Print Making: is the process of transferring an original image from one surface to another

repeatedly. Prints are distinguished from paintings and drawings by having multiple originals,
which are the products of creating multiples from one block or plate or stencil. This is done by
the artist’s own hands, or by those of an assistant, from a drawing, which is then signed and
numbered when finished.

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – Durer

They are produced in Editions – the edges must show, by courtesy, and all notation
done in pencil. After the Edition is run the artist should destroy the original plate, block
or stencil – but Second and Third Editions can be made if noted as such. The First
Editions are more valuable than the following ones. This method can also be used for
Cast Sculptures, where several of one piece are cast, then numbered accordingly – 1/4
is first of four cast. Proofs can be taken during stages and labelled as such, then the
artist makes appropriate adjustments. There occur naturally, discrepancies from print to
print which adds to their individuality. (These are separate from photo reproductions of
art prints, which can be signed by artists, numbered and sold.)
 Lino Cutting for Print Making

" There are four main categories of printmaking: relief, intaglio, lithography, and screen-
printing.

Relief printmaking processes

In relief processes the artist cuts away areas not requiring to be printed from a
smooth wood, metal, or plastic surface, leaving raised portions which are then
inked before the print is taken.

Woodcut is the oldest known printmaking method, one which reached its full
maturity in the 15th and 16th centuries. The design is drawn on a piece of
smooth hardwood, and negative areas are cut away; woodcut tends to yield a
rather severe, powerful image.

Linocut is a 20th century development of the woodcut, capitalizing on the

relative ease with which linoleum can be cut and handled. This method works
especially well in large prints with broad areas of flat color; a major drawback is
the fragility of the linoleum, which makes large editions problematic.

Wood engraving is a process in which the print is drawn and cut on end-grain
boxwood or fruit wood blocks. As in metal engraving, lozenge or wedge-shaped
burins are used to cut away the areas that will not be inked, and the block is
then inked in the traditional relief manner. Because the blocks (or, now, plastic
plates) used for wood engraving have virtually no discernible grain, very fine
detail may be achieved.

Intaglio printmaking processes

Intaglio (from the Italian itagliare, to carve or cut) comprehends a number of
related printmaking techniques usually done on a metal (copper, zinc, or steel)
plate. Grooves or pits are incised into the surface of the plate either with the
use of a sharp instrument or by the action of a strong acid solution. A greasy ink
is then worked into these depressions, and the surface of the plate wiped clean.
The high pressure of a press enables a soft, dampened paper to reach and
take on the ink in the depressions. The basic intaglio processes execute without
acid include engraving, drypoint, and mezzotint.

Etching, aquatint, soft ground, and viscosity techniques all require the use of
acid to produce the image. A collograph may be executed as either a relief or
an intaglio print as the artist desires.

Engraving developed in Europe in the 15th century. The image is created by

the action of the burin, a wedge- or lozenge-shaped tool, directly on the plate.
The tool is held steady and the plate is turned to produce the line, the hardness
or crispness of which results from the metal removed from the plate by the
burin. Shading effects are produced by cross-hatching, by the multiplication of
parallel lines, or by stippling.

Drypoint (right) is executed with a sharp needle on the metal plate, in which
the tool both incises a line and raises a burr. Both the line and the burr will hold
ink, and the resulting print therefore frequently displays a slightly 'soft,' irregular
line. Because the raised burr is fragile, large editions of drypoints can only be
achieved by the application of a thin layer of steel plating.

Mezzotint was developed late in the 17th century. It is similar to drypoint in that
a burr is raised over the entire surface of the plate by the action of a serrated
tool (or 'rocker'). In this first state the plate will print entirely black. Tones are
developed by the use of various burnishing tools, and the overall finished effect
is one of continuous tone and velvety blacks.

Etching is a process in which the incisions in the plate are produced by

drawing with a sharp tool through an acid-resistant wax ground and
subsequently immersing the plate in an acid bath. The resulting line is less crisp
than that achieved by engraving; 'darker' lines are produced by longer
immersion times in the acid bath. Etching is also used as a catch-all term for all
intaglio processes employing an acid bath in the production of the image.
Aquatint (right) is a term derived from the Italian acquatinta, from the Latin
aquafortis (strong water, or acid) and tincta (dyed); as a printmaking technique
it was developed in the late 18th century. The plate is covered with a fine dust
of rosin particles which adhere when melted; the acid bites around the particles
and produces a tonal effect, the depth of tone varying according to the length of
time the plate is left in the acid. A recent alternative ground is created by a light
coating of spray enamel paint.

