Printmaking  

Printmaking encompasses a number of techniques that allows the artist to create, by hand, a master image and a limited number of multiple images.  The end result is similar to the definition of drawing as a print consists of a series of marks on a paper support.  One of the major differences between printmaking and drawing is how we arrive to series of marks. 

Each printmaking technique has its own personality but they also share a number of traits.  A print is usually produced from that master image as a part of a series of nearly identical images.  Prints are referred to as multiples.  A series of multiples from the same master image is referred to as an edition.  Each image from the edition is considered and original.  Editions are signed, titled, numbered, and dated by the artist, usually at the bottom of the image.  Since the edition is pulled by hand by the artist or a master printer the edition number are usually small ranging from one to 200 prints.    Each print may be numbered with the number of the total edition and the number of its individual placement within the edition.  For example, "9/18" indicates that this print is the ninth print out of an edition of eighteen total prints.     

There is a major difference between prints created by the artist and  master printer in the realm of printmaking and those images 
called "limited edition prints" but are reproductions of an artists painting or drawing.  These "limited edition prints" are purely mechanical copies of an original image.  They are not produced directly from the artist's original plate, and they are not works of art in themselves.   They are reproductions of an original just as a poster, a calendar image, or an image from a book or magazine can be a copy of an art work. 

There are three main categories that we can place the wide variety of printmaking process: relief, intaglio, and planar. 
 

Relief  

Relief printing is the oldest form of printmaking.  It was developed and used in China, India and Egypt on cloth and papyrus before the development of paper. 

Relief printing refers to a process in which the printed area of the matrix (the surface on which the master image is created) stands out in physical relief above the level of the rest of matrix..  The area that is not printed is cut away.  Ink is rolled onto the raised area, then paper is pressed onto the inked matrix.  The paper is pulled away from the matrix  and has one impression of the inked image on its surface. 

There are several relief techniques.  Woodcut, linocut, and metal relief are the most common. 
 

Woodcut 

To create a woodcut an artist uses special knives and gouges to cut away any part of the plank wood that he or she does not want to print.  The resulting raised image is inked, with either oil base relief ink or water base relief ink, by use of a brayer or roller.  Numerous types of paper from inexpensive construction grade to hand produced washi can be used in this process.  The paper is pressed onto the inked surface either by hand by using a barren or by using a number of hand run presses.  The resulting image will be the mirror image of the woodblock. 

Woodcut is the earliest from of printmaking.  It was invented by the Chinese c. 7th to 5th century BCE.  Woodblock printing did not travel to Europe until papermaking was developed on that continent in the 1300 -1400s. 
 

Linocut 

Linocut or linoleum printmaking is similar to woodcut except the matrix is linoleum rather than wood.  The linoleum is usually softer with little or no grain and therefore easier to cut. 
 

Metal Relief 

Metal relief uses metal, usually zinc, as its matrix.  The image is fixed onto the metal surface with an acid resist.  The metal plate is then placed in an acid that will "eat" away the metal plate (etch) where there is no resist to protect the plate.   This process was used in the newspaper industry until the 1960's to create the metal masters of type and images.  These masters were created by placing a light sensitive photo film on to the plate surface.  The type written text and the images would be photographically transferred on to the plate.  The plate would be etched and placed onto a press that would ink the plate and print one copy, ink the plate again and print the second copy and so on.  The process may sound slow by today's standard but was much faster than the hand printing techniques that came before it.  The process was replaced with the much more rapid technique of offset lithography which is still used by commercial printer today.     
 

Intaglio  

Intaglio is an Italian term that means "incise".  Intaglio is the opposite of relief in that the image is incised into the metal (copper, zinc, or steel) plate.  The ink is rubbed into the incised line and tonal areas and polished off the upper surface of the plate.  The plate is placed on the bed of a high pressure press, covered with dampened paper, and run through  the press.  The pressure of the press will cause the ink image to transfer to the dampened paper. 

There are three major techniques of intaglio and several variations of each technique.  The three major techniques are:  engraving, etching, and drypoint. 
 

Engraving 

An engraved imaged is created by using a tool called a burin and cutting into, or incising, the metal plate.  Engraving takes strength and tenacity.  Metal plates are hard and the image must be created one simple but careful line at a time.  Copper is the softest metal followed by zinc.  Steel is considerably harder than zinc.  All types of metal plates have a grain that make engraving more challenging. 

