The Art of Print Making

 

The word ‘print’ has many meanings these days and there is often confusion between hand-pulled original artist prints and reproductions.

 

Prints are broadly categorized into two groupings.  Prints are either original hand-pulled artist prints (where the image does not exist in any other form as it was created specifically for the printing method used) or prints are reproductions (either photographic or giclee) of an original work (where the print is numbered in an edition all being identical copies of an original work which exists in another form).

 

A ‘FINE ARTIST PRINT’ is a work produced by an artist, hand inked and hand-pulled one at a time on a specialized press.

 

 

These hand-pulled prints are original art not mechanical reproductions and are numbered as an edition.  

 

What is often not apparent in the artist print is the effort and care taken by the artist in the creation of an image and the painstaking care and attention to the inking and printing.  This process can take large amounts of time to complete.

 

An artist print is not to be confused with the reproduction.  Artist prints follow an age old process of using a plate made of wood, metal, stone, or board on which the artist creates their own imagery. The plate is hand-inked, then high quality paper is placed on the plate surface and the ink is pressed on to the paper. 

 

The papers used can be made of many materials that are all acid free and contribute to the value of the print.  With the use of a press, the prints can become multiples of one image, making them an edition where no two look alike because of the variations in the individual hand-inking, or they can be a single image known as a monotype.

 

Carved relief work capable of making an impression such as wooden stamps in Egypt and brick seals in Babylonia predates actual printing by many centuries.  The origins of printing multiple images on surfaces such as paper originated in China circa AD 105.

 

While the print arrived in Europe in the 14^th century, printmaking began to flourish in Europe in the 15^th century, when the process of papermaking was imported from China.  Early printing was associated with the book with the image being separate from the written word and standing alone. 

 

Printmaking has been well loved as an art medium by many of the great masters through the centuries.

 

Hand Pulled Prints

 

There are quite a variety of printmaking techniques and what follows here is an overview of the common techniques used in creating the artist print.

 

Intaglio Printing

 

Marks are scratched, cut or bitten with acid into a metal place.  The ink is pushed into the grooves and the top surface of the place is wiped clean leaving the ink in the grooves.  The inked-up place is then transferred to the press and a sheet of damp paper is placed on top of it.  The high pressure of the press forces the paper into the groove and allows it to lift the ink.

 

Etching

 

A metal plate is coated with a material called a ground which resists acid.  The artist draws an image on the plate with a sharp pointed tool, which removes the ground leaving lines of exposed metal.  The plate is put into an acid bath where the exposed metal is etched or eaten away.  The plate is then printed in the Intaglio method.

 

Drypoint

 

A sharp instrument is used to scratch the surface of a plate.  When scratching the plate the surface is not removed but displaced setting up a rough edge to the sides of the line.  This edge holds the ink and is called a burr.  The burr gives the line a soft fuzzy look, which is characteristic of drypoint.  The plate is then printed in the intaglio method.

 

Collagraph

 

Collagraphy is the process of making a print from a collage plate.  It has developed from traditional printmaking methods combined with the discipline of collage.  Although a collage is assembled in the usual manner it is not the end result.  Instead, the collage serves as a plate that when inked transfer its textures, shapes and lines (which must be expressed in relief) to a sheet of paper by means of a printing press.

 

Relief Printing

 

The flat surface of a block is cut into with a knife or with special tools removing the non-printing parts of the design so that the desired image remains on the surface.  This is inked with a roller, a piece of paper is laid on top and it is printed in a press or burnished by hand using the back of a spoon or barren.

 

Woodcut

 

A block of wood is cut in the direction of the grain, the artist often seeking and using the natural characteristics and textures of the block.  The block is printed in the relief method.

 

Linocut

 

Made from a block of linoleum cut in the same manner as a woodcut.  The printed surface has less texture than a woodcut because of the homogeneous nature of the linoleum.  The block is printed in the relief method.

 

Serigraphy

 

A length of fine mesh material such as silk is tightly stretched over a frame made of wood or aluminum.  Stencils are painted or adhered onto this.  The stencil blocks out areas that are not to be printed by covering up the tiny holes in the mesh.  Paper is placed under the screen and the ink is forced through the open areas of the mesh with a squeegee to put the image onto the paper.  A new stencil is created for each colour.