As in the lithographic process for the black and white prints, a transparency is made form the artwork. It is copied onto a metal plate, and the plate is dipped in ink, which in this case is black, and transferred to paper. All of my black and white prints were printed on heavyweight cardstock. This is a semi-absorbent surface that takes paints well. Many of these prints I painstakingly color with watercolor to create hand-painted prints.
Laser printing is a new technology that uses a four-color process to reproduce images.
The inks are VERY fade resistant and are beautifully bright. I reserve this process for smaller print editions of 100 or less. This is projected onto a sheet of photographic printing paper that has been emulsified so that invisible images form when exposed to light. After processing the paper in special chemicals, the image is fixed to the paper. The print is washed, dried, and is then ready for display.