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Printmaking
Adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printmaking
Printmaking is a process for producing editions (multiple copies) of artwork;
painting, on the other hand, is a process for producing a single original piece
of artwork. Prints are created from a single original surface, most commonly
linoleum, metal or wood. Each print is considered an original work of art, not a
copy. Works printed from a single plate create an edition, usually each signed
and numbered. A single print could be the product of one or multiple presses.
Printmakers work in a variety of mediums, including water based ink, water color
paint, oil based ink, oil pastels, and any water soluble solid pigment such as
Caran D'Ache crayons. The work is created on a flat surface called a plate.
Depending on the process used to lift the print, artists either carve or draw
into their surfaces. Surfaces used in printmaking include planks of wood, metal
plates, a pane of Plexiglas, shellacked book board, or lithographic stones. A
separate technique, called screen printing, makes use of a porous fabric mesh
stretched in a frame, called a screen. Small prints can even be made using the
surface of a potato.
Printmakers apply color to their prints in many different ways. Often color in
printmaking that involves etching, screenprinting, woodcut or linocut is applied
by either using separate plates, blocks or screens or by using a reductionist
approach. In the multiple plate approach to color there may be a number of
plates, screens or blocks produced, each providing a different aspect of the
print picture as a whole. Each separate plate, screen or block will be inked up
in a different color and applied in a particular sequence to produce the entire
picture. On average about 3 to 4 plates are produce but there are occasions
where a printmaker may use up to seven plates. Every application of another
plate of color will interact with the color already applied to the paper and
this must be kept in mind when producing the separation of colors. The lightest
colors are often applied first and then that darker colors successively until
the last one.
The reductionist approach to producing color is to start with a lino or wood
block that is either blank or with a simple etching. Upon each printing of color
the printmaker will then further cut into the lino or woodblock removing more
material and then apply another color and reprint. Each successive removal of
lino or wood from the block will expose the already printed color to the viewer
of the print.
With some printing techniques like chine-collé or monotyping the printmaker may
sometimes just paint into the colors they want like a painter would and then
print.
Techniques
Woodcut/blockprint
Etching
Lithography
Screen-printing
Collagraph
Monoprint (Monotype)
The four most popular printmaking techniques are
woodcut, etching, lithography, and
screen-printing. Other printmaking techniques include chine-collé,
collography, monotyping, engraving, drypoint,
mezzotint, linocut, aquatint and batik. Monotyping is not a printmaking
technique in strict sense so it does not produce a matrix in which multiple
artworks can be produced; it is more a printed painting than a proof of print.
These techniques can also be combined.
Woodcut/Blockprinting
Woodcut, a type of relief print, is thought to be the earliest printmaking
technique, dating back to 9th century China. Far east artists excelled in this
media (but not in etching which seems to be traditionally western). The artist
draws a sketch on a plank of wood (or linoleum) and then uses sharp tools to
carve away the parts of the block that he/she does not want to receive the ink.
The raised parts of the block are inked with a brayer, then a sheet of paper,
perhaps slightly damp, is placed over the block. The block is then rubbed with a
baren or spoon, or is run through the press. Separate blocks are used for each
color.
Etching
Etching is part of the intaglio family (along with engraving, drypoint,
mezzotint, and aquatint.) Etching prints are generally linear and often contain
fine detail and contours. Lines can vary from smooth to sketchy. An etching is
opposite of a woodcut in that the raised portions of an etching remain blank
while the crevices hold ink.
A waxy acid-resist, known as a ground, is applied to a metal plate, most often
copper or zinc but steel plate is another medium with different qualities. There
are two common types of ground, hard ground and soft ground. Hard ground can be
applied in two ways. Solid hard ground comes in a hard waxy block. To apply hard
ground of this variety the plate to be etched is placed upon a hot-plate, a kind
of metal worktop that is heated up. The plate heats up and the ground is applied
by hand, melting onto the plate as it is applied. The ground is spread over the
plate as evenly as possible using a tool called a Dabber. A dabber is often a
short wooden handle with a large round wadding at the end covered in leather.
The ground is spread over the plate using a rocking motion with the dabber. Once
applied the etching plate is removed from the hot-plate and allowed to cool
which hardens the ground.
The second way to apply hard ground is by liquid hard ground. This comes in a
can and is applied with a brush upon the plate to be etched. Exposed to air the
hard ground will harden. Some printmakers use bitumen as hard ground, although
often bitumen is used to protect steel plates from rust and copper plates from
aging. After the ground has dried the artist uses a sharp tool to scratch into
the ground, exposing the metal.
Soft ground also comes in liquid form and is allowed to dry but it does not dry
hard like hard ground and is impressionable. After the soft ground has dried the
printmaker may apply materials such as leaves, objects, hand prints and so on
which will penetrate the soft ground and expose the plate underneath.
The ground can also be applied in a fine mist, using powdered rosin or
spraypaint. This process is called aquatint, and allows for the creation of
tones, shadows, and solid areas of color.
The plate is then completely submerged in an acid that eats away at the exposed
metal. Copper plates and zinc plates are often dipped into feric acid and steel
plates are dipped into nitric acid. Usually 2 parts Feric to 2 parts water or
for steel plate, 1 part nitric to 3 parts water. The strength of the acid
determines the speed of the etching process. The etching process is known as
biting (see also spit-biting below). The waxy resist protects the acid from
biting the parts of the plate have not been exposed. The longer the plate
remains in the acid the deeper the incisions become.
