Printmaking is believed to date as far back as the 1st century AD during China’s Han Dynasty. Since its inception, “the medium’s ability to reproduce images and create unique visual qualities has influenced everyone from book publishers to graphic designers. Artists in particular have driven the medium forward by experimenting with its various processes, in which ink is moved from one surface to another” (Eli Hill, “9 Types of Printmaking You Need to Know”). According to Fritz Eichenberg in The Art of the Print: Masterpieces, History, Technique (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1976),

The print has proven to be the most democratic medium in the history of art. Its versatility seems inexhaustible. Depending on its purpose, it may cover any aspect of human life—social, political, technological, spiritual, aesthetic. It can be a source of enlightenment, pleasure, and information.  It finds easy access into people’s minds and homes, into collections large or small, public or private. It crosses language barriers and political borders, can influence public opinion for better or for worse, and on a fragile piece of paper may carry messages of far-reaching importance and cultural impact. It is altogether a charismatic force—black magic performed either by anonymous hands or by famed artists.

Drawing from Eichenberg’s definitive survey of the medium and Eli Hill’s essay, I will discuss different types of printmaking techniques and offer examples.  

The Relief Print: Types, Techniques, and Examples 

Woodcuts and Woodblocks

According to Hill, woodcuts transformed medieval into modern life. Not only did the woodcut transform printmaking technology, but it also increased people’s access to literature and art. By the 15th century, the woodcut technique was used to print multiples of texts and images. However, the process of carving out individual letters from a block of wood was a daunting task, so only popular works, such as the Bible and Buddhist sutras, were chosen for this type of reproduction. Before this, books were almost exclusively available to the clergy, the wealthy, and royalty. Once texts and images were produced on a printing press, they became more readily available. While the woodcut was first used for printing books and decorating textiles, it eventually was used in the fine arts.  

Woodcuts are a subset of relief printmaking; negative space is carved from a surface, and only the lines and shapes desired will appear in the print. For example, an artist will carve into the surface of a piece of wood, then coat the remaining surface with ink. Then, they will place the inked surface on a piece of paper, and they will create a print by placing pressure on the back of the block—with a roller, printing press or other tool—to transfer the ink onto the page. To cut the wood, an artist will use special knives and tools, such as a gouge, to carve in the direction of the wood’s grain. Artists achieve different effects by the types of wood and ink, among other things, they use. A feature that sets woodcuts apart from other printmaking techniques is the wood grain texture the block leaves behind.

Woodblock printing uses a similar process; the main difference is that woodblock prints use water-based inks, which allow for more sensitive washes of color. Woodcuts use oil-based inks. In the mid-17th century, Japanese artists employed woodblocks to create the well-known ukiyo-e prints that captured the “floating world.”  

Some examples of woodcuts and woodblocks at the David Barnett Gallery are: Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s Hare: Actors Ichikawa Danjuro VIII as Kingoro and Bando Shuka I as Kosan, 1852 (DB1076d), Carol Summer’s Ravanna’s Palace Burning, 1984 (8676g), and Wassily Kandinsky’s book Klänge, 1913 (DB5291d). 

The Intaglio Print: Types, Techniques, and Examples 

“Intaglio” is derived from the Italian word intagliare, which means “to cut in.” The intaglio techniques—engraving, etching, drypoint, mezzotint, and aquatint, among others—are largely differentiated by how the incisions are made. In intaglio the ink, instead of being pressed onto the paper, as in the relief print, is brought out of the depressions in the plate to stand up on the paper in slight relief. Hill states that “to keep the two processes straight, it’s helpful to remember that with intaglio, anything you carve into the plate will show up in ink, whereas in relief printmaking, it’s the parts that you don’t carve that will show up in ink.”

The Engraving

One of the most difficult prints to execute, engraving is the oldest form of intaglio printmaking. Unlike relief prints (where the ink is placed onto the uppermost surface), intaglio involves making incisions or grooves on a metal plate (typically copper), covering the plate with ink, and wiping the surface, so that the ink remains in the grooves. When the paper is peeled from the plate, the ink has adhered to the paper.  

The incisions in an engraving are produced by carving into the plate by hand, which is why this method is so difficult to execute. A tool called a burin is usually used to draw into the plate; it is a steel rod, with a sharp, oblique tip attached to a rounded top so that the hand can firmly grasp it. As you draw the burin across the surface of the plate, curls of metal will peel off as a V-shaped groove is created. This technique may sound easy, but it is very difficult to use a burin to accurately incise a metal surface.

An example of engraving at the David Barnett Gallery is Seth Eastman’s Moqui Dancers, Moqui Pipe, Navajo Cradle and Headdress, 1847 (10913g).  

