Glossary of Printmaking Terms
Taken from:
www.columbus.k12.nc.us/echsart/PRINTMAKING%20TERMS.pdf
BRAYER
A small, hand-held rubber roller used to spread printing ink evenly on
a surface before printing.
BAREN
A round, smooth pad, either flat or slightly convex, used to press
paper against an inked wood or linoleum block to lift an impression from the block.
RELIEF PRINT
A means of making prints by creating a raised design on a flat surface.The design
is inked or covered with color and stamped on paper or another surface.
BENCH HOOK
A metal or wooden plate with a raised edge on each end (opposite sides) to hold
A woodcut or linocut in place on a table while cutting.
BLOCK
In printing, a piece of thick, flat material, with a design on its surface,
used to print repeated impressions of that design. Called a
PLATE
in etching and engraving (metal).
PRINT
The actual picture the artist makes from a printmaking process.
PRINTING PRESS
A device used by a fine art printmaker to produce prints one copy at a
time. It applies pressure between a sheet of paperand an inked printing plate.
Presses for intaglio printing apply considerable pressure as they force the
paper and plate between a roller and a flat bed, thus squeezing the paper into the
inked grooves of the plate.
PRINTMAKING
The process of designing and producing prints using a printing block,
woodcut,etching, lithographic, or screenprinting.
ARTIST’S PROOF
One of a small group of prints set aside from the edition for the artist’s
use.
COLLAGRAPH
A print made from an image built up with glue and sometimes other
materials.
EDITION
A set of identical prints, that are numbered and signed. This set of
prints have been pulled by or under the supervision of the artist and are authorized for
distribution.
GOUGE
In relief printing, a tool for clearing non-image areas from a block of
wood or linoleum.
BURIN
An engraver’s tool with a steel shaft and a sharp, oblique point at one
end and a handle at the other. A burin cuts into a metal plate by being pushed forward rather
than being drawn toward the artist.
IMPRESSION NUMBER
The number of a print in an edition. The first three prints in an edition
10 would be 1/10, 2/10, 3/10 etc.
INK
Coloring material composed of pigment (color) , a binder, and a
vehicle. Ink is usually thicker than most paints, and has a slower drying rate.
LINOLEUM PRINT
A type of relief print in which the image is cut into a piece of linoleum.
REGISTRATION
Adjustment of separate plates, blocks, screens or paper in color
printing to ensure correct alignment of the colors.
RELIEF
Printmaking technique in which the image is printed from a raised
surface, usually produced by cutting away non-image material.
STENCIL
A printing process by which areas are blocked out to keep ink from
non-image areas.
TRIAL PRINT
A proof pulled from a block, plate, or stone to check the appearance of
the image to make sure it is all right before making the edition. After a critical or
important change is made on a plate, it is necessary to see what has been done
before going to the next step; checking to see if a change was successful.(PROOFING)