ABOUT PRINTMAKING

Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, usually on paper.  The prints are fine art prints and except in the case of monoprints, are capable of being reproduced in an edition.

It is important to know the difference between commercial reproductions (commonly called "prints") and fine art prints. Commercial reproductions are printed by commercial printers and usually number in the thousands. They are copies of an original artwork.

In contrast, each fine art print is a hand made original artwork which is limited in its edition; that is, the artist nominates a limited number of prints to be made, creates them and then destroys the plate or surface from which the print was made. The number can be anything from a single print to as high a number as the technique will allow.  Normally the lower the number of the print in the edition, the more sought after by print collectors: this particularly applies in the case of etchings as the plates tend to slowly wear away each time the image is inked up then wiped and printed.

Printmaking surfaces include metal plates for etching and engraving, blocks of wood or lino for relief printing as well as stones for lithography.  Computers are used to create original images and there are many other creative ways of making limited edition original prints.

A print is called an 'impression' and all of the prints together form the edition.  Each print in the edition is usually numbered, signed and titled.

Most artists feel that printmaking techniques add a new dimension to an original work of art, transforming an idea into something more exciting through one or more of the processes of fine art printmaking.

Fine art printmaking allows people to purchase original artworks at a lower cost than one-off works. However fine art prints are original artworks in their own right and fit comfortably into the spectrum of handmade artworks.