Why Printmaking?
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Originally used as a form of communication in prehistoric times, printmaking continues to be a valued artistic form influential in shaping culture.
In the making of a print, the artist creates an image on a flat surface. The surface is inked, and pressed onto paper to create an original print. The initial plate created allows the artist to create multiple original works of art.
Starting in the eighth century, Japanese artists used printmaking to make multiples of Buddhist manuscripts. In fourteenth century Europe, woodcut prints became a popular way to distribute christian images to the common people as acquiring a print was more affordable than an oil painting.
Important figures in printmaking include Rembrandt’s mastery of the intaglio medium to Japanese artist, Katsushika Hokusai's sensational woodblock printing...
Vincent Van Gogh was profoundly affected by the printmaking practice of artists like Hokusai.
Figures within the nineteenth century include Turner, Whistler, Blake, Degas, Cassatt, and Goya. Artist-printmakers in the first half of the twentieth century include legends such as Chagall, Matisse, Munch, Picasso, Miro, Arp, Ernst, Dali, Kollwitz, Beckmann, Barlach, Kandinsky, Klee, Hopper, and more.
Over time, printmaking techniques expanded to etching, mezzotint, lithography, monoprint and screenprinting.
As processes became more complex, artists began to create work in professional print shops under the guidance of a master printer. Contemporary artists continue to use printmaking for its unique one of a kind result.
As today’s artist-printmakers work with time-honored hand processes, they build on and honor the rich traditions of their artistic forebears.
Variations of Printmaking
Monotype describe an image that can only be printed once in its original state, unlike other forms of printmaking.
This technique is also the most painterly of the printmaking processes.
Typically, the artist will use ink to paint an image onto a smooth surface such as plexiglass, a metal plate, glass or other. A piece of paper on top of a plate is run either through a press or by hand rubbing to create a unique, one of a kind print. Similar to monotype, the Monoprint includes a plate that has some form of matrix that is repeatable.
Intaglio Printing: engraving, aquatint, etching, collograph, mezzotint
(pronounced een/TAHL/yoh) an image by using a variety of tools and/or acid to carve depressions in a metal plate
(typically zinc, copper or brass). The artist inks the incised lines and recessed textures of the plate,
and wipes the raised surfaces clean.
Next, places a piece of paper on top of the plate and runs it through extreme pressure of an etching press, forcing the ink from crevices onto the paper. Intaglio printing can achieve effects ranging from crisp, clear lines to large areas of deep, velvety blacks.
Engraving
This process is characterized by sharp, crisp lines that are created when the artist uses a steel tool, called a burin,
to carve into a copper or brass plate. The deeper the cut, the thicker the line.
Tonal areas are created by engraving cross-hatched or parallel lines.
The image that results is clear and precise.
Drypoint
A process in which the artist scratches a drawing onto a metal or polycarbonate plate with a sharp needle.
Metal burrs that result from the scratching trap and hold the ink after the plate is wiped clean.
This creates a soft, heavy line that is unique to this type of intaglio.
Aquatint
In this process the artist first dusts the metal plate with varying densities of an acid-resistant powder called rosin that adheres to the plate when heated. As the artist places the plate in an acid bath, the acid “bites” around each of the dusted particles – this technique creates various tones from light to dark when the plate is inked and printed.
Etching
In this process, a copper, zinc, or brass plate is covered with an acid-resistant ground made of asphaltum, beeswax, rosin and solvent. After the artist scratches an image into the ground with an etching needle or other sharp object, the plate is submerged in an acid bath. The acid “bites” into the areas where the ground has been scratched away creating clearly defined lines.
The longer the plate is submerged in the acid, the deeper the lines will become; this results in heavier lines or darker prints. Photographic images can also be transferred and etched into a metal plate.
Collagraph (sometimes spelled COLLOGRAPH)
The collagraph plate is made up of various objects that are glued onto cardboard and then varnished.
The plate is then inked and run through a press like any other intaglio plate.
Mezzotint
This process is known for the rich, velvety blacks that are created when the artist systematically presses a curved, serrated “rocker” back and forth over the surface of a copper plate. The rocking creates several micro indentations with raised burrs. After the entire surface is roughened, the artist can create highlights by using scrapers or burnishers to smooth out areas of the plate. This produces soft tones in the image ranging from dark gray to white.
Relief Printing: Woodcut, wood engraving, and linocut
Considered the oldest form of printmaking, these prints are often characterized by bold dark and light contrasts.
In a relief print, artists use sharp tools to gouge out areas from a material such as wood or linoleum.
in the final print, the areas that are removed will appear white and the inked raised portions will create the image.
