Printmaking Limited Editions Large and Small Printmaking is a vast term that is seldom fully understood by the public and not often understood by artists who are not directly involved with the process. It actually means the replication of an image from some type of master plate, screen, block, etc. With so many types of electronically generated images bombarding us every day, it might be a good time to review some of the parameters and terminology connected to printmaking. The first family of prints generically described will be those that are created by hand, without photographic processes. When an artist takes a metal plate, creates a master image on that plate, inks the plate and presses it against special papers, the images he prints are considered etchings.
Artists often use a different wood block for each color.
Carving into a somewhat soft surface of special linoleum material creates linoleum prints. The image can then be printed much the same way as a wood block print. The same type of material is still manufactured today and is the favorite carving medium for purist lino printmakers. Stone lithography involves the use of a specially acid-etched stone. Once inked, the high spots print color and the slightly recessed areas do not print.