View source for Printmaking

{{short description|Process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper}}
{{about|techniques of printmaking as a fine art|the history of printmaking in Europe|Old master print|the Japanese printmaking tradition|Ukiyo-e}}
[[File:Hokusai, The Underwave off Kanagawa.jpg|thumb|alt=Hokusai, The Underwave off Kanagawa, depicting various waves. A ship can be seen upon the waters.|300px|Katsushika [[Hokusai]] ''The Underwave off Kanagawa'', 1829/1833, color [[woodcut]], [[Rijksmuseum]] Collection]]
[[File:1630 Rembrandt Selbstportrait mit aufgerissenen Augen anagoria.JPG|thumb|300px|[[Rembrandt]],  ''[[Self-portrait]]'', [[etching]], {{Circa|1630}}]]
[[File:Goya - No Hay Quien Los Socorra (Nobody Can Help Them).jpg|thumb|300px|[[Francisco Goya]], ''There is No One To Help Them,'' ''[[Disasters of War]]'' series, [[aquatint]] {{Circa|1810}}]]

'''Printmaking''' is the process of creating [[work of art|artwork]]s by [[printing]], normally on [[paper]], but also on [[fabric]], [[wood]], [[metal]], and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique, rather than a photographic reproduction of a visual artwork which would be printed using an electronic machine ([[Printer (computing)|a printer]]); however, there is some cross-over between traditional and digital printmaking, including [[risograph]]. 

Prints are created by transferring ink from a [[Matrix (printing)|matrix]] to a sheet of paper or other material, by a variety of techniques. Common types of matrices include: metal plates for [[engraving]], [[etching]] and related [[intaglio printing]] techniques; stone, aluminum, or polymer for [[lithography]]; blocks of wood for [[woodcut]]s and [[wood engraving]]s; and linoleum for [[linocut]]s. Screens made of silk or synthetic fabrics are used for the [[screen printing]] process. Other types of matrix substrates and related processes are discussed below.

Except in the case of [[monotyping]], all printmaking processes have the capacity to produce identical multiples of the same artwork, which is called a print. Each print produced is considered an "original" work of art, and is correctly referred to as an "impression", not a "copy" (that means a different print copying the first, common in early printmaking). However, impressions can vary considerably, whether intentionally or not. [[Master printmaker]]s are technicians who are capable of printing identical "impressions" by hand.  A print that copies another work of art, especially a painting, is known as a "reproductive print".

Multiple impressions printed from the same matrix form an [[edition (printmaking)|edition]]. Since the late 19th century, artists have generally signed individual impressions from an edition and often number the impressions to form a limited edition; the matrix is then destroyed so that no more prints can be produced. Prints may also be printed in book form, such as illustrated books or [[artist's book]]s.

== Techniques ==
{{external media | width = 300px | float = right | video1 = [https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history-basics/artists-materials-techniques/printmaking/v/moma-relief-printmaking Printmaking: Woodcuts and Engravings], [[Smarthistory]]}}

=== Overview===
Printmaking techniques are generally divided into the following basic categories:
* [[relief print|Relief]], where ink is applied to the original surface of the matrix, while carved or displaced grooves are absent of ink. Relief techniques include [[woodcut]] or [[woodblock printing|woodblock]], [[wood engraving]], [[linocut]] and [[metalcut]].
* [[Intaglio (printmaking)|Intaglio]], where ink is forced into grooves or cavities in the surface of the matrix. Intaglio techniques include [[collagraph]]y, [[engraving]], [[etching]], [[mezzotint]], [[aquatint]].
* [[Planographic]], where the matrix retains its original surface, but is specially prepared and/or inked to allow for the transfer of the image. Planographic techniques include [[lithography]], [[monotyping]], and digital techniques.
* [[Stencil]], where ink or paint is pressed through a prepared screen or material with cutout elements, including [[screen printing]], [[risograph]], and [[stencil|pochoir]].

Types of printmaking outside of this group are [[viscosity printing]], water surface printing such as [[paper marbling]], . [[Printing#Conventional printing technology|Contemporary printmaking]] may include [[digital printing]], photographic mediums, or a combination of digital, photographic, and traditional processes.

Many of these techniques can also be combined, especially within the same family. For example, Rembrandt's prints are usually referred to as "etchings" for convenience, but very often include work in engraving and [[drypoint]] as well, and sometimes have no etching at all.