WOODCUT
In this process, the image is carved into wood blocks whose surfaces run parallel to the grain. Because the grain is resistant to cutting, detail is often difficult to achieve. However, with softer woods, the grain pattern itself is often visible and can be incorporated into the composition of the final print.
WOOD ENGRAVING
In this process, the grain is not apparent in the print because the image is carved into the end-grain surface of a wood block. This allows for much finer detail than woodcuts can offer.
Linocut
Artists carve into linoleum typically backed with wood as reinforcement. Linoleum is void of grain, allowing for lines that are more fluid and moderately detailed.
Screen Printing
Artists build a screen by tightly stretching and attaching a finely woven fabric to a sturdy wood or metal frame.
The artist uses a material such as glue, paper, shellac, film stencils, or photographic processes to block out areas on the screen; the areas left open will print. The artist lays the screen on top of a sheet of paper or other material and squeegees ink across the entire screen. The ink passes through the open areas of the stencil to create the image. The artist can then make more stencils and can build images in layers with different colors and designs.
Lithography
is process where an artist uses a variety of greasy crayons or tusche to draw or paint onto smooth, leveled limestone or a fine-grained metal plate (like aluminum or zinc). The image is then chemically treated with a mixture of dilute nitric acid and gum arabic. This chemical process serves to fix the grease onto the stone and to prevent the other areas from receiving ink.
The stone is then sponged with a thin layer of water. Only then is the stone inked.
The water prevents the oil-based ink from adhering to the blank areas while the greasy areas readily accept it.
The image is transferred from stone or plate to paper by the pressure of the lithographic press.
Eco Printing
A very old practice regaining popularity, Eco Printing creates impressions of leaves and other natural matter using the pigments,tannins and acids present in leaves, by combining them with mordants,moisture and heat on fabric or paper.
Solar Plate Printing
Using a photopolymer plate (usually thin steel sheets) coated with a light-sensitive transparent plastic layer. When exposed to UV (including bright sunlight) the light-sensitive plastic hardens and becomes insoluble to water. Areas not exposed to the UV stay water-soluble and can be washed away with tapwater and a soft scrubbing brush.
The result is often described as ‘acid-free etching’ as it can achieve a wide range of texture, tone and line work without the use of any hazardous chemicals or processes.
Refrences: Merriam Webster Dictionary, The Art of Print: Thee Hundred Years of Printmaking by Elizabeth Jacklin
In the making of a print, the artist creates an image on a flat surface. The surface is inked, and pressed onto paper to create an original print. The initial plate created allows the artist to create multiple original works of art.
Starting in the eighth century, Japanese artists used printmaking to make multiples of Buddhist manuscripts. In fourteenth century Europe, woodcut prints became a popular way to distribute christian images to the common people as acquiring a print was more affordable than an oil painting.
Important figures in printmaking include Rembrandt’s mastery of the intaglio medium to Japanese artist, Katsushika Hokusai's sensational woodblock printing...
Vincent Van Gogh was profoundly affected by the printmaking practice of artists like Hokusai.
Figures within the nineteenth century include Turner, Whistler, Blake, Degas, Cassatt, and Goya. Artist-printmakers in the first half of the twentieth century include legends such as Chagall, Matisse, Munch, Picasso, Miro, Arp, Ernst, Dali, Kollwitz, Beckmann, Barlach, Kandinsky, Klee, Hopper, and more.
Over time, printmaking techniques expanded to etching, mezzotint, lithography, monoprint and screenprinting.
As processes became more complex, artists began to create work in professional print shops under the guidance of a master printer. Contemporary artists continue to use printmaking for its unique one of a kind result.
As today’s artist-printmakers work with time-honored hand processes, they build on and honor the rich traditions of their artistic forebears.
Variations of Printmaking
Monotype describe an image that can only be printed once in its original state, unlike other forms of printmaking.
This technique is also the most painterly of the printmaking processes.
Typically, the artist will use ink to paint an image onto a smooth surface such as plexiglass, a metal plate, glass or other. A piece of paper on top of a plate is run either through a press or by hand rubbing to create a unique, one of a kind print. Similar to monotype, the Monoprint includes a plate that has some form of matrix that is repeatable.
Intaglio Printing: engraving, aquatint, etching, collograph, mezzotint
(pronounced een/TAHL/yoh) an image by using a variety of tools and/or acid to carve depressions in a metal plate
(typically zinc, copper or brass). The artist inks the incised lines and recessed textures of the plate,
and wipes the raised surfaces clean.
Next, places a piece of paper on top of the plate and runs it through extreme pressure of an etching press, forcing the ink from crevices onto the paper. Intaglio printing can achieve effects ranging from crisp, clear lines to large areas of deep, velvety blacks.
