Printmaking is a versatile art form. It can allow you to make multiple copies of an original work of art, or a single print. Printmaking typically involves creating the artwork on one surface, or matrix, and transferring it to another, such as paper or fabric. Explore the many processes of creating a printable matrix – drawing, carving, etching, painting, collage or a combination – and learn to print by hand or using our presses.
Artists use inks or paints to draw an image on a printing matrix (such as glass or smooth metal or stone), which they then send through the printing press to make an impression. Monotype printing generally yields only one good impression from each prepared plate. Monotypes are prized because of their unique textural qualities.
Relief printing consists of cutting or etching a printing surface in such a way that all that remains of the original surface is the design to be printed. Using a woodblock, linoleum, or even styrofoam plate, relief prints are usually made by carving into a printing block and inking the remaining raised surface material with a brayer. Relief prints may be printed by hand with a baren or wooden spoon or sent through a printing press to yield large editions of identical original prints.
Drypoint is a printmaking technique of the intaglio family, in which an image is incised into a plate (or matrix), similar to engraving. Usually made on Plexi-plate or copper plate with a burin (a hard-pointed “needle” of sharp metal or diamond point), drypoint is a way to print fine line drawings in small number edition multiples. Hand coloring with watercolor or adding chine colle paper elements enable artists to make unique original prints.
Collagraph printmaking uses a board with collage materials glued onto it to form a relief surface with a variety of textures. A very creative and experimental form of printmaking, collagraph prints can be made with many different materials, including cardboard, yarn, fabric, leaves, masking tape, bubble wrap, and much more.
A technique that results in a two-layered paper support: a tissue-thin paper, cut to the size of the printing plate, and a larger, thicker support paper below. Both the tissue and the support sheet are placed on top of the inked plate and run together through the printing press, sometimes with a thin layer of adhesive between them to reinforce the bond produced through the pressure of the press. The process creates a subtle, delicate backdrop to the printed image.
In screen printing, ink is forced through a mesh screen onto a surface. Making certain areas of the screen impervious to printing ink creates a stencil, which blocks the printing ink from passing through the screen. The ink that passes through forms the printed image. Stencils—which can be composed of a wide variety of materials, including fabric, greasy paint, or a design on a transparency—can be applied to the screen in different ways: placing them directly onto the surface of the screen, painting them onto the screen, or by transferring a design onto the screen using a photo-sensitive emulsion.
Lithography relies on the interaction of grease and water on a polyvinyl plate. Lithography is a process where the printed mark is made directly on the surface of the printing surface. The artist draws an image in reverse with a grease-containing material such as litho crayons. The image is dampened with a weak etch of gum arabic solution and rolled up with oil-based ink. This process can be used to print large editions of illustrations, drawings, or photocopied imagery.
A relatively new process invented in the US during the 1930s. The image is created by adding light passages to a dark field, a technique creating lovely rich tones with expressive brush strokes and dynamic splashes. Carborundum powder is a fine abrasive, also known as silicon carbide.