=== Woodcut ===
<div style="width:35%; float: right; margin: 10px; padding: 8px; border: 1px solid #8888aa;">Artists using this technique include
[[Albrecht Dürer]],
[[Hans Burgkmair]],
[[Ugo da Carpi]],
[[Hiroshige]],
[[Hokusai]],
[[Frans Masereel]],
[[Gustave Baumann]], 
[[Ernst Ludwig Kirchner]],
[[Eric Slater]],
[[Antonio Frasconi]]
</div>
{{main|Woodcut}}
[[File:Vallotton-Raison.gif|thumb|[[Félix Vallotton]], ''La raison probante (The Cogent Reason)'', [[woodcut]] from the series ''Intimités'', (1898)]]
[[File:Kirchner - Bildnis Otto Mueller.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Ernst Ludwig Kirchner]], ''Portrait of [[Otto Mueller|Otto Müller]]'', 1915]]

Woodcut, a type of [[relief print]], is the earliest printmaking technique. It was probably first developed as a means of printing patterns on cloth, and by the 5th century was used in China for printing text and images on paper.<ref name=woodcut>{{Cite web |title=Woodcut |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/collection-areas/drawings-and-prints/materials-and-techniques/printmaking/woodcut |access-date=2023-01-11 |website=www.metmuseum.org}}</ref> Woodcuts of images on paper developed around 1400 in Europe, and slightly later in Japan.<ref>{{cite web |title=Printmaking as a fine art |website=Fineart.cz |url=https://www.fineart.cz/about_graphics.aspx?langId=2#:~:text=Woodcuts%20of%20images%20on%20paper,is%20transferred%20to%20the%20wood. |access-date=12 October 2024}}</ref> These are the two areas where woodcut has been most extensively used purely as a process for making images without text. 
[[File:Some woodcutts of Stanislaw Raczynski.jpg|thumb|''Woodcuts of Stanislaw Raczynski (1903&ndash;1982)'']]
The [[artist]] either draws a design directly on a plank of [[wood]], or transfers a drawing done on paper to a plank of wood. Traditionally, the artist then handed the work to a technician, who then uses sharp carving tools to carve away the parts of the block that will not receive ink.<ref name=woodcut/> In the Western tradition, the surface of the block is then inked with the use of a [[brayer]]; however in the Japanese tradition, [[Woodblock printing in Japan|woodblocks]] were inked with a brush.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Watton|first=Jill|date=2019-04-26|title=Japanese Woodblock Printmaking Explained|url=https://www.jacksonsart.com/blog/2019/04/26/relief-printing-japanese-woodblock-printmaking/|access-date=2021-07-24|website=Jackson's Art Blog|language=en-GB}}</ref> Then a sheet of [[paper]], perhaps slightly damp, is placed over the block. The block is then rubbed with a [[Baren (printing tool)|baren]] or [[spoon]], or is run through a [[printing press]]. If the print is in color, separate blocks can be used for each [[color]], or a technique called reduction printing can be used.

[[Reduction printing]] is a name used to describe the process of using one block to print several layers of color on one print. Both [[woodcut]]s and [[linocut]]s can employ reduction printing. This usually involves cutting a small amount of the block away, and then printing the block many times over on different sheets before washing the block, cutting more away and printing the next color on top. This allows the previous color to show through. This process can be repeated many times over. The advantages of this process is that only one block is needed, and that different components of an intricate design will line up perfectly. The disadvantage is that once the artist moves on to the next layer, no more prints can be made.

Another variation of woodcut printmaking is the cukil technique, made famous by the [[Taring Padi]] underground community in Java, Indonesia. Taring Padi Posters usually resemble intricately printed cartoon posters embedded with political messages. Images—usually resembling a visually complex scenario—are carved unto a wooden surface called cukilan, then smothered with printer's ink before pressing it unto media such as paper or canvas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Woodcut |url=https://www3.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/collection-areas/drawings-and-prints/materials-and-techniques/printmaking/woodcut |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |language=en}}</ref>

===Engraving===
{{main|Engraving}}
[[File:Melencolia I (Durero).jpg|thumb|upright|left|''[[Melencolia I]]'', 1514 engraving by [[Albrecht Dürer]], one of the most important printmakers.]]
The process was developed in Germany in the 1430s from the engraving used by [[goldsmith]]s to decorate metalwork.  Engravers use a hardened steel tool called a [[Burin (engraving)|burin]] to cut the design into the surface of a metal plate, traditionally made of copper. Engraving using a burin is generally a difficult skill to learn.

Gravers come in a variety of shapes and sizes that yield different line types. The burin produces a unique and recognizable quality of line that is characterized by its steady, deliberate appearance and clean edges. Other tools such as mezzotint rockers, roulettes (a tool with a fine-toothed wheel) and burnishers (a tool used for making an object smooth or shiny by rubbing) are used for texturing effects.

To make a print, the engraved plate is inked all over, then the ink is wiped off the surface, leaving ink only in the engraved lines. The plate is then put through a high-pressure printing press together with a sheet of paper (often moistened to soften it). The paper picks up the ink from the engraved lines, making a print. The process can be repeated many times; typically several hundred impressions (copies) could be printed before the printing plate shows much sign of wear, except when [[drypoint]], which gives much shallower lines, is used.