Engraving
This process is characterized by sharp, crisp lines that are created when the artist uses a steel tool, called a burin,
to carve into a copper or brass plate. The deeper the cut, the thicker the line.
Tonal areas are created by engraving cross-hatched or parallel lines.
The image that results is clear and precise.
Drypoint
A process in which the artist scratches a drawing onto a metal or polycarbonate plate with a sharp needle.
Metal burrs that result from the scratching trap and hold the ink after the plate is wiped clean.
This creates a soft, heavy line that is unique to this type of intaglio.
Aquatint
In this process the artist first dusts the metal plate with varying densities of an acid-resistant powder called rosin that adheres to the plate when heated. As the artist places the plate in an acid bath, the acid “bites” around each of the dusted particles – this technique creates various tones from light to dark when the plate is inked and printed.
Etching
In this process, a copper, zinc, or brass plate is covered with an acid-resistant ground made of asphaltum, beeswax, rosin and solvent. After the artist scratches an image into the ground with an etching needle or other sharp object, the plate is submerged in an acid bath. The acid “bites” into the areas where the ground has been scratched away creating clearly defined lines.
The longer the plate is submerged in the acid, the deeper the lines will become; this results in heavier lines or darker prints. Photographic images can also be transferred and etched into a metal plate.
Collagraph (sometimes spelled COLLOGRAPH)
The collagraph plate is made up of various objects that are glued onto cardboard and then varnished.
The plate is then inked and run through a press like any other intaglio plate.
Mezzotint
This process is known for the rich, velvety blacks that are created when the artist systematically presses a curved, serrated “rocker” back and forth over the surface of a copper plate. The rocking creates several micro indentations with raised burrs. After the entire surface is roughened, the artist can create highlights by using scrapers or burnishers to smooth out areas of the plate. This produces soft tones in the image ranging from dark gray to white.
Relief Printing: Woodcut, wood engraving, and linocut
Considered the oldest form of printmaking, these prints are often characterized by bold dark and light contrasts.
In a relief print, artists use sharp tools to gouge out areas from a material such as wood or linoleum.
in the final print, the areas that are removed will appear white and the inked raised portions will create the image.
WOODCUT
In this process, the image is carved into wood blocks whose surfaces run parallel to the grain. Because the grain is resistant to cutting, detail is often difficult to achieve. However, with softer woods, the grain pattern itself is often visible and can be incorporated into the composition of the final print.
WOOD ENGRAVING
In this process, the grain is not apparent in the print because the image is carved into the end-grain surface of a wood block. This allows for much finer detail than woodcuts can offer.
Linocut
Artists carve into linoleum typically backed with wood as reinforcement. Linoleum is void of grain, allowing for lines that are more fluid and moderately detailed.
Screen Printing
Artists build a screen by tightly stretching and attaching a finely woven fabric to a sturdy wood or metal frame.
The artist uses a material such as glue, paper, shellac, film stencils, or photographic processes to block out areas on the screen; the areas left open will print. The artist lays the screen on top of a sheet of paper or other material and squeegees ink across the entire screen. The ink passes through the open areas of the stencil to create the image. The artist can then make more stencils and can build images in layers with different colors and designs.
Lithography
is process where an artist uses a variety of greasy crayons or tusche to draw or paint onto smooth, leveled limestone or a fine-grained metal plate (like aluminum or zinc). The image is then chemically treated with a mixture of dilute nitric acid and gum arabic. This chemical process serves to fix the grease onto the stone and to prevent the other areas from receiving ink.
The stone is then sponged with a thin layer of water. Only then is the stone inked.
The water prevents the oil-based ink from adhering to the blank areas while the greasy areas readily accept it.
The image is transferred from stone or plate to paper by the pressure of the lithographic press.
Eco Printing
A very old practice regaining popularity, Eco Printing creates impressions of leaves and other natural matter using the pigments,tannins and acids present in leaves, by combining them with mordants,moisture and heat on fabric or paper.
Solar Plate Printing
Using a photopolymer plate (usually thin steel sheets) coated with a light-sensitive transparent plastic layer. When exposed to UV (including bright sunlight) the light-sensitive plastic hardens and becomes insoluble to water. Areas not exposed to the UV stay water-soluble and can be washed away with tapwater and a soft scrubbing brush.
The result is often described as ‘acid-free etching’ as it can achieve a wide range of texture, tone and line work without the use of any hazardous chemicals or processes.
Refrences: Merriam Webster Dictionary, The Art of Print: Thee Hundred Years of Printmaking by Elizabeth Jacklin