Soft ground, also referred to as 'chalk manner' or 'crayon manner,' utilizes a

plate covered with a fatty ground which remains pliable. Paper placed on top of
the ground is drawn upon with pen or pencil, the ground adhering to the paper
and leaving a soft, textured line on the surface of the plate, which is then
treated just as a traditional etched plate. Since the ground remains soft, cloth,
leaves, and other items may be pressed into it to produce a variety of textural
effects.

Viscosity was developed in the 20th century by Stanley William Hayter. The
metal plate, once drawn on, is deeply etched, producing several different
surface levels. Inks of varying viscosity (that is, 'oiliness') are rolled onto the
plate with hard or soft rollers. If an ink of low viscosity is rolled over one of
higher oiliness the stiffer ink will adhere only around the oilier ink. Very fluid
effects and textures may be produced using this technique.

Collograph (right) (derived from the Greek collo, glue, or the French coller, to
glue, is a process invented by Glen Alps in 1955, and it is the only printmaking
process to be developed strictly as a fine art medium. The collograph is pulled
from a surface built up of adhered (glued) elements in the manner of a collage.
The finished plate may be inked in intaglio (the uppermost surface wiped
clean), or in relief (only the uppermost surface inked), or in some combination
of the two, and is then run through an intaglio press to produce the printed
image.

Lithographic printing
Screen printing

Serigraphy, it first syllable derived from the Latin for silk, is the name coined by
Carl Zigrosser for fine art screen printing, which in its commercial application
was a development of the late 19th century. A screen print is the only one
which is not printed in reverse from its matrix. A stencil process, it employs silk,
dacron, or some other fine mesh fabric stretched on a frame. Non-image areas
are blocked out with paper, glue, or other specially prepared stencils, and paint
or ink is forced through the opening in the fabric by use of a squeegee?a piece
of wood with a rubber blade, it size chosen to accommodate the widthe of the
screen. A separate screen is prepared for each color desired.

Monotype and monoprint printing

Monotype is a direct process that yields a 'one of a kind' print. The design is
drawn with ink, paint, or other material(s) on the metal or glass plate, and the
print is taken. Since most of the ink or other drawing material generally
transfers, only a relatively pale 'ghost image' is possible as a second print.

Monoprint is a similar process which also yields a unique print. It differs from
monotype, however, in that some part of the image is produced from a
repeatable matrix or plate executed in one of the other printmaking processes.
Woodcut
Woodcuts are some of the oldest types of relief printmaking. The design is carved from wood and then
printed from the raised surface. Woodcuts also refer to the prints made from a woodcut design.

Engraving
Engraving is an old method of intaglio printmaking that involves carving the metal to create the design.
Artists had to spend years learning how to reproduce high quality designs without making mistakes. This
was an especially difficult method for artists to master, and soon gave way to etching.

Etching
Etching is also an old type of intaglio printmaking. In this process, a strong acid or mordant is used to
dissolve away parts of the metal surface that were unprotected. This created the design, and became a
much simpler method for artists to utilize.

Lithography
Lithography was a one of the first planographic methods used. A flat stone or metal plate is used, and
some kind of ink resistant material is used to create the non-image portion of the design. Then it is inked
and pressed to a surface to create the image.

Screenprinting
Screenprinting or serigraphy is a type of stenciling that involves designing an image and then applying the
paint or ink through a screen which is typically called a silk screen. The stenciled image blocks the ink on
the other side to create the image.

Monotype
Monotypes are a unique type of printmaking, in that while reprinting is possible, there is usually only one
acceptable printing, that being the first one. Paint or ink is applied to a smooth surface such as cooper or
glass, and then through a printing press, the image is pressed to a sheet of paper. Most of the paint or ink
is removed during the first pressing, so prints after the first are considered "ghost prints".

Monoprint
Monotypes and monoprints are very similar and often used interchangeably, but there is a specific
difference between the two. While monotypes use a smooth surface, monoprints can use a woodcut,
lithography plates, or even etched plates. The way they are painted or inked makes the print unique,
which is why monoprints also usually only produce one acceptable image.

Digital Printing
Digital printing is a type of printmaking that takes a digital image and prints it onto a surface (paper, cloth,
etc.). This type of printmaking is commonly seen in laser or ink jet printers. This method has become
extremely efficient in modern times, as the digital file acts as the printing plate, therefore saving time and
money. Although the quality may be lacking sometimes due to a corruption in the file or the ability of the
printer, adjustments are constantly being made to improve digital printing.