In the 20th century, true engraving was revived as a serious art form by artists including [[Stanley William Hayter]] whose [[Atelier 17]] in Paris and New York City became the magnet for such artists as [[Pablo Picasso]], [[Alberto Giacometti]], [[Mauricio Lasansky]] and [[Joan Miró]].
{{Clear left}}

=== Etching ===
{{main|Etching}}
[[File:Saint Jerome in his Study LACMA M.2012.31 (1 of 2).jpg|thumb|left|Albrecht Dürer, ''Saint Jerome in his Study'', 1514.]]
<div style="width:35%; float: right; margin: 10px; padding: 8px; border: 1px solid #8888aa;">Artists using this technique include
[[Albrecht Dürer]],
[[Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn|Rembrandt]],
[[Francisco Goya]],
[[Wenceslaus Hollar]],
[[James Abbott McNeill Whistler|Whistler]],
[[Otto Dix]],
[[James Ensor]],
[[Edward Hopper]],
[[Käthe Kollwitz]],
[[Pablo Picasso]],
[[Cy Twombly]],
[[Lucas van Leyden]]
</div>
 
[[File:Rembrandt The Hundred Guilder Print.jpg|thumb|right|[[Rembrandt]], ''Christ Preaching'', ''([[Hundred Guilder Print|The Hundred Guilder print]])''; etching {{Circa|1648}}]]
'''Etching''' is part of the [[intaglio (printmaking)|intaglio]] family. In pure etching, a metal plate (usually copper, zinc, or steel) is covered with a waxy or acrylic [[ground (etching)|ground]]. The artist then draws through the ground with a pointed etching needle, exposing the metal. The plate is then etched by dipping it in a bath of etchant (e.g. [[nitric acid]] or [[ferric chloride]]). The etchant "bites" into the exposed metal, leaving behind lines in the plate. The remaining ground is then cleaned off the plate, and the printing process is then just the same as for [[engraving]].

Although the first dated etching is by [[Albrecht Dürer]] in 1515, the process is believed to have been invented by [[Daniel Hopfer]] ({{Circa|1470&ndash;1536}}) of Augsburg, Germany, who decorated armor in this way, and applied the method to printmaking.<ref>Cohen, Brian D. [http://artinprint.org/article/freedom-and-resistance-in-the-act-of-engraving-or-why-durer-gave-up-on-etching/ "Freedom and Resistance in the Act of Engraving (or, Why Dürer Gave up on Etching),"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200308163224/https://artinprint.org/article/freedom-and-resistance-in-the-act-of-engraving-or-why-durer-gave-up-on-etching/ |date=2020-03-08 }} ''Art in Print'' Vol. 7 No. 3 (September–October 2017), 17.</ref> Etching soon came to challenge engraving as the most popular printmaking medium. Its great advantage was that, unlike engraving which requires special skill in metalworking, etching is relatively easy to learn for an artist trained in drawing.

Etching prints are generally linear and often contain fine detail and contours. [[Line art|Lines]] can vary from smooth to sketchy. An etching is opposite of a woodcut in that the raised portions of an etching remain blank while the crevices hold ink.

A non-toxic form of etching that does not involve an acid is [[Electroetching]].

=== Mezzotint ===
<div style="width:35%; float: right; margin: 10px; padding: 8px; border: 1px solid #8888aa;">Artists using this technique include
[[John Martin (painter)|John Martin]],
[[Ludwig von Siegen]],
[[John Smith (engraver)|John Smith]],
[[Wallerant Vaillant]],
[[Carol Wax]]
</div>
{{main|Mezzotint}}
[[File:A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bottom and Titania) - Samuel Cousins ARA - 464-1997.jpg|alt=Print depicting Titania leaning on Bottom, a weaver with a magically bestowed ass's head. Within a woodland arbour, fairies and enchanted animals surround them.|thumb|A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bottom and Titania) by Samuel Cousins, mezzotint on paper (1801-1887).]]
An [[Intaglio (printmaking)|intaglio]] variant of engraving in which the image is formed from subtle gradations of light and shade. Mezzotint—from the Italian mezzo ("half") and tinta ("tone")—is a "dark manner" form of printmaking, which requires artists to work from dark to light. To create a mezzotint, the surface of a copper printing plate is roughened evenly all over with the aid of a tool known as a rocker; the image is then formed by smoothing the surface with a tool known as a burnisher. When inked, the roughened areas of the plate will hold more ink and print more darkly, while smoother areas of the plate hold less or no ink, and will print more lightly or not at all. It is, however, possible to create the image by only roughening the plate selectively, so working from light to dark.

Mezzotint is known for the luxurious quality of its tones: first, because an evenly, finely roughened surface holds a lot of ink, allowing deep solid colors to be printed; secondly because the process of smoothing the texture with burin, burnisher and scraper allows fine gradations in tone to be developed.

The mezzotint printmaking method was invented by [[Ludwig von Siegen]] (1609–1680). The process was used widely in England from the mid-eighteenth century, to reproduce oil paintings and in particular portraits.