The Etching

Etching is probably the most common of the intaglio techniques. The process inscribes the image into the metal plate (zinc, copper, and brass are most frequently used) using acid instead of a cutting tool. The plate is protected with a wax-like acid-resistant coating through which the artist may draw with needles or other instruments to expose the metal. When the drawing is finished, the back of the plate is coated with a varnish, then immersed in a bath of acid. The acid eats the lines into the metal plate. Since the ground and varnish are impermeable to acid, the acid bath will only eat away at the lines drawn, creating fine incisions. The depth of the biting from the acid and the resulting strength of the lines and marks are dependent on the strength of the acid bath, the length of time bitten, and the temperature, and a technique called “stopping out.” To stop out, you bathe the plate until the lightest parts of the print are properly incised, then remove it from the acid bath and cover those areas with varnish before placing the plate back into the bath. This technique allows the artist to achieve a range of shallow and deep grooves; the ink will be fainter where and incision is shallow, and more prominent where the incision is deeper.

Examples of etching at the David Barnett Gallery are: Wayne Thiebaud, Italian Desserts, 1979 (DB1396d), Camille Pissarro, Marché a Volaille, á Gisors, 1891 (DB828d), Eugène Delacroix, Un Homme d’ Armède Temps de François 1er/Etude de Femme, Vue de Dos, 1833 (DB940d), Rembrandt, Bust of a Man Wearing a High Cap, 1630 (9816g), and Claude Lorrain, La Tempȇte, 1630 (10629g). 

Drypoint

In this simple and direct process, the image is scratched into the plate with a steel or gemstone point. According to Eichenberg, “despite its simplicity, the drypoint is capable of much beauty and subtlety; it is probably the most autographic of all intaglio processes, because the drawing is made directly and very freely.” He continues: “As the point (or needle) moves across the plate, it leaves a groove, or furrow. The depth and strength of the resulting line depend on the material of the plate, the point used, the pressure exerted, and the angle at which the tool is held. The point raises a burr of metal at the edges of the furrow, which catches ink during printing and provides the characteristic velvety line that is commonly associated with the drypoint medium.” The drypoint technique is frequently used in combination with other intaglio processes.

An example of the drypoint technique at the David Barnett Gallery is Claude Weisbuch’s Le Bouclier, 1978 (6380g). 

The Aquatint

The process of an aquatint is like that of an etching, but the results are less focused on line than shape. According to Hill, the technique originated in the late 19th century and became popular because its visual qualities mimic those of watercolor, thus the name aquatint. He goes on to explain the process: “Aquatints are accomplished through a version of biting, where the plate (usually made of copper or zinc) is covered with tiny particles of rosin (a type of resin derived from pine) that act as stop out. After sprinkling the white powder evenly over the plate, … you place the plate on top of a hot ring until the rosin begins to melt onto the plate. Once the plate is heated, it can be placed into an acid bath; as the plate sits in the bath, the acid will eat away at the tiny areas of exposed metal between the specks of rosin. This version of biting creates large areas of incision, so when the plate is inked and printed, planes of color emerge. To incise specific shapes onto the plate, an artist can use liquid stop out to block out areas of the composition. When the plate is placed into the bath, the acid will eat away at the areas that are still exposed.  

Liquid stop out can also be used to create different tones. The artist can remove the plate and coat areas with liquid stop out multiple times, so the areas bathed for the least amount of time will be the lightest parts of the print, and the areas bathed for the longest amount of time will be the darkest.”

Examples of aquatint at the David Barnett Gallery include: James Rosenquist, Black Triangle in Color (etching/aquatint), 1973 (8925g), Le Corbusier, The Catch (Les Mains du Pȇcheur), 1953 (8382g), and André Masson, Les Erophages, 1960 (12518c)

The Mezzotint

According to the Metropolitan Museum of art, the mezzotint—from the Italian mezzo (“half”) and tinta (“tone”)—presents halftones. “In this type of intaglio (nonrelief) print, subtle gradations of light and shade, rather than lines, form the image.” The mezzotint was invented simultaneously and apparently independently in the 17th century in Amsterdam by Ludwig von Siegen and the exiled prince Rupert of the Rhine. Prince Rupert’s assistant, Wallerant Vaillant became the first professional engraver in mezzotint. Mezzotints were extremely popular in Britain in the 18th century. Unlike the etching, few artists used the mezzotint as a means of personal original expression. The printmaking method was instead used primarily to translate oil paintings into printed form. “While the earliest mezzotints reproduced the works of past masters, living painters soon seized upon the form to promote their own work. Since a mezzotint can be made more rapidly, and less expensively, than a line engraving (although it yields fewer impressions), it became a favorite means for the quick dissemination of timely images” (Elizabeth E. Barker, Department of Drawings and Prints, The Metropolitan Museum of Art).

Barker explains the mezzotint process: “A mezzotint emerges from darkness into light. First the artist … roughens (or ‘grounds’) the copperplate using a ‘rocker,’ a broad, semi-circular, serrated-edged, chisel-like implement specific to mezzotint. Moved rhythmically and repeatedly across the plate, the rocker eventually yields a pronounced overall texture (or ‘burr’) that will catch the ink. (If printed at this stage, the plate yields a solid field of rich, velvety black.) Next, using a “scraper,’ a triangular blade fixed in a knife handle, and a ‘burnisher,’ a blunt implement with a hard smooth rounded end (both standard engraving tools), the artist smoothes [sic] selected passages of the burr, reducing or removing its ink-catching capacity, and thereby rendering the lighter-toned passages of the design. Finally, the artist (or a specialist printer) inks the surface of the plate and transfers the design to a sheet of dampened paper by running it through an intaglio press (beneath layers of protective felts). The process requires great care, since the burr of a mezzotint plate makes it more fragile than those used in other printmaking techniques. Because a mezzotint plate’s roughened surface deteriorates rapidly from repeated printing, each plate will render only a small number of truly first-rate impressions. The plate can be reworked (yielding successive “states” of the print), but such reworking historically has not always been expert, and connoisseurs have come to favor early proofs, pulled when the original burr is fresh.”

