WHAT IS A HAND MADE PRINT?
by Elizabeth MacDonald

A hand made print is created by the artist who prepares the plate from which the print is printed using a variety of methods depending on the type of print involved. It is not a finished piece of artwork that is copied and printed by mechanical means. A digital print is made on a computer using the computer to create a piece of artwork. Many purchasers of art work buy what they think is a hand made print when what they really buy is a photocopy of a watercolor or oil painting frequently numbered and signed by the artist. Sometimes the signature is a printed one and is valueless as such.

Most prints are printed on dampened paper. The paper is soaked from fifteen minutes to several hours. When ready to print the artist dries the paper between blotters or towels until any wet areas are blotted away. This softens the sizing and makes the paper more receptive to the ink and in the case of intaglio or embossing allows the paper to be actually pressed into the plate. These papers are heavy rag papers like Arches or BFK. Light Japanese rice papers are not dampened usually.

While oil based ink is necessary for lithographs other prints can be done with either oil or water based ink. Water based ink will dry quickly which gives the artist less time to ink the plate, especially in a monotype or any plate using several colors. However the finished print will dry within a day.  Oil based ink can be worked with for several hours before printing but the finished print will take several days to dry completely. In any case the plate must be cleaned thoroughly before storing as dried ink will distort future prints.

Intaglio - Etching, Engraving, Mezzotint

INTAGLIO- The image is cut into the material.

ETCHING-A copper or zinc plate, well polished, is coated on all surfaces with an acid resistant ground (a type of varnish). A sharp tool is used to scratch through the ground in the manner of a pen and ink drawing. The plate is then immersed in the acid bath (usually diluted nitric acid) and watched while the acid eats the metal wherever the scratched lines have been made. If some areas are meant to be lighter than others the plate is removed, rinsed and dried and the area painted with “ stopping out varnish” and the plate is returned to the acid as soon as the varnish is dry. This can be done several times, as the deepest lines will hold the most ink. The plate is then rinsed, dried and the varnish removed. Etching ink is then pressed onto the plated until all areas are covered. Then the ink is wiped off the plate with tarlatan-A stiff gauze fabric, which while cleaning the plate leaves the ink in the etched lines. Wiping the plate is an art in itself-too much wiping creates a pale print and too little a dark muddy print. Further polishing of light areas can be done with a page from an old phone book or unprinted newsprint. The plate is then placed on the bed of the press and the dampened paper over it. The paper picks up the ink from the acid bitten crevices and the finished product is an etching.

DRYPOINT ETCHING-The bare plate is scratched with a sharp tool straight into the plate, which can be copper, zinc or plastic. This is hard work as even a plastic plate is hard to scratch very deeply. In doing this a burr is formed which gives a slightly different quality to the finished print. As the burr wears off in printing the prints will vary a little. The plate is printed as an etching is.

SOFT GROUND ETCHING-The varnish ground is softened with Vaseline and mesh, fabric, string, etc. can be put on the plate-also it can be marked with a pencil, toothpicks, etc.  Then the plate is run through the press to press any items into the ground. The plate is placed into an acid bath like an etching and stopping out varnish can be used. The plate is cleaned, inked and printed as is an etching and the result is a soft ground etching. The resulting images are softer rather than the linear crispness of an etching.

AQUATINT ETCHING- Powdered rosin is sifted evenly onto a clean polished metal plate and is then heated on a hot plate to melt the varnish enough so that it adheres to the plate. Too much heat and it will melt the particles into each other. A similar effect can be had with an aerosol can of spray paint but is never as fine. The plate is put in the acid bath and removed each time that stop out varnish is used to create the image from light to dark areas. There is no line drawing, just wash areas, somewhat like a watercolor painting. The edges of the areas are burnished by rubbing with a metal tool to blend them. The cleaning, inking, wiping and printing are the same as an etching.

COLOR and COLORED ETCHINGS-A color etching has the color inked into the plate with colored etching inks. It can be done by each color being applied separately to the plate and carefully wiped or with a separate plate for each color requiring very careful registration for printing each plate on to one piece of prepared paper. Either method is time consuming and requires endless patience. A colored etching is an etching printed in the usual way that later has color added to it with paint or perhaps pastel. It’s a quick and easy way to color an etching but is not an integral part of the print.

ENGRAVING-An engraving tool is used to cut a line into a plate. The cut is very cleanly made without any burr and without the slight roughness of acid biting. It is difficult and nerve-wracking work that requires precision and patience and the tools must be constantly sharpened. The deeper cuts are darker as they hold more ink and as the tools are apt to slip many an error has to be burnished out (rubbed with a metal tool) before proceeding.

MEZZOTINT-Special expensive tools are used in “rocking” across the plate vertically, horizontally, and both diagonals. When the surface is completely scored, which may take a day or so, and then the design image is carefully burnished erasing the scored surface. The plate is inked, wiped and printed as in an etching. The result is a rich velvety black with soft edges to the light image.

Any of the above ways of making an etching can be used in combinations to achieve very unique and interesting handmade intaglio prints.

Lithography - Stone, Zinc, Paper

LITHOGRAPHY-Since oil and water do not mix-if the plate is kept wet and the design has been done in oil, the wet plate can be inked in oil ink and printed on prepared paper.

STONE LITHOGRAPH- Lithograph translates to “Stone print” and all were originally done on specially prepared stones. The stones are heavy and expensive coming from Germany. The design is drawn on a stone with a grease crayon or painted with a grease base ink. When finished it is treated and cleaned looking like a blank stone. However the design is there and while the stone is kept wet the ink is applied with a brayer. The oil base ink adheres only to the design area and is printed on a special press. Separate stones are used for separate colors.