=== Aquatint ===
<div style="width:35%; float: right; margin: 10px; padding: 8px; border: 1px solid #8888aa;">Artists using this technique include
[[Francisco Goya]],
[[Thomas Rowlandson]],
[[Jean-Baptiste Le Prince]],
[[William Daniell]],
[[Norman Ackroyd]]
</div>
{{main|Aquatint}}
[[File:Plate 43 from 'Los Caprichos'- The sleep of reason produces monsters (El sueño de la razon produce monstruos) MET 22AA BG05R4.jpg|thumb|upright|''The sleep of Reason creates monsters'', etching and aquatint by [[Francisco Goya]], c. 1797–98|left]]
A tonal technique typically used in conjunction with [[Intaglio (printmaking)|Intaglio]] techniques, especially etching, and printed in the same way. Like etching, aquatint technique involves the application of acid to make marks in a metal plate. Where the etching technique uses a needle to make lines that retain ink, traditional aquatint relies on powdered [[rosin]] which is acid resistant in the ground to create a tonal effect. The rosin is applied in a light dusting by a fan booth, the rosin is then cooked until set on the plate. At this time the rosin can be burnished or scratched out to affect its tonal qualities. The plate is then exposed to acid, to which the rosin particles are resistant, and tonal variation is controlled by the level of acid exposure over large areas, and thus the image is shaped by large sections at a time.  Very often it is combined with conventional etching.  Printing gradually wears away the rosin grain, and many fewer impressions can be printed than in the traditional intaglio techniques before the tonal contrasts weaken, perhaps only 100. The popularity of the technique in the 19th century, combined with this weakness, probably played a role in the rise of the [[limited edition]] print.  

Contemporary printmakers also sometimes using airbrushed [[asphaltum]] or [[Aerosol paint|spray paint]], as well as other non toxic techniques, to achieve aquatint due to rosin boxes posing a fire hazard.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-01-28|title=Exploding Rosin Box|url=https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-rosin-box/526753|access-date=2021-07-24|website=Straight Dope Message Board|language=en}}</ref>

Goya used aquatint for most of his prints.  After his death, later printings wore away the aquatint grain almost completely, leaving only the etched lines and faint tonal shadows.<ref>Griffiths, 150–151</ref>

{{Clear left}}

=== Drypoint===
<div style="width:35%; float: right; margin: 10px; padding: 8px; border: 1px solid #8888aa;">Artists using this technique include
[[Mary Cassatt]],
[[Francis Seymour Haden]],
[[Master of the Housebook]],
[[Richard Spare]],
[[William Lionel Wyllie]]
</div>
{{main|Drypoint}}
[[File:Rembrandt The Three Crosses 1653.jpg|thumb|upright|left|''[[The Three Crosses]]'', 1653 [[drypoint]] by [[Rembrandt]]]]
A variant of engraving, done with a sharp point, rather than a v-shaped [[Burin (engraving)|burin]]. While engraved lines are very smooth and hard-edged, drypoint scratching leaves a rough burr at the edges of each line. This burr gives drypoint prints a characteristically soft, and sometimes blurry, line quality. Because the pressure of printing quickly destroys the burr, drypoint is useful only for very small editions; as few as ten or twenty impressions. To counter this, and allow for longer print runs, electro-plating (here called steelfacing) has been used since the nineteenth century to harden the surface of a plate.

The technique appears to have been invented by the [[Housebook Master]], a south German fifteenth-century artist, all of whose prints are in drypoint only. Among the most famous artists of the old master print, Albrecht Dürer produced three drypoints before abandoning the technique; Rembrandt used it frequently, but usually in conjunction with etching and engraving.
{{Clear left}}

=== Lithography ===
<div style="width:35%; float: right; margin: 10px; padding: 8px; border: 1px solid #8888aa;">Artists using this technique include
[[Honoré Daumier]],
[[Vincent van Gogh]],
[[George Bellows]],
[[Pierre Bonnard]],
[[Edvard Munch]],
[[Emil Nolde]],
[[Pablo Picasso]],
[[Odilon Redon]],
[[Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec]],
[[Salvador Dalí]],
[[M. C. Escher]],
[[Willem de Kooning]],
[[Joan Miró]],
[[Stow Wengenroth]],
[[Elaine de Kooning]],
[[Louise Nevelson]]
</div>
{{main|Lithography}}
[[File:Toulouse-Lautrec - Moulin Rouge - La Goulue.jpg|thumb|upright|left|''[[La Goulue]]'', Lithograph poster by [[Toulouse-Lautrec]] (1891)]]
[[Lithography]] is a technique invented in 1798 by [[Alois Senefelder]] and based on the [[Cohesion (chemistry)|chemical repulsion]] of [[oil]] and [[water]].
A porous surface, normally [[limestone]], is used; the image is drawn on the limestone with a greasy medium.
Acid is applied, transferring the grease-protected design to the limestone, leaving the image 'burned' into the surface. [[Gum arabic]], a water-soluble substance, is then applied, sealing the surface of the stone not covered with the drawing medium.
The stone is wetted, with water staying only on the surface not covered in grease-based residue of the drawing; the stone is then 'rolled up', meaning oil ink is applied with a roller covering the entire surface; since water repels the oil in the ink, the ink adheres only to the greasy parts, perfectly inking the image.
A sheet of dry paper is placed on the surface, and the image is transferred to the paper by the pressure of the printing press. Lithography is known for its ability to capture fine gradations in shading and very small detail.

