TECHNIQUES

Original Prints

An original print is a work of art.

Original prints are created by artists in their own hand or according to their personal direction.

The artist provides final approval of the print by authenticating it with his/her signature.

A common misconception is that any image on paper is an original print. This is not so. Mass produced, machine-made prints are not original works and must be considered to be cheaper imitations for mass circulation rather than collectable items.

The Intaglio Process

Intaglio prints fall into several distinct disciplines, all of which involve the artist incising a plate, usually copper or zinc, to make a groove or indentation that will hold ink. After the artist is satisfied with the image the entire plate is then inked and wiped. The grooves or indentations retain the ink while the flat areas of plate are wiped clean.

To transfer the image, a sheet of dampened paper is placed onto the plate and passed through an etching press under great pressure. The dampened paper is forced into the grooves or indentations on the plate which pick up the ink to produce an image.

A distinguishing feature of an intaglio print is the indentation left by the plate on the paper after it has been passed through the press. In printmaking terms this is called the platemark.

The most common forms of intaglio printing are Etchings, Engravings, Drypoints, Mezzotints and Aquatints.

Etching

An etching is produced when a metal plate is covered in an acid-resistant ground and the plate is incised with an etching needle, thus exposing the metal plate. The plate is then washed in an acid bath and the exposed metal is slowly etched by the acid. The parts of the plate that are still covered by the acid-resistant ground remain unaffected by the acid bath.

The length of time the plate remains in the acid bath and the strength of the acid solution determine the depth of the groove that is made in the plate. This, along with the amount of pressure from the press determines the amount of ink that will be trapped in the grooves in the plate and therefore the darkness of line after printing.

Soft-ground etching

The soft-ground etching process attempts to simulate a crayon or chalk drawing by softening the appearance of the etched line.

A plate is covered with a soft ground (acid resistant) and covered with thin paper which is then drawn onto by the artist. The pressure from the drawing implement forces the soft ground to adhere to the underside of the paper and when the paper is removed the soft ground comes with it, exposing the metal.

The plate is then washed in an acid bath with the acid etching the exposed metal producing a more subtle line than the traditional etching process.

Engraving

An engraving is created when lines are incised directly into a metal plate with a sharpened tool, a burin. The action of pushing the tool into the plate makes a v-shaped groove which holds the ink. The burr that is thrown up by the tool is usually removed before inking. The plate is not immersed in acid to deepen the incision; rather, the plate is inked and then printed.

Under close inspection an engraving line is clean and sharp and shows none of the effects of acid on metal as in an etching.

Drypoint

The drypoint process is similar to engraving; however, the plate is incised by pulling the tool, called a drypoint, across it, rather than pushing into it. Also, the burr that is thrown up by the tool is left on the plate to assist in catching the ink. When printed, this produces a line that is rich and velvety.

Mezzotint

A metal plate is finely pitted all over using a roulette or a rocker so that the surface becomes rough and capable of holding ink. If the plate was inked and printed in this condition, it would print completely black. To create an image before inking, the plate is flattened in parts using a scraper or burnishing tool to produce a smoother surface. These smoother surfaces hold less ink than the pitted parts of the plate and therefore print lighter, producing the image on paper.

Aquatint

The aquatint process produces levels of tone, rather than incised lines. The plate is covered with a ground of powdered resin, in various concentrations according to the image preferred by the artist, and attached to the plate using heat. When dipped in an acid bath, the acid bites tonal pattern into the plate around the resin creating a graduated textured surface.

Relief Printing Processes

Relief printing involves cutting away part of the surface of a flat block and inking the remaining raised surface to print the image. Rather than rolling the block of wood or linoleum through a press, the print is produced by applying vertical pressure directly on top of the paper. The most common relief printing processes are Woodcuts, Wood Engravings and Linocuts.

Woodcut

Woodcuts can be produced on any kind of flat wood. Artists have been known to produce beautiful images using even discarded wood from drink crates or tea chests. The image is usually drawn on the wood, and the areas not to be printed are cut away. When the wood is inked with a roller, only the remaining raised areas catch the ink and these will print on the paper.

Wood Engraving

A wood engraving is produced from the end grain of a specially cut and smoothed piece of wood. The grain is usually very tight and dense, but is easily cut with very sharp tools. Wood engravings are known for their intimate and delicately carved images.

Linocut

The linocut technique is the same as for the woodcut with the size of the image being limited only to the size of the piece of linoleum used. Once again, the image is drawn onto the lino with the parts not to be printed then cut away. The lino is inked and printed to produce the image.

Lithographic Process

Lithographs are produced using a seemingly complex process in accordance with a simple law of nature – that grease and water don’t mix.

A porous lithographic stone is drawn upon using a water-repellant, greasy pencil or crayon. The areas not drawn upon are lightly etched with acid to ensure that they remain porous and able to hold enough water to repel ink during the inking process. The greasy drawing is gummed to enhance its water resistant properties and to assist the inking process.

The entire stone is then thoroughly dampened with water and rolled with an ink roller. The greasy drawing retains ink from the roller while the water repels ink from the rest of the surface.

The printing paper is placed onto the stone and a protective plastic sheet is placed on top of the paper. The stone, paper and protective sheet are run through a scraper press to produce the image.

A lithograph has no platemark as an intaglio print does but sometimes the imprint from the stone can be discerned on the paper.

Silkscreen/Screenprint/Serigraph Process

These techniques are all part of the stencil process. A squeegee or sponge is used to squeeze ink through a gauze screen attached to a frame. Parts of the screen are masked off using a stencil or with a blocking solution painted directly onto the screen. Ink will print on the paper surface only where allowed to pass through the screen, producing the desired pattern.

The Monotype

A unique-state print is produced by painting an image onto a plate and then passing the plate through a press to produce the image.

Collagraphs

A print is produced by building up an image on a plate using successive layers of inks, glue, collaged materials, etc., and passing through a press to produce the image.

Compiled by Mark Opie for

Impressions on Paper Gallery

March 2005