Aquatint.
An intaglio process used
to produce areas of tone
or shadow rather than
lines; it is often combined
with etching. The metal
plate is covered with
a waxy ground or resin
that is granular rather
than solid (as in etching).
Acid is applied which
"bites" into
the metal between the
granules to produce areas
which will catch the ink
when it is wiped across
the plate. The use of
different resins with
grains in varying densities
will produce different
degrees of darkness. Portions
of the plate can be protected
with varnish in order
to expose the plate to
multiple biting without
affecting the entire composition.
Spitbite
Aquatint involves
painting strong acid directly
onto the aquatint ground
of a prepared plate. Saliva,
ethylene glycol or Kodak
Photoflo solution is used
to control the strength
of the acid applied. Traditionally,
a clean brush was coated
with saliva, dipped into
nitric acid and brushed
onto the ground, hence
the term "spitbite"
Cancelling Plates/Matrix.
In modern terms, after
a limited edition of a
print is completed, the
plate or stone or block
may be erased or defaced
with lines or holes to
discourage further printing.
This ensures the integrity
of the size of the original
edition by either preventing
any further printings
or by making any later
printings recognizably
different from the original
ones. In earlier times,
matrices were often printed
until they wore out or
until there was no further
demand for the print,
although lithographic
stones, being very expensive,
were usually erased by
regrinding to make way
for another image. The
physical cancellation
of plates began, like
pencil signatures, sometimes
around the 1880’s,
but it has not been universally
practiced.
Chine-collé,
literally translated “Chinese
glue,” is a technique
that allows the artist
or printmaker to print
with thin delicate papers,
such as rice paper or
linen. Prior to printing,
a water-soluble glue or
paste is applied to the
back of the lighter paper,
which is then placed against
a heavier printmaking
paper.
The pressure of the press
transfers the image to
the delicate surface of
the paper which adheres
to the dampened heavier
paper at the same time.
Counterproofs
are made by placing a
dampened sheet of paper
on top of a pastel and
applying pressure to transfer
the pastel image.
Digital Prints:
Artists who use a computer
to create or manipulate
their works often use
a large-scale ink jet
printer to print them.
These complex printers
use a sophisticated print
head to disperse the ink
on the paper in a fine
mist of minute droplets
in order to deliver a
continuous tone image.
The distinction as to
whether a digital print
is an “original
print” is determined
by whether the work was
created by the artist
to be realized as a print.
A digital print of a work
that originated as a painting
or drawing is a reproduction
and therefore is not an
original print.
Drypoint prints
are created by drawing
on to a metal plate by
scratching with a needle
or a sharp tool. This
intaglio technique gives
the artist the greatest
freedom of line, from
the most delicate hairline
to the heaviest gash.
As the artist incises
line into the plate, metal
shavings called “burr”
are pushed up to the surface
of the plate and sit along
the lines incised. In
drypoint, the burr is
not scraped away before
printing but stays on
the surface of the plate
to print a velvety cloud
of ink until it is worn
away by repeated printings.
Drypoint plates (particularly
the burr on them) wear
more quickly than etched
or engraved plates and
therefore allow for fewer
satisfactory impressions
and show far greater differences
from first impression
to last.
Numbering.
While the numbering of
individual impressions
can be found as early
as the late nineteenth
century, it did not become
standard practice until
the mid-1960’s.
Today, all limited edition
prints should be numbered.
The numbering is transcribed
as a fraction with the
first number signifying
the number of the individual
impression and the second
representing the total
number of prints in the
edition. The numbering
sequence is not intended
to reflect the order of
printing; prints are not
numbered as they come
off the press but some
time later, after the
ink has dried. The edition
number does not include
proofs (see Proofs), but
only the total in the
numbered edition.
Editions
total number of multiple
impressions printed.
Edition numbering
If the edition is of 125,
then each impression is
numbered as 1/125, 2/125
up to 125/125.
Posthumous Edition.
Edition printed after
the death of the artist.
It has usually been authorized
by the artist's heirs
or is the product of a
publisher who purchased
the matrix from the artist.
It should be limited in
some way (though not necessarily
hand-numbered) or it becomes
simply a limitless restrike.
Posthumous editions of
prints that were pencil
signed in their original
edition frequently bear
stamped signatures authorized
by the artist's heirs
or the publisher.
Restrikes.
Later impressions, which
are not been authorized
by the artist, or the
artist's heirs. While
some restrikes are of
good appearance, the excessive
printing of the matrix
tends to wear it out and
many restrikes are only
ghostly images of what
the print is supposed
to be.