==== Variations of Lithography ====
[[File:Rachael Robinson Elmer, Woolworth Building June Night, 1916, NGA 147751.jpg|alt=A gradient lithograph print of the Woolworth Building in New York in blue tones|thumb|upright|Rachel Robinson Elmer, [[halftone]] [[Offset printing|offset lithograph]], [[Woolworth Building]] June Night, 1916, [[National Gallery of Art|The National Gallery of Art]], Washington, D.C. ]]
[[Photo-lithography]] captures an image by photographic processes on metal plates; printing is more or less carried out in the same way as stone lithography.

[[Halftone]] lithography produces an image that illustrates a gradient-like quality.

[[Mokulito]] is a form of lithography on wood instead of limestone. It was invented by Seishi Ozaku in the 1970s in Japan and was originally called Mokurito.<ref>{{Cite web|title=mokulito - Danielle Creenaune|url=https://daniellecreenaune.com/mokulito|access-date=2021-07-24|website=daniellecreenaune.com}}</ref>

{{Clear left}}

=== Screenprinting ===
<div style="width:35%; float: right; margin: 10px; padding: 8px; border: 1px solid #8888aa;">Artists using this technique include
[[Josef Albers]],
[[Ralston Crawford]],
[[Gene Davis (painter)|Gene Davis]].
[[Robert Indiana]],
[[Roy Lichtenstein]],
[[Julian Opie]],
[[Bridget Riley]],
[[Edward Ruscha]],
[[Andy Warhol]].
</div>
{{main|Screenprinting}}
[[Screen printing]] (occasionally known as "silkscreen", or "serigraphy") creates prints by using a fabric stencil technique; ink is simply pushed through the stencil against the surface of the paper, most often with the aid of a squeegee. Generally, the technique uses a natural or synthetic 'mesh' fabric stretched tightly across a rectangular 'frame,' much like a stretched canvas. The fabric can be silk, nylon monofilament, multifilament polyester, or even stainless steel.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://awt-gpi.com/product148.htm |title=Screen Fabric |website=A.W.T. World Trade Inc.}}</ref>  While commercial screen printing often requires high-tech, mechanical apparatuses and calibrated materials, printmakers value it for the "Do It Yourself" approach, and the low technical requirements, high quality results. The essential tools required are a squeegee, a mesh fabric, a frame, and a stencil. Unlike many other printmaking processes, a printing press is not required, as screen printing is essentially stencil printing.

Screen printing may be adapted to printing on a variety of materials, from paper, cloth, and canvas to rubber, glass, and metal. Artists have used the technique to print on bottles, on slabs of granite, directly onto walls, and to reproduce images on textiles which would distort under pressure from printing presses.

=== Monotype ===
{{main|Monotyping}}
[[File:Paul Gauguin, Arearea no Varua Ino (Words of the Devil) (recto), 1894, NGA 11586.jpg|alt=Watercolor monotype showing two women, one with her back to the viewer|left|thumb|upright|[[Paul Gauguin]], ''Arearea no Varua Ino'' (Words of the Devil), [[Watercolor painting|watercolor]] monotype on Japan paper mounted on cardboard, 1894, [[National Gallery of Art|The National Gallery of Art]], Washington, D.C.]]
[[File:Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione - The Creation of Adam - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Monotype]] by the technique's inventor, [[Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione]], ''The Creation of Adam'', c 1642]]
Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface, or matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to acrylic glass. The image is then transferred onto a sheet of paper by pressing the two together, usually using a printing-press. Monotypes can also be created by inking an entire surface and then, using brushes or rags, removing ink to create a subtractive image, e.g. creating lights from a field of opaque color. The inks used may be oil based or water based. With oil based inks, the paper may be dry, in which case the image has more contrast, or the paper may be damp, in which case the image has a 10 percent greater range of tones.

Unlike [[monoprinting]], monotyping produces a unique print, or monotype, because most of the ink is removed during the initial pressing. Although subsequent reprintings are sometimes possible, they differ greatly from the first print and are generally considered inferior. A second print from the original plate is called a "ghost print" or "cognate". Stencils, watercolor, solvents, brushes, and other tools are often used to embellish a monotype print. Monotypes are often spontaneously executed and with no preliminary sketch.

Monotypes are the most painterly method among the printmaking techniques, a unique print that is essentially a printed painting. The principal characteristic of this medium is found in its spontaneity and its combination of printmaking, painting, and drawing media.<ref>[http://washingtonprintmakers.com/resources/techniques/monoprint Washington printmakers' gallery] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228183408/http://washingtonprintmakers.com/resources/techniques/monoprint |date=2010-12-28 }}</ref>

{{Clear left}}

=== Monoprint ===
{{main|Monoprinting}}
Monoprinting is a form of printmaking that uses a matrix such as a woodblock, litho stone, or copper plate, but produces impressions that are unique. Multiple unique impressions printed from a single matrix are sometimes known as a variable edition. There are many techniques used in monoprinting, including [[collagraph]], [[collage]], hand-painted additions, and a form of tracing by which thick ink is laid down on a table, paper is placed on the ink, and the back of the paper is drawn on, transferring the ink to the paper. Monoprints can also be made by altering the type, color, and viscosity of the ink used to create different prints. Traditional printmaking techniques, such as lithography, woodcut, and intaglio, can be used to make monoprints.

