Printmaking techniques
Prints are derived from ink applied to a precisely textured and treated plate (usually timber, stone, or metal). There are many different print methods, most of which have been used for hundreds of years. Each method is intricate and complex, and lends itself to a particular effect. Bold contrasts, brushstrokes, fine detail and precision, large designs, tonal range and saturation. Importantly, each method requires many hours of collaboration between artist and master printer. Often during this time, a special bond is formed and hence most artists work only with their own master printer.
Lithograph
The artist draws on a flat stone or metal surface with greasy crayons, pens, or pencils. A solution of gum arabic and dilute nitric acid is then washed over the plate to fix the design in place. The plate is then rinsed with water, and ink is applied. The ink fixes to the design but is repelled by the wet blank areas of the plate. The design is then transferred to a damp sheet of paper. This process is repeated for every colour in the piece.
Offset lithograph
Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique where the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat (planographic) image carrier on which the image to be printed obtains ink from ink rollers, while the non-printing area attracts a water-based film (called "fountain solution"), keeping the non-printing areas ink-free.
Hand made collagraph
The image is created from a variety of textured materials glued to a timber or metal plate. The materials used to form the image can be anything from watercolour papers, tissue paper, or wax paper, right through to soft wire, string, tin foil, sand paper, or even bottle caps. Ink is then applied to the deeper surfaces (intaglio), the top surfaces (relief print), or a combination of both.
Etching
A metal plate is coated with a ground of acid-impervious material, and the artist draws through this coating to expose the metal. The plate is then immersed in acid until the exposed areas are sufficiently eaten into or “bitten”. The ground is then removed, ink is applied, and the plate is pressed against damp paper producing a reverse image. Deeper etches result in darker areas on the print.
Screenprint
A stencil is created by the artist and placed on a silk screen which is a piece of thin mesh stretched over a frame. The screen is placed over the paper, and ink is forced through the screen with a squeegee to reproduce the shape of the stencil.
Woodcut
The artist draws on a piece of wood (or on paper which is adhered to the wood). The non-printing areas of the piece are then carved away, leaving the printable areas standing up in relief. These areas are then inked with a roller, and the plate is applied to paper.
Linocut
A printmaking technique which is a variant of woodcut printing in which a sheet of linoleum is used as the relief surface. A design or image is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, V-shaped chisel or gouge, with the raised or uncarved areas representing a reversal (mirror image) of the parts that will show up printed. The cut areas can then be pulled from the backing. The linoleum sheet is inked with a roller (called a brayer), and then impressed onto paper or fabric. The actual printing process can be done either by hand or with a press.
Relief printing
An impression is created by the uncarved or raised areas of a wood, linoleum, or plastic plate. The ink is applied to the raised surface, while the recessed areas remain clear. The plate is then applied to paper. Often the paper is pushed into the recessed areas to create an embossed effect.
Wood engraving
Wood engraving is a relief printing technique, where the end grain of wood is used as a medium for engraving, thus differing from the older technique of woodcut, where the softer side grain is used. Engraving on wood produces highly detailed images, usually quite unlike those produced by engraving on copper plates. Furthermore, unlike copper-plate engravings that quickly deteriorated, thousands of copies could be printed from engraved wood blocks, thus in the 19th century it became the most important printmaking method for magazine illustration.
Collotype
Collotype is a hybrid letterpress/lithography process. Lithography because it is planographic and the plates are printed damp, letterpress because of the style of press. Dichromate activated gelatine is dried above its melting temperature in a light-proof oven. After being contact printed (UV), the plate is washed. The gelatine absorbs water and expands in opposite proportion to its exposure. This reticulation generates an inconsistent dot-pattern which when printed can appear as continuous tone. Ink adheres to the hardened, exposed gelatine and is rejected from the soft, saturated gelatine.
Multi-plate coloured etching
The technique of multi-plate coloured etching, involves the artist drawing parts of an image on a series of plates and printing them individually in a layered effect using a hand operated etching press. Within this process, there are a number of other techniques that can be used to create tones, lines and textures such as Aquatint, Sugar lift, soft ground and dry point. A basic etching is created using a resist that is rolled or painted on to a metal plate. Lines are then drawn into the resist with an etching needle exposing the metal beneath and then the plate is placed into an acid bath for a short time. Where the resist has been scraped away by the needle the acid cuts or “bites” into the plate creating a groove for the ink to sit in. A portion of the drawn or tonal information will be on one of the plates which is inked up with a rubber roller and put through the press, other marks and tones can be in other colours and are created on a separate plate, while the more detailed information of drawn lines and darker tones might be drawn on another plate and put through the press last.
Digital pigment print
Digital pigment prints are a less traditional printmaking technique where images have been created from a digital format and are the result of a combination of the highest quality pigments and paper or canvas. As a result of great advancement in the chemical manipulation of inks, it is now possible to encapsulate pigments and create stable or lightfast inks from a printer. In addition to the high quality pigmented inks used for this process, the papers used should be archival. Natural cotton or alpha cellulose acid free papers and canvas are a good example of this.
