A Brief Introduction to Graphic Printing Techniques

- Intaglio, Embossing and Flat Printing
- Woodcut and Linoleum Cut
- Metal Printing Techniques
- etching
- aquatint
- dry point
- spraying technique
- carborundum etching
- Lithography
- Silkscreen (Serigraphy)
- Prints in Several Colors
- Mixed Techniques
- The Collaboration with the Printer
- The Edition
- The Paper

It was in the 20^th century that the art of original graphic prints came flowered fully. This is true of all graphic techniques. They all underwent a spectacular enrichment through the freedom of the most recent Modern art, a freedom which allowed the handcrafts to converge and the borders between techniques to disappear. Scratching and pressing, grating and cutting belong to the most primeval type of artistic expression. Graphic techniques on metal and wood, stone and silkscreen make use of these processes. They can be divided into three categories: intaglio, embossing and flat prints. In embossing (woodcut) the relief is printed, in intaglio, the scratch marks (etching), and in flat printing (lithography, silkscreen) color repellent surfaces contrast with color absorbent ones. The transferal of the image occurs in graphic printing through pressing onto paper.

Woodcut and Linoleum Cut

The first artistic woodcuts done as a reproduction technique date back to the 15^th century. A new support had been previously introduced, paper. A procedure diametrically opposed to the intaglio method used in prints on metal plates can be seen in the relief or embossing technique used in wood engravings and woodcuts (as well as in linoleum cuts): Here the raised surfaces are covered with ink and when pressed onto paper, the deeper, cut out areas remain free of color while the raised surfaces are printed, often even showing the grain of the wood used. With the invention of the woodcut (and the linoleum cut) to replace the wood engraving, which indulged the drawing, the art of abstract areas was also stimulated. Hence the attention drawn by Asiatic color woodcuts at the beginnings of the age of Modern art. The woodcut has retained its legitimacy as an artistic medium to the present day. The process of rubbing off the painted wood blocks is done by hand, or repeatedly, as with other printing techniques, through the flat press.

Metal Printing Techniques

Etching, Engraving, Aquatint, Dry Point, Spraying Technique & Carborundum Etching

Through the art of the goldsmith, engraving of metals had long been a part of artistic activities. It seems reasonable to assume that the art of drawing had conquered a place through engraving on metal plates (cf. Dürer). As early as the mid 15^th century, the first copperplate engravings were created. The plates were covered with ink, which then settled into the recesses, and then the rest of the plate was wiped. Here is where the famous smeared tones came into play, as can be seen in Rembrandt's work. Wiping the color on the plate stimulates artistic expressive gesture and makes each print to some extent unique since, as in all of the graphic printing techniques, the plate must be newly covered in ink before each print. The pressing process occurs on a hand press, with rollers which are activated by a large wheel. The printing produces the result: the dark lines from the recesses show up on the paper. A simple principle.

In the 15^th century, the first copperplate etchings come about. At the beginning of the 16^th century, the technique of etching is path-breaking. It is no longer necessary to engrave directly onto metal, but rather onto a layer of wax and asphalt or resin. Where the etching burin uncovers the surface of the plate, an acid bath eats into the metal, creating the recesses that are to carry the ink. The etching is born. Engraving as well as etching constituted the extent of artistic reproduction techniques for a long time. Later, the dry point was added to these, a method in which a steel burin digs directly into the plate and creates the typical burrs for which the technique is known. A dynamic, spontaneous process which is conducive to artistic expression.

In the 18^th century, etching was wed to yet another technique, the aquatint. It is based on etching and, as with the other printing methods, is often used in combination with other techniques. It involves sprinkling particles of colophon dust or resin dust onto the plate and melting them on. These create a fine grainy surface through the etching process which then captures the ink when it is spread onto the plate (with a handball). Thus to the linear art of the engraving burin or etching needle was added to the painterly art of aquatint. The light-dark grading of applied tones, previously impossible, now opened the doors for painterly techniques in etching. The methods were now invented to provide a variety of effects, from the transferal of the nuances of India ink and watercolor, through to the solidly formed color areas of Constructive art. In combination with the etching, there was now great freedom of expression for both the color area and the line. This breakthrough was taken up in the 20^th century with particular enthusiasm, and it led to the spraying technique, the sugar aquatint technique. This allowed the brush and the pen to come into freer use on the metal plate. A further innovation was the carborundum etching, a technique which greatly influenced graphic art of the late 20^th century. Carborundum particles are spread over a strongly adhesive layer of glue, in contrast to aquatint, where the structural framework is etched in with acid.