=== Mixed-media prints ===
Mixed-media prints may use multiple traditional printmaking processes such as etching, woodcut, letterpress, silkscreen, or even monoprinting in the creation of the print. They may also incorporate elements of chine colle, collage, or painted areas, and may be unique, i.e. one-off, non-editioned, prints. Mixed-media prints are often experimental prints and may be printed on unusual, non-traditional surfaces.

=== Digital prints ===
<div style="width:35%; float: right; margin: 10px; padding: 8px; border: 1px solid #8888aa;">Artists using this technique include
[[Istvan Horkay]], [[Ralph Goings]], [[Enrique Chagoya]]
</div>
{{main|Digital printing}}
Digital prints refers to images printed using digital printers such as [[Inkjet printing|inkjet printers]] instead of a traditional printing press. Images can be printed to a variety of substrates including paper, cloth, or plastic canvas.

====Dye-based inks====
Dye-based inks are [[organic compound|organic]] (not [[mineral]]) dissolved and mixed into a liquid. Although most are synthetic, derived from [[petroleum]], they can be made from vegetable or animal sources. Dyes are well suited for textiles where the liquid dye penetrates and chemically bonds to the fiber. Because of the deep penetration, more layers of material must lose their color before the fading is apparent. Dyes, however, are not suitable for the relatively thin layers of ink laid out on the surface of a print.

====Pigment-based inks====
Pigment is a finely ground, particulate substance which, when mixed or ground into a liquid to make ink or paint, does not dissolve, but remains dispersed or suspended in the liquid. Pigments are categorized as either [[inorganic]] (mineral) or organic (synthetic).<ref name="MagnoliaFAQ">[http://www.magnoliaeditions.com/pages/FAQs.htm Printmaking FAQ at Magnolia Editions] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413021716/http://magnoliaeditions.com/pages/FAQs.htm |date=2009-04-13 }}</ref> Pigment-based inks have a much longer permanence than dye-based inks.<ref>{{cite book|first =Susan |last =Carden|title = Digital Textile Printing|publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing |date= 2015|page = 27|isbn = 9781472535689}}</ref>

====Giclée====
[[Giclée]] (pron.: /ʒiːˈkleɪ/ zhee-KLAY or /dʒiːˈkleɪ/), is a neologism coined in 1991 by printmaker Jack Duganne <ref>Johnson, Harald. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Dq3Xj8zEYMIC&pg=PA11&dq=giclee+prints+produced+on+epson#PPA11,M1 ''Mastering Digital Printing'', p.11] at Google Books</ref> for digital prints made on inkjet printers. Originally associated with early dye-based printers it is now more often refers to pigment-based prints.<ref>Luong, Q.-Tuan. [http://www.largeformatphotography.info/digital-printing.html An overview of large format color digital printing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113213050/http://www.largeformatphotography.info/digital-printing.html |date=2021-01-13 }} at largeformatphotography.info</ref> The word is based on the French word gicleur, which means "nozzle". Today fine art prints produced on large format ink-jet machines using the [[CcMmYK color model]] are generally called "Giclée".

=== Foil imaging ===
In art, '''foil imaging''' is a printmaking technique made using the Iowa Foil Printer, developed by [[Virginia A. Myers]] from the commercial [[foil stamping]] process. This uses gold leaf and acrylic [[Foil (chemistry)|foil]] in the printmaking process.

=== Direct-to-garment printing (DTG printing) ===
[[Direct-to-garment printing]] (DTG) is a process of [[Textile printing|printing on textiles]] using specialized aqueous [[Inkjet|ink jet]] technology. DTG printers typically have a [[platen]] designed to hold the garment in a fixed position, and the printer inks are jetted or sprayed onto the textile by the print head.

== Color ==
[[File:Mishima Asa-Giri-東海道五十三次之内 三島 朝霧-Morning Mist MET DP123235.jpg|thumb|[[Hiroshige]], ''Morning Mist'']]
Printmakers apply color to their prints in many different ways. Some coloring techniques include positive surface roll, negative surface roll, and [[A la poupée]]. Often color in printmaking that involves etching, [[screen printing]], woodcut, or [[linocut]] is applied by either using separate plates, blocks or screens or by using a reductionist approach. In multiple plate color techniques, a number of plates, screens or blocks are produced, each providing a different color. Each separate plate, screen, or block will be inked up in a different color and applied in a particular sequence to produce the entire picture. On average about three to four plates are produced, but there are occasions where a printmaker may use up to seven plates. Every application of another plate of color will interact with the color already applied to the paper, and this must be kept in mind when producing the separation of colors. The lightest colors are often applied first, and then darker colors successively until the darkest.

The reductionist approach to producing color is to start with a lino or wood block that is either blank or with a simple etching. Upon each printing of color the printmaker will then further cut into the lino or woodblock removing more material and then apply another color and reprint. Each successive removal of lino or wood from the block will expose the already printed color to the viewer of the print. Picasso is often cited as the inventor of reduction printmaking, although there is evidence of this method in use 25 years before Picasso's linocuts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.printsandprintmaking.gov.au/catalogues/bibliography/136140/bunbury-alisa-not-picassos-invention--a-foray-into.aspx|title = Not Picasso's invention - a foray into the history of reductive linoprinting. (2001) by Bunbury, Alisa. · Australian Prints + Printmaking}}</ref>

The [[subtractive color]] concept is also used in [[offset printing|offset]] or [[digital print]] and is present in bitmap or vectorial software in [[CMYK color model|CMYK]] or other color spaces.

== Registration ==
[[File:La petite Chatte, singé Malo Renault.jpg|thumb|345x345px|You can see the two marking holes on the right and left edges halfway up to allow the precise superposition of the dies for each color]]
In printmaking processes requiring more than one application of ink or other medium, the problem exists as to how to line up properly areas of an image to receive ink in each application. The most obvious example of this would be a multi-color image in which each color is applied in a separate step. 

The lining up of the results of each step in a multistep printmaking process is called "registration." Proper registration results in the various components of an image being in their proper place. But, for artistic reasons, improper registration is not necessarily the ruination of an image. [[Andy Warhol]] was known to intentionally employ improper registration.

This can vary significantly from process to process. This involves the matrices of different colors (generally three or four) being printed successively on the paper in a correct alignment to provide the print  in color.

== Protective printmaking equipment ==
Protective clothing is very important for printmakers who engage in etching and lithography (closed toed shoes and long pants). Whereas in the past printmakers put their plates in and out of acid baths with their bare hands, today printmakers use rubber gloves.  They also wear industrial [[respirator]]s for protection from caustic vapors. Most acid baths are built with ventilation hoods above them.

Protective respirators and masks should have particle filters, particularly for aquatinting. As a part of the aquatinting process, a printmaker is often exposed to [[rosin]] powder.  Rosin is a serious health hazard, especially to printmakers who, in the past, simply used to hold their breath<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://smidgeonpress.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/printmaking-101-applying-rosin-for-aquatint-using-a-rosin-box/|title=Printmaking 101: Applying Rosin for Aquatint (Using a Rosin Box)|last=Smidgeon|date=2014-09-09|website=SMIDGEON PRESS|language=en|access-date=2019-07-17}}</ref>  using an aquatinting booth.

== Print preservation ==
[[File:Revenge (Revanche) MET DP838006.jpg|thumb|Bad [[foxing]] (brown spots) in an anti-German [[lithograph]] of 1895 by [[Adolphe Willette]]]] 
Modern prints on paper protected from the sun and moisture will last for centuries. Works on paper are highly sensitive to environmental factors and handling, making them susceptible to various condition issues.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Condition Guide to Works on Paper |url=https://geistmc.com/articles/a-condition-guide-to-works-on-paper/ |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=Geist |language=en}}</ref> Prints made using newer alkaline and [[acid-free paper]] have a life expectancy of over 1,000 years for the best paper and 500 years for average grades. When it comes to older prints, the condition of a print largely depends on the technique used to make the paper. Prints that are several hundred years old may be in better condition than prints that are less than 50 years old.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Deterioration and Preservation of Paper: Some Essential Facts - Collections Care - Resources (Preservation, Library of Congress)|url=https://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/deterioratebrochure.html|access-date=2021-01-03|website=www.loc.gov}}</ref>  Many older prints will yellow or brown over time owing to acids in the paper and any [[Mat (picture framing)|matting]] or backing papers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Condition Guide to Works on Paper |url=https://geistmc.com/articles/a-condition-guide-to-works-on-paper/ |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=Geist |language=en}}</ref> 

[[Foxing]] is the appearance of brown spots or blotches in the paper, caused either by mold or chemical reactions. To preserve/restore older prints, washing, deacidification and treatment with stain reducing agents may be in order.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Marianne|date=2017-12-16|title=Cleaning Stained and Yellowed Works of Art On Paper|url=http://mariannekelsey.com/2017/12/16/cleaning-stained-yellowed-works-art-paper/|access-date=2021-01-03|website=Marianne Kelsey Book and Paper Conservator Professional|language=en-US}}</ref> Prints in color are especially susceptible to damage from excessive light. Further, if the print is framed, ''archival'' or ''conservation'' grade picture mats are essential since acids within older or inexpensive matting will attack a print even if the print was produced using acid-free paper. Color prints can be susceptible to [[fading]] depending on the type of inks used. Lighting of sensitive prints should be limited to 50 [[lux]] (5 [[foot-candle]]s) or less and artificial lights can be equipped with [[UV filter|UV-filtering]] sleeves or tubes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Philadelphia Museum of Art - Research : Conservation|url=https://www.philamuseum.org/conservation/10.html?page=2|access-date=2021-01-04|website=www.philamuseum.org}}</ref>