Engraving was the first of the intaglio techniques to be developed.  Historians believe that the first intaglio printmaker was actually a silversmith who while incising images into a knight's armor inadvertently printed the image.  It did not take long for the silversmith guild to develop engraving as a way to create images. 
 

Etching 

The biggest difference between engraving and etching is the use of acid to incise lines or areas into the metal.  The plate is first covered with a resist that will protect the metal from the acid.  The artist uses a sharp etching needle to draw a line image through the resist exposing the plate.  The plate is place into an acid bath and the acid will etch (eat) into the plate where ever it is exposed.  When printed the resulting image will be a mirror line image of what was drawn through the resist.  If a tonal area is required cross-hatched lines or a technique called aquatint can be used.   

The term etching comes from the German essen "to eat".       

There are several etching techniques that the intaglio artist can use.  Most of them carry interesting names such as "sugarlift", "straight bite", "ala pouppe", and "soft ground". 
 

Drypoint 

The drypoint technique does not remove the metal from the surface of the plate rather it moves the metal over to the side of the incised line. This pile of metal is called a burr.   If we magnify the drypoint line it would resemble a freshly dug ditch with the ditch contents placed immediately beside the ditch.  Ink is rubbed not only into the incised line but also gets caught in the burr..  When printed the drypoint line is velvety and slightly blurred.  Each time the drypoint is printed the pressure from the press pushes a little of the burr back into the incised line.  For editions over ten the drypoint image will need to be re-incised. 

Often drypoint is used in conjunction with other intaglio techniques. 
 

Planographic  

In relief printing techniques the image is printed off of the raised area of the plate.  In intaglio the printed image is from the incised image in the plate.  In planographic printmaking techniques the image is printed off of flat surfaces. 

The two planographic techniques, lithography and serigraphy, are unique to themselves. 
 

Lithography 
 
The word lithography comes from the Greek term "stone writing".   The printing technique was developed for use with Bavarian limestone.  Today artists can use metal (zinc and aluminum) plates for the technique but limestone remains the lithographer's favorite choice.   Lithography was invented in the 1790's by the German actor-playwright Alois Senefelder.  Senefelder augmented his actor's income by producing playbills that announced the upcoming plays.  He was in the process of producing a number of playbills that were to be identical using drawing and painting processes.  He had unsuccessfully attempted in the past to produce a printing technique that would mimic a crayon or pencil drawing.  As he worked in  his small back room that served him as a studio his mother stopped in and asked him to pick up a number of things when he went out later that afternoon.  Having no paper available except the playbill surface he used his crayon and wrote the list on the table top.  The table was a large piece of Bavarian limestone that had been salvaged from and old ship where it had served as ballast.   Later when Senfelder tried to wash the crayon list from the table top he was surprised to see that the wash water was repelled from the crayon marks.  That spurred and idea and he quickly ran for brayers and oil base ink.  He wiped the table top with water again then quickly rolled the ink over the shopping list.   The crayon marks repelled the water but accepted the ink, the exposed table top accepted the water and therefore repelled the ink from the brayer.  When he placed paper over the inked surface and add light pressure the ink transferred to the paper.  Senefelder had discovered a way to print crayon marks and lithography was born. 

Today lithographers use the same technique that Senefelder discovered with a few refinements.  Lithography is based on chemical properties and the phenomenon that water and oil to not mix.  Artists use either a grease pencil or liquid touche to create an image on a levigated (cleaned and properly roughened) Bavarian limestone or metal plate.  The entire plate or stone surface is covered with and acidic solution that "fixes" the image.  The stone (plate) is cleaned and inked.  If the image was properly fixed it will repel water and accept greasy ink.  The stone (plate) is wiped with a wet sponge then "rolled up" with litho ink.  Paper is placed on top of the image and the stone (plate) and paper are "put through"  the light pressure of a litho press.  The inked image will transfer to the paper. 
 

Serigraphy 

Serigraphy is the term that artists apply to the commercial process of screenprinting or silkscreening.  The term means "silk writing" and refers to a process in which a stencil is placed on a silk (or nylon, dacron, or multi-filament) screen that has been stretched on a frame.  With the use of a squeegee ink is forced through the silk onto a support surface.  The stencil will block the ink from passing through the silk thus allowing the artist control of the image.  Multiple stencils can be used to create a multi-colored print.  Serigraphs can be printed on paper or many other products and object.  Commercially silkscreens are used on T-shirts, plastic bags, banners, and many other objects. 
 
 
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