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All the prints are conceived and carried out by the artist working directly on the block, plate or screen from which the print will be made. The artist produces a limited number of prints (an edition) and signs and numbers them. The size of the edition and the number of the individual prints is indicated by a fraction, e.g. 4/50 (No. 4 in a edition of 50).
An Original print is thus an original work of art, and not to be confused with mass-produced photographic reproductions of a work of art, which are also described as prints.
There are four basic processes in printmaking, although variations on them are infinite: some artists often employ more than one method in a single print.
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Relief Prints
The principle employed in a relief print is cutting away of part of the surface of a flat block so that the desired image stands proud to provide a printing surface. When the block is printed the areas which have been cut away appear white. A Separate block may be made for each colour which must be carefully registered when over- printing, or the same block can be cut away after each colour printing by the 'reduction' method.
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Woodcuts
Woodcuts are made on side-grained or plan-cut wood and the grain pattern is often visible on the print. Plywood and other manufactured boards are frequently used.
Wood engravings
These are made from end-grain wood; the hard, dense texture enables the cutting of very fine detail.
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Etchings
The basic etching process involves a polished metal plate (zinc, copper or steel) which is coated with an acid- resistant wax ground. The design is then drawn through the ground with a needle. The plate is then immersed in acid which eats away the exposed lines forming miniature furrows in the plate. Printing an etching involves the pushing of ink into the etched lines or areas and wiping the smooth unbitten surface clean. The paper, which is dampened, is laid on the inked plate and passed through the press. The extreme pressure exerted by the rollers forces the paper into the hollow inked areas, thus transferring the image to the paper. This method of printing, with the ink in the grooves rather than on the surface is called Intaglio.
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Aquatint
This is a method of producing areas of tone in an etching. A fine resin powder is dusted onto the plate and fused by the application of heat. When immersed in acid, the minute dots of resin protect the plate from attack and a fine pattern is etched into the plate around the resin dots. The longer the plate is left in the acid, the deeper and wider will be the pattern and a correspondingly darker tone will be achieved.
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Collographs
A collograph block is made from card on which has been glued layers of paper, card and textured surfaces. The card can be scratched or drawn into with a sharp pencil to produce deep lines. This is then varnished and can be printed as a relief print by rolling ink over the surface, or as an intaglio by working ink into the block and polishing off the surface, then running it through an etching press.
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Screenprinting
The screen process involves the fixing of a stencil onto a woven mesh which is tightly stretched over a frame. The stencil can be painted directly onto the mesh, a cut paper stencil can be stuck to the underside of the mesh or the image can be applied photographically. Although traditionally silk has been used as a mesh, most printmakers now use a polyester mesh which is stronger and more versatile. In the printmaking process the printing paper is placed in position under the screen, the screen is lowered and a rubber bladed squeegee is pulled across the screen thus forcing the ink onto the paper through the open mesh. A screenprint can consist of as many as fifty separate stencils.
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