A few years ago, Mark Johnson wanted to replace his leaky aquatint box. As Print Area Head at New York University, Mark knew that commercially made aquatint boxes were not available in the United States. He had found a few blueprints on-line, but they were no better than what he already had. Even if he could find a good design, who would build it for him?
The prospect of piecing together a homemade aquatint box is daunting. Some efforts are better than others, but nearly all makeshift boxes have the same problems. The doors seal poorly and leak rosin. The closure hardware is awkward and doesn’t function well. Access panels are small or non-existent making the units difficult to clean or service. Most boxes are also unnecessarily big and occupy large areas of the studio.