Printing glossary
Printing glossary
Like Picasso, with his extraordinary etchings or engravings, linocuts or lithographs, Braque, Chagall, Miro, Soulages, Chillida, Dali, Alechinsky or Giacometti, like so much of other Masters in the art of the print, used several graphic technical of expression; as other terms related to the world of the print (which gathers the whole of these techniques), they are here briefly presented to you. Click on the following pictures to access definitions.
Click on the following images to access definitions.
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Lithograph
This technique was invented by Aloys Senefelder in 1796 in Germany. This process takes advantage of the fact that water and fatty subtances are incompatible on flat limestones. With this mount, drawing directly is made possible with great fluidity. The artist carries out his drawing on the stone by using pencils and lithographic inks. The chemical concoction, made out of nitric acid and gum arabic, fixes the drawing on the stone. The latest is moisturized and finally inked with a roll. The ink will only stick on drawn surfaces. For convenience reasons, zinc and aluminum plates can replace stones.
Lithograph
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Etching
Etching is a method of making prints from a metal plate, usually copper or zinc, which has been bitten with acid. The plate is first coated with an acid-resistant substance (etching ground or varnish) through which the design is drawn with a sharp tool (burin or other). The acid eats the plate through the exposed lines; the more time the plate is left in the acid, the coarser the lines. When the plate is inked and its surface rubbed clean, and it is covered with paper and passed under a cylindrical press, the ink captured in the lines is transferred to the paper.
Etching
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Aquatint
This technique is so called because its finished prints often resemble watercolors or wash drawings. It is a favorite method of printmakers to achieve a wide range of tonal values. The technique consists of exposing the plate to acid through a layer (or sometimes successive layers) of resin or sugar. The acid bites the plate only in the spaces between the resin particles, achieving a finely and evenly pitted surface that yields broad areas of tone when the grains are washed off and the plate is inked and printed. A great many tones can be achieved on a single plate by exposing different areas to different acid concentrations or different exposure times. Aquatint techniques are generally used in combination with etching or engraving to achieve linear definition.
Aquatint
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Engraving
The artist etches his own composition directly on a metal plate using a steel tool called burin, pushing it with his/her palm and rotating the stand (steel, copper or zinc plate) on a cushion or a small wooden board. Both movements pull out metal shavings. Scooped out furrows are then filled with printing ink. Most of the time, burin technique is realized on copper plate which is a real ink lover. Before inking the plate it is necessary to moisturize and soften the paper to allow it to enter the most thinnest lines. The plate is inked, cleaned then passed under a press.
Engraving
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Drypoint
Drypoint is an engraving method in which the design is scratched directly onto the (usually copper) plate with a sharp pointed instrument. Lines in a drypoint print are characterized by a soft fuzziness caused by ink printed from the burr, or rough metal edge lifted up on each side of the furrow made by the etching tool. Drypoint is most often used in combination with other etching techniques, frequently to insert dark areas in an almost-finished print. The template form being rather fragile (used burr), high quality edition will be limited.
Drypoint
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Mezzotint
Mezzotint is the technique, which, contrary to the other methods in use, works from black to white rather than white to black. This is achieved by laying down a texture on a plate by means of a pointed roulette wheel or a sharp rocker. The burrs thus created trap a large quantity of ink and give a rich black. The mezzotint artist then scrapes away the burr in areas he wants to be grey or white. The process produces soft, subtle gradations and is usually combined with etching or engraving which lend clean-lined definition. Preparing the plate being quite fastidious and printing delicate, this technique has been neglected over the years.
Mezzotint
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Woodcut
This technique has always been used in Occident since the XVth century. The woodcut is the art of engraving on wood by hollowing out with chisels, burin, penknife or a gouge areas of a plank of wood, leaving a design on the surface. Whatever is etched will appear white when printed. The transfer of this design onto paper is achieved by inking the surface with typographic ink and applying pressure with a press.
Woodcut
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Linocut
The linocut (invented around 1900) is a printmaking technique similar to that of the woodcut, the difference being that the image is engraved on linoleum instead of wood. Since linoleum offers an easier surface for working, linocuts offer more precision and a greater variety of effects than woodcuts. Common engraving tools are used for this technique, gouges being perfect. This technique presents the advantage of being easy and rapid to use.
Linocut
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Carborundum
Carborundum etching is a technique developed by Henri Goetz that consists of pasting a powder of very hard grains made of silicium carbon on the matrix by drawing shapes and combining the caliber of the grains with the density of their distribution before gluing them. This technique that can be combined with other printing techniques fits very well with color and provides a great plastic richness for material and shapes.
Carborundum
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Screenprint
It's a stencil process based on the porosity of silk (nylon or other fabric), which allows ink to pass through the areas that are not "stopped" with glue or varnish. One or more layers of ink are applied with a squegee, each one covering the open areas of succeeding screens until the final composite image is achieved. Photographic transfers, both in line and halftone, can also be fixed to the screen with a light-sensitive emulsion. Beyond paper, other templates can be used to receive the serigraphic printing and not necessary plane such as cardboard, fabric, metal, glass, wood, etc.
Screenprint
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Aquagravure
This technique is characterized by the simultaneous creation of the paper and the etching. The artist etches and sculpts his pattern as a bas-relief in a board made of wax, wood, metal or linoleum.
Aquagravure
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Edition
For each edition, the number of prints can vary. In this domain, it is important to refer to the artist's catalogue raisonné (Complete work) which will give all details about the print. Number will be given (Arabic or Roman numeral), number of artist's proofs (E.A) and possibly Hors Commerce proofs. Sometimes trial or state proofs are also added (edition realized when work is still being processed). Most of the time the copy number or the type of proof is indicated in pencil together with the signature by the artist (however this number can also be indicated by the editor or the printer).
Edition
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Paper
Among today's papers - mainly machine-made - different types of papers exist. Each paper is more or less fitted to the diverse printing techniques. For instance, a lithograph is often printed on an Arches Vellum, a BFK Rives or a pearly Japanese paper. A Richard de Bas (hand-made made paper) or a Lana Vellum enhances a woodcut or an etching. Some papers present a watermark that can be seen through the paper. Watermark allows paper identification and sometimes age paper fabrication. A same print edition can be made on different types of paper (Arches Vellum and pearly Japanese paper).
Paper
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Signature
In today's modern prints domain, after the edition is completed, the artist signs in pencil each of his proofs. In doing so, he is able to control the edition and put away prints that are not entirely satisfactory. In addition, certain prints have a printed signature which means that the artist has signed the stone itself for a lithograph or the copper plate for an etching. But, the artist might also add an original signature to this composition. One can also find prints that are unsigned or prints that should not be.
Signature
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Original print
In opposition to an interpreted print (realized by someone else: etcher or lithographer), here the artist conceives and realizes himself his creation onto a matrix (stone, copper, steel, silk, wood or zinc). Needless to say that original prints cover all the possible printing techniques available (lithographs, etchings, serigraphs, etc.). If most graphic works are represented by original prints, it is interesting to point out that some are original works and some are interpreted works. Few artists from whom prints exist have never drawn on a stone or etched on a plate.
Original print
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Print after
The artist's original work (painting, drawing...) is interpreted and transposed onto a matrix by a lithographer or an etcher. Most of the time this work is done under the supervision of the artist who sometimes signs the edition. Etching masters or lithographers can also interpret painters'works in a fanstastic way. For example Jacques Villon, Georges Visat, Charles Sorlier (Chagall) and Cécile Reims (Bellmer) among others. The fact that the artist does not realizes himself his own work's prints on a plate (copper, stone, etc.) is not necessary linked to the value of the print.
Print after