During the etching process the printmaker uses a bird feather or similar item to
wave away bubbles and detritus, produced by the dissolving process, from the
surface of the plate. If a bubble is allowed to remain upon the plate then it
will stop the acid biting into the plate where the bubble resides. Zinc produces
more bubbles much more rapidly than copper and steel and some artists use zinc's
ability to do this to produce interesting round bubble like circles within their
prints like a milky way effect. The detritus is powdery dissolved metal that
fills the etched grooves and can also block the acid from biting evenly into the
exposed plate surfaces. Another way to remove detritus from a plate is to place
the plate to be etched face down within the acid upon plasticine balls or
marbles, although the drawback of this technique is the exposure to bubbles and
the inability to remove them readily.
For aquatinting a printmaker will often cut off a test strip of metal about a
centimetre to three centimetres wide. The strip will be dipped into the acid for
a specific number of minutes or seconds. The metal strip will then be removed
and the acid washed off with water. Part of the strip will be covered in ground
and then the strip is redipped into the acid and the process repeated. The
ground will then be removed from the strip and the strip inked up and printed.
This will show the printmaker the different degrees or depths of the etch, and
therefore the strength of the ink color, based upon how long the plate is left
in the acid.
The plate is removed from the acid and washed over with water to remove the
acid. The ground is removed with a solvent such as turpentine. Turpentine is
often removed from the plate using methylated spirits as turpentine is greasy
and can affect the application of ink and the printing of the plate.
The entire plate is inked.
Spit-biting is a process whereby the printmaker will apply acid to a plate with
a brush in certain areas of the plate. The plate may be aquatinted for this
purpose or exposed directly to the acid.
A piece of matte board, a plastic "card", or a wad of cloth is often used to
push the ink into the incised lines. The surface is wiped clean with a piece of
stiff fabric known as tarlatan and then either wiped with newsprint paper or
some printmakers prefer to use the blade part of their hand or palm at the base
of their thumb. The wiping leaves ink in the incisions. You may also use a
folded piece of organza silk to do the final wipe. If copper or zinc plates are
used plate surface is left very clean and therefore white in the print. If steel
plate is used then the plate's natural tooth gives the print a grey background
similar to the effects of aquatinting. As a result steel plates do not need
aquatinting as gradual exposure of the plate via successive dips into acid will
produce the same result.
A damp piece of paper is placed over the plate and it is run through the press.
Lithography
Lithograph poster by Toulouse-Lautrec.Lithography is a technique invented in
1798 by Alois Senefelder and based on the chemical repulsion of oil and water. A
porous surface, normally limestone, is used; the image is drawn on the limestone
with an oily medium. Acid is applied, transferring the oil to the limestone,
leaving the image 'burned' into the surface. Gum arabic, a water soluble
substance, is then applied, sealing the surface of the stone not covered with
the drawing medium. The stone is wetted, with water staying only on the surface
not covered in oil-based residue of the drawing; the stone is then 'rolled up',
meaning greasy ink is applied with a roller covering the entire surface; since
water repels the grease in the ink, the ink adheres only to the oily parts,
perfectly inking the image. A sheet of wet paper is placed on the surface, and
the image is transferred to the paper by the pressure of the printing press.
Lithography is known for its ability to capture fine gradations in shading and
very small detail.
A variant is photo-lithography, in which the image is captured by photographic
processes on metal plates; printing is carried out in the same way.
Screen-printing
Screen-printing (also known as "silk-screening" or "serigraphy") creates bold
color using a stencil technique. The artist draws an image on a piece of paper
or plastic film can also be used.) The image is cut out creating a stencil.
(Keep in mind the pieces that are cut away are the areas that will be colored.)
A screen is made of a piece of fabric (originally silk) stretched over a wood
frame. The stencil is affixed to the screen. The screen is then placed on top of
a piece of dry paper or fabric. Ink is then placed across the top length of the
screen. A squeegee (rubber blade) is used to spread the ink across the screen,
over the stencil, and onto the paper/fabric. The screen is lifted once the image
has been transferred onto the paper/fabric. Each color requires a separate
stencil. The screen can be re-used after cleaning.
Collagraph Printmaking
The Collagraph print is best described as a collage printmaking technique, where
the image is composed from a variety of textured materials glued to a substrate
and printed either in an intaglio or relief fashion.
Collagraphs have been referred to by a variety of names : Collage prints,
Collage intaglio, Assemblage prints, and Collagraphs. All in all referring to
the same technique. The technique derives its name from the Greek term Collo,
meaning glue and the English word graph meaning the activity of drawing;
therefore introducing the term collograph. A title which best describes the
printmaking technique. A rigid board or material is necessary for the substrate
of the Collagraph plate. A wide variety of materials can be used - cardboard,
Masonite, wood, aluminum, and plexiglass. All of which are easily accessible
through local hardware and art supply stores.
Monoprints/Monotypes
Monoprinting is a very loose style of creating printed images. Almost any kind
of paint can be used to create a monoprint. Generally, the paint is applied with
a brush, roller, or other application device (including fingers) onto a
non-porous surface. The surface can be a glass or marble slab, or a hard plastic
or Formica tabletop. Once the image is to the artist's liking, paper is
carefully laid on top. Using the heel of the hand to apply even pressure, the
paint is transferred from the surface to the paper, and then peeled up and
allowed to dry. The surface is wiped clean and the process starts over.
This technique allows artists to freely create prints without having to develop
silk-screens, engraved plates, woodblocks or other printmaking devices in order
to create a print. However, this process does not allow for multiple prints to
be made that are exact copies. Monoprinting can be a useful way to create art or
develop ideas for other printing methods.