A print is an image created by transferring an image from a block, stone, plate, or screen, onto another surface, usually paper or canvas. Numerous impressions are then made from the same printing surface, and the number of impressions is called an “edition”. An edition that is limited to a specified number of prints is a “limited edition”.
A print is considered an original work of art and is referred to as an “impression” rather than a copy. The transferral of the image is achieved through a variety of techniques, the most common being relief printing, intaglio, and planographic.
- Relief printing is the oldest and simplest form of printmaking. An image is carved into a block of wood or other material, and ink is applied to the raised surfaces. The block is then pressed onto paper, resulting in a mirror image of the original carving.
- Intaglio is a family of printmaking techniques in which the image is incised into a surface and the ink lies beneath the surface. The main intaglio techniques are engraving, etching, mezzotint, and aquatint.
- Planographic printing techniques include lithography, monotyping, and digital printing. In lithography, the image is drawn on a flat stone or metal plate with a greasy crayon or pen. The surface is then treated so that only the drawing will accept ink, while the rest of the surface repels it. The inked image is then transferred to paper.
- Monotyping is a form of printmaking in which the artist draws or paints directly on a matrix such as a glass or metal plate. The resulting image can only be printed once, hence the name “monotype”.
- Digital printing is a process that uses digital files such as PDFs or JPEGs to create prints. This type of printing is often used for photographic images and is the most common form of printmaking today.
Today we would group these methods into two broad families of printmaking:
- Traditional printmaking involves carving an image into a block of wood or other material, and then applying ink to the raised surfaces. The block is then pressed onto paper, resulting in a mirror image of the original carving.
- Digital printmaking uses digital files such as PDFs or JPEGs to create prints. This type of printing is often used for photographic images and is the most common form of printmaking today.
