Printmaking Processes & Terms
PRINTMAKING TERMS
Relief:
Relief was developed in Japan around 103 A.D. It includes woodcuts, engravings, linoleum cuts as well as plexiglass and various plastics.
Woodcuts are made by cutting into the broad face of a plank of wood, usually with a knife or gouge (the linocut is made the same way, except that linoleum is substituted for wood). In working the block, the artist cuts away areas not meant to print. These cut away areas appear in the finished print as the white parts of the design while the ink adheres to the raised parts. Matrix artists who used this technique include: Richard Mock, Sean Star Wars, James Todd, Tyler Krasowski, Tom Huck, Mary Farrell, Tim Musso, Reinaldo Gil Zambrano, Jason Clark.
Intaglio:
Was developed in Europe during the 15th century.
Intaglio printing involves the use of a metal plate. In printing, the ink settles in the sunken areas and the smooth surface of the plate is wiped clean. The plate, in contact with damp paper, is passed through a roller press under pressure. The paper is forced into the sunken areas to receive the ink. The plate can be incised by one of several methods:
Engraving: The design is cut into the plate by driving furrows with a tool called a burin. The careful control required by the cutting method results in a rather stiff, controlled style of image, with shading accomplished through the use of parallel lines, or "hatching." The plate is printed in the manner described above. Hogarth (18th c.) is an artist who often created engravings.
Etching: A metal plate is coated with a material called a ground. The artist then draws his design on the ground with a sharp needle, that cuts through the ground to the metal below. When the plate is put in an acid bath, these exposed areas will be etched (or eaten away). This produces the sunken line which will receive the ink. The artist etches on the plate those parts which will appear in the finished print as black or colored areas. Since the ground is soft, the artist is able to work more freely than is possible with engraving, displaying a freer, more relaxed quality of line. The length of time the plate is left in the acid bath will affect the darkness and character of the lines. Rembrandt (17th c.) did many engravings.
Drypoint: In this technique, the sunken lines are produced directly by diamond-hard tools pulled across the plate. The depth of line is controlled by the artist's muscle and experience. The method of cutting produces a ridge along the incisions, called burr. This gives the dry-point line the characteristically soft, velvety appearance absent in the clean edged lines of an engraving or etching.
Aquatint: A copper plate is protected by a powdered ground that is melted onto the surface of the plate. It is acid resistant, but covers incompletely, resulting in a grainy surface texture. The longer the plate is left in the acid bath, the darker and heavier the texture will become. It is usually combined with a standard etching ground that permits lines and clear white areas as well. The final effect is an image on a fine pebbled background (imparted by the porous ground). Aquatint is usually employed in combination with line etching when subtle value gradations are desired.
Matrix artists who used the above techniques include: Tony Fitzpatrick, Peter Von Tiesenhausen, Beverly Glueckert, Antonia Contro and Miriam Schapiro.
Lithography:
Was invented in 1798 by a german playwright name Aloys Senefelder.
Lithography is a planographic technique in which the artist draws directly on a flat stone or specially prepared metal plate (usually with a greasy crayon). The stone is dampened with water, then inked. The ink clings to the greasy crayon marks, but not to the dampened areas. When a piece of paper is pressed against the stone, the ink on the greasy parts is transferred to it. Toulouse-Lautrec and Picasso are among the artists shown who used this technique.
Matrix artists who used the above techniques include: Larry Anderson, Jerry Krepps and Sara Siestreem.
Serigraphy:
Stencil prints: Silk Screen / Screenprinting
Silk screen is a type of stencil. This technique first came into use in the early 20th century. The artist prepares a tightly stretched screen, usually of silk, and blocks out areas not to be printed by filling up the mesh of the screen with a varnish-like substance (or any number of other materials which would block up the pores of the fabric). Paper is placed under the screen and ink forced through the still-open mesh onto the paper. This technique is also widely used on textiles, including the ever-popular T-shirt. Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol are examples of artists that used silkscreen. Matrix artists who used the above techniques include: John Hitchcock, Molly Murphy-Adams, Duane Slick, Brian Kelly, Lisa Jarrett, Christa Carleton, Marwin Begaye, Neal Ambrose-Smith.
Monotypes vs Monoprints
The monotype process was invented by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609–64), an Italian painter and etcher.
Historically, the terms Monotype and Monoprint were often used interchangeably. More recently, however, these are now used to refer to very similar types of printmaking which are somewhat different. Both involve the transfer of ink from a plate to the paper, canvas, or other surface that will ultimately hold the work of art.
Monotypes: In the case of monotypes, the plate is a featureless plate. It contains no features that will impart any definition to successive prints. In the absence of any permanent features on the surface of the plate, all articulation of imagery is dependent on one unique inking, resulting in one unique print.
Matrix artists who used the above technique include: Melanie Yazzie, Joe Feddersen, Duane Slick and Lillian Pitt.
Monoprints, on the other hand, now refers to the results of plates that have permanent features on them. Monoprints can be thought of as variations on a theme, with the theme resulting from some permanent features being found on the plate—lines, textures—that persist from print to print. Variations are confined to those resulting from how the plate is inked prior to each print. The variations are endless, but certain permanent features on the plate will tend to persist from one print to the next.
Matrix artists who used the above techniques include: John Armstrong, Jason Clark, Duane Slick, John Hitchcock, Ka'ila Farrell-Smith, Corwin Clairmont, Lillian Pitt, Melanie Yazzie.
Digital:
Includes “Iris” prints and “Glicee” prints, both of which are high-resolution inkjet prints.
More and more artists are using digital platforms both solely for their own unique qualities as well as a tool in conjunction with other traditional printmaking forms.
Relief was developed in Japan around 103 A.D. It includes woodcuts, engravings, linoleum cuts as well as plexiglass and various plastics.
Woodcuts are made by cutting into the broad face of a plank of wood, usually with a knife or gouge (the linocut is made the same way, except that linoleum is substituted for wood). In working the block, the artist cuts away areas not meant to print. These cut away areas appear in the finished print as the white parts of the design while the ink adheres to the raised parts. Matrix artists who used this technique include: Richard Mock, Sean Star Wars, James Todd, Tyler Krasowski, Tom Huck, Mary Farrell, Tim Musso, Reinaldo Gil Zambrano, Jason Clark.
Intaglio:
Was developed in Europe during the 15th century.
Intaglio printing involves the use of a metal plate. In printing, the ink settles in the sunken areas and the smooth surface of the plate is wiped clean. The plate, in contact with damp paper, is passed through a roller press under pressure. The paper is forced into the sunken areas to receive the ink. The plate can be incised by one of several methods:
Engraving: The design is cut into the plate by driving furrows with a tool called a burin. The careful control required by the cutting method results in a rather stiff, controlled style of image, with shading accomplished through the use of parallel lines, or "hatching." The plate is printed in the manner described above. Hogarth (18th c.) is an artist who often created engravings.
Etching: A metal plate is coated with a material called a ground. The artist then draws his design on the ground with a sharp needle, that cuts through the ground to the metal below. When the plate is put in an acid bath, these exposed areas will be etched (or eaten away). This produces the sunken line which will receive the ink. The artist etches on the plate those parts which will appear in the finished print as black or colored areas. Since the ground is soft, the artist is able to work more freely than is possible with engraving, displaying a freer, more relaxed quality of line. The length of time the plate is left in the acid bath will affect the darkness and character of the lines. Rembrandt (17th c.) did many engravings.
Drypoint: In this technique, the sunken lines are produced directly by diamond-hard tools pulled across the plate. The depth of line is controlled by the artist's muscle and experience. The method of cutting produces a ridge along the incisions, called burr. This gives the dry-point line the characteristically soft, velvety appearance absent in the clean edged lines of an engraving or etching.
Aquatint: A copper plate is protected by a powdered ground that is melted onto the surface of the plate. It is acid resistant, but covers incompletely, resulting in a grainy surface texture. The longer the plate is left in the acid bath, the darker and heavier the texture will become. It is usually combined with a standard etching ground that permits lines and clear white areas as well. The final effect is an image on a fine pebbled background (imparted by the porous ground). Aquatint is usually employed in combination with line etching when subtle value gradations are desired.
Matrix artists who used the above techniques include: Tony Fitzpatrick, Peter Von Tiesenhausen, Beverly Glueckert, Antonia Contro and Miriam Schapiro.
Lithography:
Was invented in 1798 by a german playwright name Aloys Senefelder.
Lithography is a planographic technique in which the artist draws directly on a flat stone or specially prepared metal plate (usually with a greasy crayon). The stone is dampened with water, then inked. The ink clings to the greasy crayon marks, but not to the dampened areas. When a piece of paper is pressed against the stone, the ink on the greasy parts is transferred to it. Toulouse-Lautrec and Picasso are among the artists shown who used this technique.
Matrix artists who used the above techniques include: Larry Anderson, Jerry Krepps and Sara Siestreem.
Serigraphy:
Stencil prints: Silk Screen / Screenprinting
Silk screen is a type of stencil. This technique first came into use in the early 20th century. The artist prepares a tightly stretched screen, usually of silk, and blocks out areas not to be printed by filling up the mesh of the screen with a varnish-like substance (or any number of other materials which would block up the pores of the fabric). Paper is placed under the screen and ink forced through the still-open mesh onto the paper. This technique is also widely used on textiles, including the ever-popular T-shirt. Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol are examples of artists that used silkscreen. Matrix artists who used the above techniques include: John Hitchcock, Molly Murphy-Adams, Duane Slick, Brian Kelly, Lisa Jarrett, Christa Carleton, Marwin Begaye, Neal Ambrose-Smith.
Monotypes vs Monoprints
The monotype process was invented by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609–64), an Italian painter and etcher.
Historically, the terms Monotype and Monoprint were often used interchangeably. More recently, however, these are now used to refer to very similar types of printmaking which are somewhat different. Both involve the transfer of ink from a plate to the paper, canvas, or other surface that will ultimately hold the work of art.
Monotypes: In the case of monotypes, the plate is a featureless plate. It contains no features that will impart any definition to successive prints. In the absence of any permanent features on the surface of the plate, all articulation of imagery is dependent on one unique inking, resulting in one unique print.
Matrix artists who used the above technique include: Melanie Yazzie, Joe Feddersen, Duane Slick and Lillian Pitt.
Monoprints, on the other hand, now refers to the results of plates that have permanent features on them. Monoprints can be thought of as variations on a theme, with the theme resulting from some permanent features being found on the plate—lines, textures—that persist from print to print. Variations are confined to those resulting from how the plate is inked prior to each print. The variations are endless, but certain permanent features on the plate will tend to persist from one print to the next.
Matrix artists who used the above techniques include: John Armstrong, Jason Clark, Duane Slick, John Hitchcock, Ka'ila Farrell-Smith, Corwin Clairmont, Lillian Pitt, Melanie Yazzie.
Digital:
Includes “Iris” prints and “Glicee” prints, both of which are high-resolution inkjet prints.
More and more artists are using digital platforms both solely for their own unique qualities as well as a tool in conjunction with other traditional printmaking forms.