If you are an amateur in the art industry you must have come across names like Lithography, Intaglio, Screenprinting, etc. but you might not be aware of what exactly are these names for. These are the names of various printmaking techniques which are being practiced by artists around the world.

What is Printmaking?

The term “printmaking” covers a broad range of procedures distinguished by their tools and methodical steps. The researchers and practitioners represented employ a wide range of techniques in numerous ways to produce original and limited-edition pieces.

Printmaking is the method of transferring an image or pattern from one surface (often wood, glass, metal, or linoleum) to another (usually paper or fabric). Before producing the transfer, the surface is painted or rolled with inks or paints in various colours and consistencies. Prints can be unique or repeatedly produced.

Short History Of Printmaking

Printmaking has a rich history that dates back to ancient China, like many other creative forms. Between 200 BCE and 200 CE, China produced the earliest recorded woodblock print.

From there, the printmaking method was used to produce Buddhist literature in Japan, which was close by. In the eleventh century, China invented movable type, which led to the invention of book printing.

Printmaking became popular among European craftsmen and artists in the fifteenth century. Germany is where simple woodblock prints and engraving on metal–a type of intaglio printmaking or reverse relief.

German, Dutch, and Italian painters revolutionized etching methods in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints were also being made in enormous quantities in Japan around the same time.

Printing was previously the only method of picture creation until the development of photography in the 19th and 20th centuries. Nevertheless, artists continued to experiment with various printmaking techniques and tools.

Types Of Printmaking Methods

Although there is a meaningful relationship across the many professions and artistic or innovative endeavours in fields of printmaking reserved solely for the realm of design, modern printmaking can be broadly categorized.

Now that we have learned much, let us examine the following printing techniques:

• Lithography

The incredibly basic idea of oil rejecting water is the foundation of lithography. Images are typically flat in sketched surfaces and completed pictures and are created on smooth limestone slabs or metal plates.

To achieve a consistent tone throughout the print, the process begins with grinding or polishing the printing surface. Then, using fatty substances like oil, wax, or grease on the stone or plate, images are produced.

After sketching or creating the picture, the entire surface is treated with a mixture of acid and gum Arabic, causing the negative space—where the fat does not protect the surface—to become “etched.”

The surface is then dampened, causing the water-absorbing etched portions to become resistant to greasy lithographic ink, which will then adhere to the oily drawing. The drawing is then transferred onto dry, smooth paper, which will result in a reverse image unless it is offset.

• Etching

We have discussed a short description of what etching means in the previous point of lithography printmaking. Etching is a printmaking method in which a sheet of metal is layered with ink and later lines are scraped onto that metal sheet with the help of the etching tools.

Following this, the metal sheet is then taken for an acid bath to even up the scraped areas. At last, the drawing is ready for printing once the ink is rolled over it again.

• Lino and Woodblock Printmaking

Lino and Woodblock printmaking techniques are very much similar to each other, as designs are created with a sharp cutting tool and then they are rolled in ink which makes them ready for the printing procedure. If you want to get the best printmaking results Working with lino is much easier than wood because it is softer than wood.

Now, coming to the woodblock printmaking process, this process is a widely practiced technique for producing hand-printed textiles in Rajasthan (a western Indian state).

• Photolithography

A common technique for fusing traditional printmaking with modern technology is photolithography, which involves photographically transferring images to a litho surface before manually printing them.

This approach of duplicating photographic works is acknowledged by printmakers and allows for colour separation experiments.

• Intaglio

Squeezing into a solid substrate to permit ink to soak into the marks is the technique used in intaglio printing, which exhibits a natural texture and physicality.

Before starting the Intaglio process, a metal sheet is coated with a greasy surface and later the picture is scored into the wax exposing the metal lines.

After the image is done, the sheet is taken for an acid wash, wax is cleaned and ink is rubbed onto the sheet. Following this, extra ink is wiped off once the inks are soaked into the sheets properly and the picture is later transmitted to a damp paper by pressing it.

• Screen Printing

The process of screenprinting, also recognized as silkscreen or serigraph consists of a stencil and a screen to obtain an image. Screenprinting was revolutionized in the 1960s by Andy Warhol.

In the screenprinting technique, there is a stencil–a cut-out paper piece or a fabric piece is placed on the screen and the fabric paint or fabric ink is squeezed onto the surface enabling the paint to soak into the surface. This printing technique is widely practiced for product packaging and advertising in the commercial printing industry.

• Relief Printmaking

Relief printmaking can also be said as a reverse intaglio process because in Intaglio the paint or the ink is settled within the gauged marks whereas in relief printmaking the paint or the ink settles on the top of the marks.

• Engraving

Just as the Lino and woodblock printmaking processes are similar to each other, in the same way, etching and engraving are very similar to each other. In the Engraving process also designs are scraped onto the metal sheet directly without giving them an acid wash and at last the sheet is taken for the printing process.

Bottom Lines

There are different types of printmaking processes and the effects of these printmaking processes also vary from each other which is why the process still excites millennial artists. Just like the effects the supplies for the printmaking process also vary, but the basic supplies always include the printing surface, ink or paint, stencil, and a roller.

If you are practicing printmaking just for your hobby then these supplies are enough, but if you regularly do a lot of printing, then owning a printmaking press is advisable.