In the case of images
that may be intrinsically
valuable (i.e. Rembrandt
etchings), the worn-out
copper plate is frequently
reworked several centuries
later so that while the
restrike may be said to
have come from the original
plate, there is hardly
anything left of the original
work on the plate, even
the plate signature often
being re-etched by someone
else.
Second Edition.
A second edition is a
later printing, usually
authorized by the artist
or by the heirs, from
the original matrix, after
an edition of declared
number has already been
printed. It should be
annotated as a second,
or subsequent, edition.
Sometimes second editions
are made, many years after
the first, because the
artist originally printed
only four or five impressions,
hardly amounting to an
edition at all. A photographically
produced replica of the
original print, whether
printed in a limited edition
or not, is not a second
edition; it is a reproduction.
Engraving
is an intaglio technique
in which the metal plate
is marked or incised with
a tool called a burin.
As the burin is moved
across the plate, copper
shavings, called "burr",
are forced to either side
of the lines being created.
These are usually cleaned
from the plate before
inking. The engraved plate
is covered in ink and
then wiped so that only
the engraved lines contain
the ink. An engraved line
may be deep or fine, has
a sharp and clean appearance,
and tapers to an end.
Wood Engravings
are a form of relief printing
in which the areas of
the composition that are
not to receive ink are
carved away with fine
engraving tools. Ink is
applied to the raised
surface and the composition
transferred to paper with
a press or by hand burnishing
or rubbing. Incredible
precision and detail is
possible with this technique.
Etching
has been a favoured intaglio
technique for artists
for centuries because
the method of inscribing
the image is so similar
to drawing with a pencil
or pen. After a metal
plate has been coated
with a waxy substance
called a "ground",
the artist draws through
the ground with a stylus
to expose the metal. The
plate is then immersed
in an acid bath, which
chemically dissolves or
"bites" the
exposed metal. The ground
is removed before the
plate is inked and printed.
Etched lines usually have
blunt rather than tapering
ends.
Linocut,
a form of relief printing,
is a variation of the
woodcut technique. The
artist' composition is
cut into the surface of
linoleum often backed
by wood for reinforcement.
Areas, which are not to
receive ink, are carved
away and separate blocks
must be carved for each
colour used. Since the
blocks possess a smooth
surface rather than a
wood grain, the resulting
prints are characterized
by a smoother texture
in the printed areas.
Lithography.
Literally, "stone
drawing", the artist
draws or paints the composition
on the flat surface of
a stone with a greasy
crayon or liquid. The
design is chemically fixed
on the stone with a weak
solution of acid and gum
Arabic. In printing, the
stone is flooded with
water which is absorbed
everywhere except where
repelled by the greasy
ink. Oil-based printer's
ink is then rolled on
the stone, which is repelled
in turn by the water soaked
areas and accepted only
by the drawn design. The
stone is then run through
the press with paper under
light pressure, the final
print showing neither
a raised nor embossed
quality but lying entirely
on the surface of the
paper. The design may
be divided among several
stones, properly registered,
to produce through multiple
printings a lithograph
in more than one colour.
A transfer lithograph
(French, autographie)
employs the same technique,
but the design is drawn
on specially prepared
transfer paper with a
lithographic crayon and
is later mechanically
transferred to the stone.
A zincograph
is the same as a lithograph,
but uses a zinc plate
rather than a stone.
Matrix.
From the Latin word mater,
meaning mother, the matrix
is the form or surface
on which the image to
be printed is prepared,
for example, a woodblock,
a linoleum block, a metal
plate, a lithographic
stone or a mesh screen.
Mezzotint
is another intaglio technique
used to create areas of
tone or shadow rather
than lines. In this method,
the entire surface of
the plate is roughened
by a spiked tool called
a rocker so that, if inked
at that point, the entire
plate would print in solid
black. The artist then
works "from black
to white" by scraping
or burnishing areas so
that they will hold less
or no ink, yielding modulated
tones
Monoprint/Monotype.
As their names imply,
monoprints and monotypes
(the words are often used
interchangeably but shouldn’t
be) are prints that have
an edition of one, though
sometimes a second, weaker
impression can be taken
from the matrix.
A monoprint
is made by taking an already
etched and inked plate
and adding to the composition
by manipulating additional
ink on the surface of
the plate. This produces
an impression different
in appearance from a conventionally
printed impression from
the same plate. Since
it is virtually impossible
to manipulate the additional
ink in exactly the same
way for each impression,
every monoprint impression
will be different. A monotype
is made by drawing a design
in printing ink on any
smooth surface, then covering
that matrix with a sheet
of paper and passing it
through a press. The resulting
image will be an exact
reverse of the original
drawing, but relatively
flatter because of the
pressure of the press.
