About Printmaking
Printmaking is process based on the transfer of an image from a matrix (a template made of wood, metal or glass) onto another surface, usually paper or fabric. Traditional printmaking techniques include woodcut, linocut, etching, engraving and lithography. More recently artists have expanded these techniques to include screenprinting.
The design for a print is created on the matrix by working its flat surface with tools or chemicals. The matrix is then inked in order to transfer the image onto the desired surface (usually paper) either by hand printing or, most often, using a printing press.
Most prints produced by Hanbury artists are linocuts or wood engravings, although sometimes artists choose to use more than one technique in their print, for example by creating a linocut which is reproduced as a screenprint.
Linocut
Linocut is a variant of relief printing where a design is cut into a linoleum sheet using a series of differently shaped chisels or gouges.
It is the lino surface left uncut which represents the image created by the artist. The linoleum sheet is inked with a roller and then impressed onto paper either by hand or with a printing press.
Multi-colour linocuts can be made by successively printing with a different block for each colour as in a colour woodcut, as the artists of the Grosvenor School frequently did. As Pablo Picasso demonstrated, such prints can also be achieved using a single piece of linoleum in what is called the "reductive" print method. Essentially, after each successive colour is imprinted onto the paper, the artist cleans the lino plate and cuts away what will not be imprinted for the subsequently applied colour.
Since lino has no grain and does not split, it is easier to obtain certain artistic effects than with most woods. Lino is generally easier to cut than wood, especially when heated, but the pressure of the printing process degrades the plate faster and it is difficult to create larger works due to the material's lack of rigidity.
First adopted in the early 20th century, lino is now an established professional print medium, and has been extensively used by the artists of the Expressionist movement, Grosvenor School, and individual artists such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.
Woodcut
This is the oldest form of printmaking, a relief process in which knives and other tools are used to carve a design into the surface of a wooden block. The raised areas that remain after the block has been cut are inked and printed, while the recessed areas that are cut away do not retain ink and will remain blank in the final print.
Wood Engraving
Developed in the late 18th century, wood engraving was a significant advancement over woodcut for illustration and became widely used for reproducing images in books, magazines and newspapers during the 19th century.
A relief printmaking process, the design is engraved into the smooth end grain of a hardwood block, typically boxwood, using sharp tools. The raised areas of the block are inked and printed onto paper, leaving the engraved lines appearing white or uninked. It is known for its ability to create highly detailed and fine-lined images.
Engraving
Engraving is an intaglio printmaking process in which lines are cut into a copper or zinc plate in order to hold ink.
The metal plate is first polished to remove all scratches and imperfections from the surface so that only the lines engraved by the artist will be printed. To engrave the plate the printmaker incises or cuts a composition directly into the surface using a sharp tool, known as a burin: a steel shaft ending in a beveled diamond-shaped tip that is set into a rounded wooden handle.
To enhance a purely linear composition with tone, the printmaker applies a system of hatching - lines, dots, and dashes, among other kinds of markings, placed close together to create denser areas in the print that will hold more ink. The closer the marks are placed together, the darker those areas will appear.
Once the full composition has been cut into the plate, it is ready to be inked and printed. In most cases, in order to force the paper into the finely cut lines and create a finely detailed print this process is undertaken on a special printing press equipped with rollers.
Etching
Like engraving, etching is an intaglio printmaking process in which lines or areas are incised into a metal plate in order to hold ink.
To prepare the plate for etching, it is first polished to remove all scratches and imperfections from the surface. When the surface is completely smooth, it is covered evenly with a layer of acid-resistant varnish or wax, which is called the ground.
Using a blunt stylus called an etching needle, the printmaker gently scratches away parts of the ground following the design, thereby exposing the metal beneath.
Once the entire design has been drawn into the ground the plate is dipped in acid which eats into the metal in the exposed areas creating recesses that can retain ink. The depth and width of these recesses is determined by the length of time the plate is exposed to the acid: a longer exposure will cause deeper and wider recesses, which hold more ink and will thus print darker lines on paper.
Once the plate has been satisfactorily bitten by the acid, the printmaker removes the ground with a solvent and the plate is ready for inking and then printing on a press.
Lithography
Lithography is a planographic printmaking process in which a design is drawn, usually onto a flat stone.
First, the design for the lithograph is drawn directly onto a polished slab of limestone using an oil-based lithographic crayon or ink.
Once the design is complete a layer of powdered rosin is rubbed onto the stone, followed by a layer of powdered talc. Gum arabic, or a combination of gum arabic with a mild acid solution, is then brushed onto the stone. The chemical reaction between the solution and the stone fixes the greasy image that is drawn with the oil-based lithographic crayon. At the same time, the solution ensures that the blank areas of the stone will absorb water and repel printing ink.
The original drawing is then wiped away with a solvent to leave a ghost-like trace of the image on the stone. To provide a base for inking, a layer of asphaltum is then buffed onto the entire surface of the stone and allowed to dry.
Before the stone is ready for inking, it is dampened with water, which is absorbed only in the blank areas. Ink is then applied to the stone with a roller. The oil-based ink adheres to the greasy area of the image and is repelled by the damp parts of the stone. The dampening and inking of the stone is repeated until the entire image is thoroughly inked and ready for printing.
ScreenPrinting
Screenprinting is a process where ink is forced through a mesh screen onto paper or textiles. The artist makes certain areas of the screen impervious to printing ink by creating a stencil on the mesh. The stencil blocks the printing ink from passing through the screen. The ink that passes through forms the printed image.
When the image is ready to print, the mesh screen is hinged onto a board or screenprinting table. A thick bead of ink is applied along the top of the inside of the screen and then pulled evenly across the image using a squeegee, an action known as "flooding the screen."
A sheet of paper or the textile is then placed under the screen, and with another pass of the squeegee the ink is pushed through those areas of the screen that are not blocked by the stencil. If the composition requires more than one colour, the printmaker repeats the process using a different stencil for each colour.