Printmaking
There are many different
types of printmaking, just as there are many types of paints. An artist
chooses the medium based on the effect he/she is looking to achieve. Printmaking
is considered an original art form because it is done completely by hand.
The basic idea behind the printmaking processes is the ability to make
more than one of a specific image in a limited edition. The artist will
use some sort of stencil or plate to layer blocks of color on top of one
another. The nature of printmaking requires that the entire edition be
printed simultaneously because the artist must print one color at a time
on each piece of paper. In some types of printmaking, the plates themselves
have a limited lifetime and all plates must be destroyed after the entire
edition is completed. Printmaking is often confused with offset printing,
what is commonly used for printed media such as newspapers, magazines,
posters, etc. However, there are several key distinctions. First, offset
printing uses only four colors, CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black)
to create a rainbow of colors where as in printmaking the artist must
mix the colors he wishes to use. Second, the four colors are all printed
simultaneously in offset printing, while they are printed one at a time
in the printmaking process. The most important difference is the image
is usually reproduced by photographic means in offset printing. In original
printmaking, the artist makes the stencils and plates by hand and thereby
creates the image.
The following is a
list of different Printmaking methods:
