ABOUT PRINTMAKING
A print is an original work of art that is made by pressing a piece of paper against an inked-up block, plate or screen. Some people mistakenly think a print is a reproduction like a photograph or photocopy. This is wrong! Printmaking is its own art form and has been practised by many celebrated artists over centuries. Rembrandt, Goya and Picasso all practised printmaking. Read on if you are interested and do contact me if you have any questions. I am always happy to chat!
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There are two basic types of printmaking: relief printing and intaglio printing.
Relief printing is when the surface of a printing block is carved away and ink covers the raised parts of the block. The block is then pressed against paper to create the print. A printing block is often made of wood (a woodcut or wood engraving) or lino (a linocut).
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Intaglio printing is when marks are made in a metal plate: zinc, copper, aluminium and steel can all be used. These marks create the ultimate print. The printmaker forces ink into the marks, and carefully cleans the rest of the plate. The plate and paper are then passed through a printing press. Under pressure, the ink in the marks is transferred to the paper.
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I mostly practise intaglio printing.
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There are different ways of creating marks on a metal plate. Lines can be scratched into the metal with a needle. This is called drypoint or engraving. Alternatively, the plate can be covered with a waxy layer called the ‘ground’. The ground can be scratched off to create a design. The plate is then put in an acid bath. The acid will eat away the exposed metal, but the ground will protect the rest of the plate. This is etching.
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Acid can be applied to a plate to create lines but it can also be applied to create tone (light and shade). This is done by applying an ‘aquatint’ to the plate. An aquatint is where resin is applied to the whole plate to create a pitted surface, which can hold areas of ink, rather than just lines.
​Where acid is painted onto a plate gradually, rather than by placing the plate in a bath, this is called ‘spit bite’.
Placing an inked-up zinc plate for intaglio printing on the printing press.​​
​​​​​An alternative to creating a design by drawing lines into a wax ground on a metal plate is by using sugar and coffee solutions (sugar/coffee lift). These are often used to create more gestural images.
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A collograph is where a printing plate is made from a collage of materials of various textures, glued onto thin wood or cardboard. A collograph can be passed through a printing press to produce a print in much the same way as using a metal plate.
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An edition is when a number of prints is taken from a block, plate or screen which produce a similar image. A monoprint usually describes a print which is like a variation on a series: colours and shapes may be overlayed to vary the image. A monotype is a one-of-a-kind print and does not employ repeatable elements.
My Gunning printing press.​​