copper) plate by means either of a cutting tool called a burin, held in the hand – in which case the process is called engraving or through the corrosive action of acid – in which case the process is known as etching. In intaglio printing, the lines to be printed are cut into a metal (e.g. Īfter the decline of the main relief technique of woodcut around 1550, the intaglio techniques dominated both artistic printmaking as well as most types of illustration and popular prints until the mid 19th century. Collagraphs may also be printed as intaglio plates. Normally, copper or in recent times zinc sheets, called plates, are used as a surface or matrix, and the incisions are created by etching, engraving, drypoint, aquatint or mezzotint, often in combination. It is the direct opposite of a relief print where the parts of the matrix that make the image stand above the main surface. Intaglio ( / ɪ n ˈ t æ l i oʊ, - ˈ t ɑː-/ in- TAL-ee-oh, -⁠ TAH- Italian: ) is the family of printing and printmaking techniques in which the image is incised into a surface and the incised line or sunken area holds the ink. Ink is then pushed through the open areas of the mesh using a ‘squeegee’ in order to produce an image on the paper below. Images are not reversed in this process, the screen taking the place of a printing plate.Banknote portrait pattern made with intaglio printing. The final image can either be created in one pass through the press or it can be built up in multiple layers.Ī screen print is produced using a mesh stretched over a frame. Areas of the fabric are blocked out using a filler or paper stencils. Marks can also be applied using painting and drawing techniques. The plate can be rolled with ink and areas masked off or preserved with textured or opaque materials. Picasso is said to have devised this method.Ī monoprint is a one-off print where the image is applied to a host plate and then transferred to the paper. There is often very little of the original block left at this stage. This process is continued until the required result is achieved. More of the lino is then cut away before application of the second colour.

With this method, you start by cutting away any areas that are to remain the colour of the paper (or a pre-applied layer of colour), then ink the block and print the first colour. Multi-coloured images can be produced by using a separate block for each colour or by using the reduction method on a single block. Lines or areas are cut away from the linoleum block and the remaining surface is inked with a roller. Lino cutting is a relief printmaking technique. Etching is therefore primarily an intaglio printmaking technique but all or part of the surface of the plate can also be inked with a roller if required. The resulting marks hold ink during the printing process. The surface of the plate is covered with an acid-resistant layer which is then worked into in order to expose the metal to the acid. To produce an etching, lines, textures and tonal areas are bitten into a metal plate using acid. A blind embossment is where no ink has been applied to the plate. Please see the examples below for the corresponding results.Īn embossment is where a textured or layered plate is passed through a press with dry or slightly damp paper. Collagraphs lend themselves to being inked by either or both of the printmaking methods above. Once the plate is completed, it is sealed with varnish. The only real limit on what materials can be used is their thickness if they are too thick, they will tear the paper and potentially ruin the blankets of the press. I use cardboard, which can also be cut into with a knife to give a linear effect and ‘peeled’ to give different tonal areas. These are essentially prints made from a collage, where different materials are glued on to a backing plate. A relief print is made by inking and printing the surface of the plate an intaglio print is made by inking the recessed areas and lines below the surface of the plate. Inking can either be relief or intaglio (or both). The final image produced is therefore the reverse of the plate image. Alternatively, the back of the paper can be burnished - or rubbed - in order to transfer the image.

Ink is applied to the plate, which is then passed through a press with a sheet of paper. These plates are made from different materials according to the process used. The majority of techniques use a plate or a block from which to print the images. I am only going to touch upon those that I have used to create the images on this site. The term PRINTMAKING encompasses a number of different techniques.

Intaglio printmaker