Fine-Art Terminology
Common Print Making Techniques:
Giclée (Iris Print):
The French word Giclée means to spray or squirt. The
giclee process uses incredibly accurate computer controlled
jets to apply ink to museum quality watercolor paper, canvas
or etching paper. These unique jets are able to vary the
width of the ink stream to as small as 1/100th the width of
human hair. It is this capability that gives the giclee its
beauty. Giclees have a higher resolution than offset
lithographs and the dynamic color range is greater than
serigraphy.
How does it work?
The giclée process begins with the input stage. A
scan of the original painting or transparency will create a
digital file. The scanning process is critical and requires
the most technically advanced equipment. After the scan is
complete, the resulting file will be entered into the
computer, where the file must be color balanced and adjusted
to match the original artwork. Making the final print match
or exceed the original painting is an art in itself and
calls for a great deal of patience and skill. This requires
the use of a colorist. The file preparation and proofing
takes approximately two weeks, watercolor paper or canvas,
one sheet at a time is attached to a drum. During printing,
the drum spins at approximately 60 mph. The printer head
travels left to right very slowly, shooting colored ink onto
the watercolor paper or canvas. It takes the printer head
one hour to travel the full width of the sheet.
Giclée inks have been tested on Arches cold press
paper and canvas and have proven to be more permanent then
original painting. Each piece is coated with a clear finish
that is non-yellowing, and has a UV inhibitor to protect
from fading. Some artists will enhance the artwork with a
technique using additional paint and or gelling. After the
process is complete the artist will hand sign and number
each piece of artwork.
Serigraph (Silkscreen Printing): A complex stenciling process using a fine mesh of polyester or nylon material stretched tightly across a frame. A separate screen is created for every color that exists in the original art. For each screen, selective areas of the screen are blocked out with filler, while the other areas where the color is to be placed on the paper or canvas, and are left open. The ink is pushed through the screen with a squeegee, only passing through the portions of the mesh that are not blocked by the filler. The paper below accepts the print and an image is built up. Screen prints are often made with 40 or more colors. A silkscreen can be recognized by the boldness and evenness of color, and upon examination the print can be seen to be made up of many different layers of ink – one layer for each color. Each piece is coated with a clear finish that is non-yellowing, and has a UV inhibitor to protect from fading.
Lithograph: Printing technique using a paleographic process in which prints are pulled on a special press from a flat stone or metal surface that has been chemically sensitized so that ink sticks only to the design areas, and is repelled by the non image areas. Lithography was invented in 1798 in Solnofen, Germany by Alois Senefelde. The early history of lithography is dominated by great French artists such as Daumier and Delacroix, and later by Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, Braque and Miro.
Offset Lithograph: A special photo-mechanical technique in which the image to be printed is transferred to the negative plates and printed onto papers or canvas. Offset lithograph is very well adapted to color printing.
Etching: A form of intaglio printing techniques in which ink is held beneath the surface of the plate. The ink is transferred from these shallow depressions to the paper through pressure applied by roller and blanket on a press. Mezzotint, dry point, etching, and aquatint etching are all intaglio processes. An acid resistant ground is applied to a plate, and then the artist “cuts” the image into the surface of the plate with a needle or similar sharp tool. The plate is then immersed in an acid bath, which eats away at the exposed lines, etching them into the plate. The longer the plate is left in the bath, the deeper the lines will be; the deeper the line, the more ink it holds, and the darker it prints on the paper. The plate is inked, wiped and run through the press for every print in the edition.
Engraving: Printing technique in which an intaglio image is produced by cutting a metal plate or box directly with a sharp engraving tool. The incised lines are inked and printed with heavy pressure.
Aquatint: An etching technique that creates subtle, solid areas of tone similar to those found in watercolor painting. Fine particles of resin are applied to a copper plate, heated to melting and then immersed in an acid bath thereby creating a grainy texture over the plate’s surface where smooth painted areas of color are desired. Different granule sizes combined with the length of immersion in acid create different tones.
Blind: Printing using an unlinked plate to produce the subtle embossed texture of a white-on-white image, highlighted by the shadow of the relief image on the unlinked paper. This technique is used in many Japanese prints.
Collagraph: Printing technique in which proofs are pulled from a block on which the artwork or design is built up like a collage, creating a relief.
Drypoint: Printing technique of intaglio engraving in which a hard, steel needle incises lines on a metal plate, creating a burr that yields a characteristically soft and velvety line in the final print.
Mezzotint: (Mezzo = half + tint = tone) A reverse engraving process used on copper or steel plate to produce illustrations in relief with effects of light and shadow. The surface of a master plate is roughened with a tool called a rocker so that if inked, it will print solid black. The areas to be white or gray in the print are rubbed down so as not to take ink. It was widely used in the 18th and 19th centuries to reproduce portraits and other paintings, but became obsolete with the introduction of photo-engraving.
Monotype: One-of-a-kind print made by painting on a sheet of metal or glass and transferring the still-wet-painting to a sheet of paper by hand or with an etching press. If enough paint remains on the master plate, additional prints can be made, however, the reprint will have substantial variations from the original image. Monotype printing is not a multiple-replica process since each print is unique.