An example of the mezzotint at the David Barnett Gallery is Thomas Nawrocki’s Upland Hillside, c. 1966 (DB719d).  

Lithography: Technique and Examples 

Lithography was invented in 1796 by the German Alois Senefelder. This development was soon followed by chromolithography which allowed for colored posters, one of the primary uses for lithography. The Frenchman Jules Chéret (1836-1932), a painter and lithographer, revolutionized the poster, developing new lithographic techniques that better suited advertiser’s needs.  

First, the surface must be prepared with grit, a sand-like dust, and a levigator, which is a heavy circle of steel attached to a handle. The steel is then spun across the surface to grind it down. This step is important for leveling the surface of the stone, which will provide even prints, and removes the previous drawing from the stone. Next, the stone is dampened and an acidic liquid is applied across the entire surface. The solution is rinsed off and when the stone is dry, “gum arabic” is applied around the edges to create a border for the image. A greasy or waxy crayon is used to draw words and images onto the large, smooth limestone surface or plate. The surface of the stone is wet with water and rolled with ink. The greasy drawing repels the water and soaks up the ink, while wet areas without any drawing repel the ink. When a piece of paper is pressed onto the stone, it transfers the inky images and text onto the paper. For color lithographs, as many colors are desired, the same number of stones must be prepared. This was a difficult task; stones were heavy and the process was laborious. As a result, lithographs remained mostly monochromatic well into the 1860s. In addition, lithography suffered from its association with quick and commercial information (Driehaus Museum). But during the golden age of the lithograph, 1870-1900, the medium was respected and used by fine artists.

Some examples of the lithograph at the David Barnett Gallery are: Joan Miró, Maravillas con variaciones acrósticas en el Jardin de Miró, 1975 (14139c), Jules Chéret, Viviane, 1886 (6472g), Alphonse Mucha, from Ilsee: Princess of Tripoli, Going to Meet the Princess, 1897 (13753g), Leonard Baskin, Kill Spotted Horse, 1993 (10989g), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Le Babylone Allemagne, 1894 (12700g), and René Magritte, Le Retour, 2004 (14069g). 

The Silkscreen, or Serigraph: Technique and Examples 

Silkscreen, also known as a screenprint or serigraph, is a stencil-based printmaking technique. The first step is to stretch and attach a woven fabric (originally made of silk, but now more commonly of synthetic material) tightly over a wooden frame to create a screen. Areas of the screen that are not part of the image are blocked out with a variety of stencil-based methods. Stencils can be composed of a wide variety of materials, including fabric, greasy paint, or a design on a transparency; they can be applied to the screen in different ways: placing them directly onto the surface of the screen, painting them onto the screen, or by transferring a design onto the screen using a photo-sensitive emulsion. If the composition requires more than one color, the printmaker must repeat the screenprinting process using a different stencil for each color (The Met). A squeegee is then used to press ink through the unblocked areas of the screen, directly onto paper or canvas. Silkscreens typically feature bold, hard-edged areas of flat, unmodulated color (The Museum of Modern Art).

Some examples of the silkscreen at the David Barnett Gallery are: Andy Warhol, Marilyn, c. 1962 (14285c), and Schomer Lichtner, Birds in Flight, 1970 (9262g). 

The Monotype: Technique and Examples 

The monotype is a print with one major difference from other printmaking processes: the artist creates a single print. The earliest monotypes date from the 1640s, when Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione printed compositions he drew into ink spread on un-incised metal plates (The Met). According to Eichenberg, “the monotype is often thought of as a halfway stage between painting and printmaking and has sometimes been subject to discrimination as a ‘bastard’ medium. … [T]he artist paints, rubs, and wipes his design directly onto a plate, using a fairly slow-drying oil paint or ink. The fleeting image must be printed before the ink dries. If a second or third proof is attempted [a “ghost impression”], each image will be a fainter impression of the preceding one. Printing may be by hand or press, and, as the name ‘monotype’ implies, one can usually get only one strong impression. The effect must be guessed right from the start; there will be no trial proofs or different states unless the design is redrawn for a second impression.” Mediums are applied to the plate using two different methods. In the additive, or “light-field,” technique, ink or paint is applied directly to the plate, often with a brush. In the subtractive, or “dark-field,” technique, the plate is covered with a layer of ink or paint, and the image is formed by manipulating and removing the ink or paint using a variety of tools, including brushes, rags, or the artist’s fingers (MoMA).

Some examples of the monotype at the David Barnett Gallery include: Diane Arenberg, Window to Canyonlands, 1996-97 (8555c-1) and Beckett Berning, Landscape with Gothic Window, 1995 (DB1898d).