ZINC PLATE LITHOGRAPHY-A specially treated zinc plate is used much as a stone, but is cheaper and easier to handle. The fine shading achieved on a stone is not quite as perfect.

PAPER LITHOGRAPHY-A paper printed from a copy machine such as a Xerox has an oil base toner (computer ink is water based and will not work). Since wet paper is fragile the paper is sprayed with water and flattened onto a plastic plate. In order to keep the paper wet it is coated with liquid gum Arabic purchased in any art supply store. A small amount is spread on the wet paper and allowed to rest about five or ten minutes. Then more water is sprayed on the paper and the ink is applied. Ordinary oil paint works well as the ink must be soft since the wet paper is fragile. A few drops of linseed oil helps. Paint that is too stiff will tear the paper and if too soft will result in a pale print. The color is applied with a brayer and washed off. This step is repeated two or three times and then excess water is gently blotted off and the plate is ready to print on prepared dampened paper. An etching press works well. Any color or combination of colors can be used, but only applied with a brayer on very wet paper. The Xerox print can be constructed from anything-pen and ink drawing, a photo, cut outs, feathers, just about anything you can copy. The size is limited by the copy machine paper.

Monoprinting, Stencils, Miscellaneous/Experimental

MONOTYPE-A plastic plate has paint applied to it with brush, sponge, brayer, etc. Any color or design can be used. Feathers, lace, string, etc. can be placed on the paint colored or not and paint on the plate can be manipulated with fingers, Q-tips, credit cards, etc. Thick paint will slide off in printing and too thin paint will dry out and not print. The plate is placed on an etching press and the dampened paper on top. After the print is made a second print can be made from the same plate, but they will look very different. Before cleaning the plate the design can be manipulated with added paint, etc., but you still get one of a kind. The second print is often referred to as a ghost

STENCILS-Cut out pieces of card stock can be inked, arranged on prepared paper and printed either on a press or by hand.

MISCELLANEOUS PRINTING-Any natural or household item can have paint or ink applied to it and then be pressed onto paper in any number of combinations resulting in some very interesting prints. While almost anything can be printed by applying pressure to an inked surface it is important to use archival papers and inks or paints. It’s very sad to see a fine etching crumbling away because of a piece of paper turning brown and crisp with age while next to it is a print in perfect condition after two hundred years all because a good rag paper was used.

Relief Printing - Woodcuts & Engravings, Linoleum, Colograph, Embossing

RELIEF PRINTS-The design remains on the surface and the unnecessary parts are cut away.

WOOD CUTS-A piece of wood is carved with wood carving tools and the remaining surface is inked with a brayer. Often the grain of the wood is incorporated into the pattern. It can be printed on a press or by hand rubbing with a barren or wooden spoon, etc. More than one color can be used, but more often a separate wood block is used for each color. Either oil based or water based ink can be used and a variety of different papers.

WOOD ENGRAVING-The wood used has no grain as the blocks are made with the grain on the vertical. The end of the block is carved and fine detail can be achieved.  Separate blocks are usually used for more than one color.

REDUCTION WOOD ENGRAVING-All the colors of a design are left on the block and the whole block is inked in the lightest color. More than as many prints as needed are made of that color. Then the part of the block that is that color is cut away and the next color is printed. This is repeated for each color cutting the color away after each set of prints. Precise registration is very important. In the end the block is destroyed and if fifty prints were made to begin with, perhaps thirty-five or forty might be useful.

LINOLEUM and SOFT PLASTIC-These plates are carved with special tools and are softer and easier to work with and have no grain. More than one color can be inked on one block or separate blocks can be carved for each color. The printing can be done with a press or by rubbing. Do not rub damp paper. Various papers can be used.

COLLOGRAPH-Similar to a relief print, instead of carving the plate, the image is built up on the plate. The base plate can be cardboard, plastic, metal, wood or anything available. Then the design is made up of cut out paper, card stock, fabric, string, netting, lace, feathers, drizzled and dried glue, etc. When everything is glued down and dry the whole plate is sprayed with spray paint or varnish so that the plate can later be cleaned. Then the plate is inked with one or more colors, either water base or oil, and printed as a woodcut. The plate can be inked in various ways many times and cleaned for storage.

EMBOSSING-A plate with a raised design somewhat like a collograph is printed on heavy prepared paper using no ink. Displayed with good lighting the embossed design can be very effective.

Screenprinting/Serigraphy

SCREEN PRINTING- In essence a stencil with the silk mesh holding the stencils parts in place. A piece of silk mesh fabric is stretched onto a wooden frame. The frame is hinged on one side to a base. A drawing is placed under the silk and any part of the silk that is not the color to be printed is out with a glue, lacquer or a photo process. The bare silk that is not painted out will allow the paint to be squeezed through the silk. After drying the paper to be printed is put in place. If more than one color will be used in the print the placement of the paper is critical. The paint is placed on one end of the screen and dragged across the silk with a rubber squeegee. The frame is lifted enough to remove the paper and replace it with the next piece and the paint is dragged back again and so on until the full number of prints are made. The printing is very fast-a minute or so per print. The set up of the image on the screen takes a good bit of careful planning. The screen is then cleaned of the paint and the stencil removed and the stencil for the next color is put on the screen. Many different colors can be combined on one print and the stencil can be done in a painterly way or a crisp cut out stencil or with photography. Either water base or oil base paint can be used. Wherever the silk is left bare the paint will go through and print