick layers of ink in the dark areas and very thin layers in the light areas, giving it a very wide and rich scale of grey and black tones.

In the traditional photogravure process, the image is exposed onto a photosensitive gelatin carbon tissue, and the exposed gelatin is then transferred to an aquatint-grounded copper plate. The plate is subsequently etched in a series of acid baths of decreasing strength, creating a plate with deep recessions in the dark areas and shallower recessions in the lighter areas.
Around 1980, industrial photosensitive polymer plates entered the market. They were designed for letterpress printing, but printmakers soon realized that when used for intaglio printing, they exhibited the same printing characteristics as classic photogravure plates.
Through technological progress and new process approaches, photogravure is slowly re-establishing itself in the world of fine art photo prints. photogravure.studio is the first and so far only studio in Germany to offer this process.

In my process, I use Direct-to-Plate (DTP) photogravure on polymer plates because it allows me maximum control over tonal values and image impact – without losing the character of classic intaglio printing. Each print is created through careful coordination of digital preparation, UV exposure, washing-out, and the actual hand printing on the press.

For me, photogravure means:

  • Deceleration instead of mass production

  • Precision instead of automation

  • Materiality instead of surface

Printmaking is a collaborative process.
In close cooperation, translations of photos into the medium of print are created – precise, reduced, and aware of the material. Artists and photographers bring their image ideas, and together they are further developed in the studio. Collaborative printmaking means exchange, responsibility, and a shared understanding of quality.