Pochoir
is a direct method of
adding hand colouring
to an impression through
a stencil. The stencil
itself is usually knife-cut
from thin-coated paper,
paperboard, plastic, or
metal and the ink or paint
is applied with a brush
through the stencil to
the paper beneath.
Prints
work of art that exists
in multiples.
Artist's Proof.
This practice dates back
to the era when an artist
commissioned to execute
a print was provided with
lodging, living expenses,
and a printing studio
with workmen, supplies
and paper. The artist
was given a portion of
the edition (to sell)
as payment for his work.
Today, though artists
get paid for their editions,
the tradition has persisted
and a certain number of
impressions are put aside
for the artist. Artist's
proofs are annotated as
such or as A.P., or Épreuve
d'Artiste or E.A.
Bon à Tirer
Proof. Literally,
the "ok-to-print
proof". If the artist
is not printing his own
edition, the bon à
tirer (sometimes abbreviated
as b.a.t.) is the final
trial proof, the one that
the artist has approved,
telling the printer that
this is the way they want
the edition to look. There
is only one of these proofs
for an edition.
Hors Commerce
Proof. Impressions
annotated H.C. is supposedly
"not for sale".
These "proofs"
started to appear on the
market as extensions of
editions printed in the
late 1960's. They may
differ from the edition
by being printed on a
different paper or with
a variant inking; they
may also not differ at
all. Publishers sometimes
use such impressions as
exhibition copies, thereby
preserving the numbered
impressions from rough
usage.
Printer's Proof.
A complimentary proof
given to the printer.
There can be from one
to several of these proofs,
depending upon the number
of printers involved and
the generosity of the
artist.
Trial Proof.
An impression pulled before
the edition in order to
see what the print looks
like at that stage of
development, after which
the artist may go back
to the matrix and make
adjustments.
There can be any number
of trial proofs, depending
upon how a particular
artist works, but it is
usually a small number
and each one usually differs
from the others. In French,
a trial proof is called
a épreuve d'essai,
in German a Probedruck.
Publisher.
A publisher provides the
financial support to produce
and market an artist's
prints. A publisher brings
together artist and printer
(assuming the artist does
not do his own printing).
The printer may also himself
be a publisher. Publishers
date back to the sixteenth
century and the great
majority of original print
made in the nineteenth
century were commissioned
and brought to market
by publishers.
Screenprints (Serigraphy).
In this process, a separate
screen is required for
each colour in the artist's
composition and the same
piece of paper must be
printed with each of them
in turn.
For each screen, a pattern
of fabric or paper is
cut and attached to the
mesh to block the flow
of that particular colour
to the sheet of paper
beneath it. A squeegee
is used to force the paint
through the exposed areas
of the mesh. This technique
is often referred to as
serigraphy, a term coined
to distinguish between
commercial and artistic
screen-printing.
Signatures.
The very earliest prints
were not signed at all,
although by the late fifteenth
century many artists indicated
their authorship of a
print by incorporating
a signature or monogram
into the matrix design,
what is called “signed
in the plate” or
a “plate signature.”
While some prints were
pencil signed as early
as the late eighteenth
century, the practice
of signing one's work
in pencil or ink did not
really become common practice
until the 1880's. Today
it is customary for original
prints to be signed. When
a print is described simply
as “signed”
it should mean that is
signed in pencil, ink
or crayon; a plate signature
should not be described
as “signed.”
A stamped signature should
be described as such.
Woodcut
is a relief technique
using a side-grained plank
of wood in which the non-printing
areas of the composition
are cut away below the
surface with a knife or
gouge. While woodcuts
were first seen in ninth-century
China, Western artists
have made woodcut prints
since the fourteenth century.
In the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries,
Japanese artists using
these techniques reached
an exceptional level of
artistic achievement,
what is known as the ukiyo-e
period or style. Colour
woodcuts
involve the use of separate
blocks for each colour,
often with enormous complexity
using multiple blocks
and overlapping. White
line woodcuts
were the product of a
technique developed by
artists in the Provincetown
art colony around 1915.
By cutting a groove between
each colour in the composition,
the artists were able
to produce a colour woodcut
from a single block. The
desired colours are painted
on the raised areas while
the groove, which is devoid
of ink, prints as a blank
or "white" line
delimiting each area of
colour.