Printmaking Processes

Woodcut

Woodcut is one of the oldest forms of relief printing, in which the printed image is created in positive from raised areas on the matrix (the printing surface), akin to a stamp. I begin by drawing or transferring an image onto panels of plywood, then I use specialized tools to carve away the wood around the drawing. This removes the negative space and leaves the drawn image level with the surface of the wood. Ink is then rolled onto the surface of the block with a rubber brayer or roller, and transfered to paper using a printing press. Multiple colors can be achieved by carving additional blocks and layering the prints on the same sheet of paper.

Mokuhanga

Mokuhanga (meaning "woodblock") is a traditional Japanese relief printing technique making use of water-based inks. I carve the block in the same manner as a woodcut. The ink (goauche and watercolor pigment can also be used) is daubed onto the matrix with a hard bristle brush, and then transferred to the paper by hand using a flat tool called a baren to exert pressure on the back of the paper. The best papers for this process are lightweight but strong washi papers made from bark fibers, and are still manufactured with traditional methods in East Asia.

Linocut

Very similar to the woodcut process, linocuts are a kind of relief print made with a sheet of soft linoleum. Ink is rolled onto the block, and the print is transferred with a press or by hand. Unlike wood, which will always transfer some of its grain pattern into the print, linoleum creates a very smooth, even tone.

Drypoint

Drypoint is a type of intaglio technique (in this family of printmaking techniques the incised areas of the matrix hold the ink, as opposed to relief printing where the raised areas produce the image) where a scribing tool (called a needle) is used to scratch the surface of a plate and create an image. Copper plates are the traditional matrix, but acrylic (plexiglas) can also be used. The needle produces divots in the plate and also throws up a burr, the size of which affects the texture of the line. Ink is then daubed onto the plate, and the excess is wiped off with a cloth. A press is used to transfer the image to paper. Drypoint plates wear out over successive prints because the printing process flattens the burr, so shorter editions are common with this technique.

Lithography

Lithography is an industrial-era printing technique which takes advantage of the antipathy between grease and water, based on chemical alterations to the matrix. Traditionally, the matrix is fine-grained limestone, but ball-ground aluminum plates can also be used with a similar process. An image is first drawn onto the stone with oil-based materials, such as grease pencil, litho crayons, or touche. Next, the unproected areas of the matrix are etched with a nitric acid bath, making them hydrophilic in contrast to the hydrophobic greasy drawing. When the matrix is sponged with clean water before rolling on a layer of oil-based ink, the water adheres in a thin film to the etched areas, forcing the ink to remain in the areas where the drawing was made. A motorized press is then used to transfer the image to paper. Lithography is prized for the high level of detail reproduction in the prints and the longevity of the matrix. Many prints of a single drawing can be pulled with little degradation of the image, and the stone can be resurfaced and reused many times.

Foil Lithography

Also known as "kitchen lithography", this process is an adaptation of lithography that utilizes accessible, nontoxic materials for home studio work. The matrix I use in this case is a clean piece of aluminum foil, smoothed and mounted on a plastic backing plate. An image is drawn on the surface of the foil in the same manner as traditional lithography, then a weak acid (I use a carbonated soft drink) is applied to the plate to etch the unprotected areas. As with traditional lithography, a very fine level of detail can be transferred to paper, but a large motorized press is not needed. My foil lithographs are hand printed with a baren in the same manner as mokuhanga printing.