Woodcut: Printing technique in which the surface has been carved from a block of wood. The traditional wood block is seasoned hardwood such as apple, beech, or sycamore. A modern trend, however, is to use more inexpensive and easily attainable soft woods such as pine. Woodcut is one of the oldest forms of printing first used by the Chinese in the 12th Century and later in Europe toward the end of the 14th Century.
Three Major Print-Making Processes:
Intaglio The process of incising a design beneath the surface of hard metal or stone. Plates are inked only in the etched depressions on the plates and then the plate surface is wiped clean. The ink is then transferred onto the paper bearing an image in intaglio and includes all metal-plate etching and engraving processes. The reverse of this is known as relief painting.
Relief: All printing processes in which the non-printing areas of the block or plate are carved, engraved, or etched away. Inks are applied onto the projected surface and transferred onto the paper. The reverse process is known as intaglio.
Planographic: The technique for producing a lithograph is called planographic because the printing surface is a flat plane and is neither built up nor cut into. The printing process employs a stone or metal (zinc or aluminum) plate, prepared so it can utilize the principle that grease and water do not mix, thus creating image and non-image producing areas. The image is drawn or applied to the plate using a greasy substance (rusche) that will retain the ink or pigment. The non-image area is processed to provide a clean background that will accept water. A large heavy roller is inked and then rolled onto the plate which has been sponged with water to keep the un-greased surfaces free of ink. Only the greasy surfaces will take the ink. When the inked surface is built up to the artist's satisfaction, the paper is placed on the plate and both are run through a lithograph press. If more than one color is to be printed, a separate plate must be prepared for each color. Careful registration is of paramount importance. In offset lithography, a printing process commonly used for mass production, the image is taken from the plate by a rubber roller that then transfers the image to the paper.
Print Proof Types:
Proofs are prints authorized by the artist in addition to the limited signed and numbered edition. The total size of an art edition consists of the signed and numbered prints plus all outstanding proofs. If a set of proofs consists of more than one print, numbers are inscribed to indicate the number of the print within the total number of the particular type of proof, (ed. AP 10/25 means the 10th print in a series of 25 identical prints authorized as artist’s proofs). Proofs are generally signed by the artist as validation of the prints.
Artist’s Proof: Print intended for the artist’s personal use. It is a common practice to reserve approximately ten percent of an edition as artist’s proofs, although this figure can be higher. The artist’s proof is sometimes referred to by its French name, epreuce d’artist (abbreviated E.A.). Artist’s proofs can be distinguished by the abbreviation AP or EA, commonly on the lower left corner of the work.
Cancellation Proof: Final print made once an edition series has been finished to show that the plate has been marred/mutilated by the artist, and will never be used again to make more prints of the edition.
Hors d’Commerce Proof: Print identical to the edition print intended to be used as samples to show to dealers and galleries. Hors d’Commerce (abbreviated H.C.) proofs may or may not be signed by the artist.
Printers Proof: Print retained by the printer as a reference. Artists often sign these prints as a gesture of appreciation.
Trial Proof: Pre-cursor to a limited edition series, these initial prints are pulled so that the artist may examine, refine, and perfect the prints to the desired final state. Trial proofs are generally not signed.
Common Art Print Terms
Acid Free Paper: The better quality limited edition prints are produced from wood-free museum papers (usually 100% cotton) and are sized with a synthetic compound know as Aquapel, which is acid free. Quality museum papers are also buffered with calcium carbonate which prevents the long-term deterioration caused by migration of acid in the paper from the atmosphere. Papers containing wood pulp, alum fixatives and resin sizing are acidic and become yellow and brittle over time.
Color-variant Suite: A set of identical prints in different color schemes.
Découpage: An artwork comprised of a decorated surface with cutouts coated with several layers of varnish or lacquer. French découpage, from découper, to cut up or out.
Impression: Fine art made by printing or stamping process.
Limited Edition: Set of identical prints numbered in succession and signed by the artist. The total number of prints is fixed or “limited” by the artist who supervises the printing him (her) self. All additional prints are destroyed.
Monoprint: One-of-a-kind print conceived by the artist and printed by or under the artist’s supervision.
Montage (Collage): An artwork comprising of various existing images such as from photographs or prints, and arranged so that they join, overlap, or blend to create a new image.
Multiple Originals: A set of identical fine prints in which the artist personally conceived the image, created the master plates, and executed or supervised the entire printing process. Example: etching.
Multiple Reproductions: A set of identical prints reproducing the image of an original artwork created by a non-printing process. Example: serigraph of oil on canvas or paper.
Open Edition: A series of prints or objects in an art edition that has an unlimited number of copies.
Original Prints: One-of-a-kind print in which the artist personally conceived the image, created the master plates, and executed the entire printing process.
Provenance: Record of ownership for a work of art, ideally from the time it left the artist’s studio to its present location, thus creating an unbroken ownership history.
Remarque: Small sketch in the margin of an art print or additional enhancement by the artist on some or all of the final prints within an edition.
Restrike: Additional print made from a master plate, block, lithograph stone, etc. after the original edition has been exhausted.
