PRINTMAKING

There are two main types of printmaking:

Relief and intaglio printmaking

Relief printing- In relief printmaking, everything that is not meant to be printed
is cut away. The raised surface is then inked/painted and then the print is produced
by some kind of a pressing process.


The basic relief printmaking techniques are:
1.woodcuts (the same as woodblocks)
2.wood engraving and
3.linocut.




Woodcuts, Woodblocks
By Masao Maeda 1904-1974

Woodblock Print

Woodcut is the oldest method of printmaking. A fine example is Japanese woodcut
prints. For woodcuts the design is drawn on a wooden board.
Then everything that shall remain unprinted or unpainted, is cut away with the use
of a knife or a tool called gouge. Next the board is covered with the ink/paint. The
final print is produced by pressing the paper firmly against the block - using a roller
or some kind of a press.
To achieve prints in several colors, several boards were used - one for each color.
The whole process of producing a woodcut, usually was achieved by three different
persons: the artist who made the design, the wood cutter and the printer.
One of the finest examples for woodcuts are the Japanese Ukiyo-e prints. In
Europe, Albrecht Drer was an outstanding master of this technique.



Wood Engraving

By Paul Binnie, born 1962

Wood engraving is a special form of a woodcut. The end grain of a very hard wood is
used and the cuts into the wood are made along the grain. This technique harder
wood, more impressions are possible from one block.


Linocut
The linocut is based on the same technique as the woodcut. Because of the softer
material of the linoleum, a linocut is easier to produce than a woodcut. Picasso used
this technique and developed it into his very own style: He produced multi-color prints
by not using several linoleum plates, but by cutting away more and more from one
plate. At the end, the process could not be reproduced because the original plate was
gone.













Intaglio printing-

The intaglio printmaking technique works the opposite way to relief printmaking. A line
is incised into the surface with various tools or with acid. Then the whole plate is coated
with ink. After the plate is wiped clean, the ink remains only in the incised or cut areas.
The print is produced by pressing a dampened paper against the plate. The intaglio
printmaking techniques are engraving, drypoint, etching, aquatint and stipple.