Prints onto animal skins ([[vellum]]) should also be maintained at a [[Humidity control|humidity]] level between 25% and 40%.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Marianne|date=2020-01-10|title=How to Care For Vellum and Parchment Documents|url=http://mariannekelsey.com/2020/01/10/how-to-care-for-vellum-and-parchment-documents/|access-date=2021-01-06|website=Marianne Kelsey Book and Paper Conservator Professional|language=en-US}}</ref> Prints onto silk are particularly sensitive to any light including camera flashes.<ref>{{cite web|date=2013-08-19|title=How do you preserve a 100-year-old piece of silk and woman suffrage history?|url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2013/08/how-do-you-preserve-a-100-year-old-piece-of-silk-and-woman-suffrage-history.html|access-date=2021-01-06|website=National Museum of American History}}</ref>

{{Clear left}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Visual arts}}
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order & add a short description [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->
{{div col|colwidth=20em|small=no}}
* [[Artist's proof]]
* [[Banhua]], Chinese printmaking
* [[Carborundum printmaking]]
* [[Graphic design]]
* [[Line engraving]]
* [[List of printmakers]]
* [[Old master print]]
* [[Shin hanga]]
* [[Sosaku hanga]]
* [[Timeline of 20th century printmaking in America]]
* [[Ukiyo-e]]
* [[Visual arts]]
{{div col end}}
<!-- please keep entries in alphabetical order -->

=== Printmakers by nationality ===
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order & add a short description [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->
{{div col|colwidth=20em|small=yes}}
* [[:Category:Engravers by nationality|Engravers by nationality]]
* [[:Category:Etchers|Etchers by nationality]]
* [[:Category:Printmakers|Printmakers by nationality]]
{{div col end}}
<!-- please keep entries in alphabetical order -->

== References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
* [http://www.moma.org/whatisaprint What is a Print?], from the [[Museum of Modern Art]]
* [[Bamber Gascoigne]]: ''How to Identify Prints: A Complete Guide to Manual and Mechanical Processes from Woodcut to Inkjet'' ({{ISBN|0-500-28480-6}})
* Antony Griffiths, ''Prints and Printmaking'', British Museum Press, 2nd ed, 1996 {{ISBN|0-7141-2608-X}}

== Further reading ==
*{{cite book | author=A. Hyatt Mayor | title=''Prints & people: a social history of printed pictures'' (full PDF) | location=New York | publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art | year=1971 | isbn=9780870991080 | url=https://archive.org/details/printspeople00ahya | url-access=registration }}
* Beth Grabowski and Bill Fick, "Printmaking: A Complete Guide to Materials & Processes." Prentice Hall, 2009. {{ISBN|0-205-66453-9}}
* Donna Anderson ''Experience Printmaking.'' Worcester, MA: Davis Publications, 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-87192-982-2}}
* Gill Saunders and Rosie Miles ''Prints Now: Directions and Definitions'' Victoria and Albert Museum (May 1, 2006) {{ISBN|1-85177-480-7}}
* Linda Hults ''The Print in the Western World: An Introductory History.'' Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1996. {{ISBN|978-0-299-13700-7}}
* [[Carol Wax]], ''The Mezzotint: History and Technique'' (Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1990)
* [[James Watrous]] ''A Century of American Printmaking.'' Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1984. {{ISBN|0-299-09680-7}}
* [[William Ivins, Jr.]] ''Prints and Visual Communication.'' Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1953. {{ISBN|0-262-59002-6}}
* [[Donald Saff]] and Deli Sacilotto. ''Printmaking: History and Process''. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1978. {{ISBN|978-0030856631}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Printmaking|lcfirst=yes}}
{{wiktionary|printmaking}}
{{NIE Poster|Print}}
{{Library resources box|by=no|onlinebooks=no|about=yes|wikititle=printmaking}}
;History of printmaking; glossaries
* [http://www.moma.org/interactives/projects/2001/whatisaprint/flash.html Museum of Modern Art, New York: What Is a Print?]
* [http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/prnt/hd_prnt.htm Thompson, Wendy. "The Printed Image in the West: History and Techniques". In Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000 – . (October 2003)]
* [http://www.polymetaal.nl/beguin/alfabet.htm André Béguin's dictionary;enormous dictionary of terms, relating more to the printing than the creation of the image]
* [http://www.meyerovich.com/info/glossary.html Another glossary – for modern prints]
* [http://www.cycleback.com/printsexamination/ Judging the Authenticity of Prints by The Masters] by art historian David Rudd Cycleback
* [https://lithographie-collection.com/identifier-estampe/techniques-impression-detail Printing techniques explained]

{{Branches of the visual arts}}
{{Art world}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Printmaking| ]]
[[Category:Printing]]
[[Category:Visual arts media]]