Printmaking: relief, intaglio, planographic and stencil processes (lino and woodcut, drypoint and etching, monoprint, screenprint); the idea of the matrix and the edition; what each process offers expressively.

What this dot point is asking

Printmaking is a major family of processes that makes images by transferring ink from a prepared surface (the matrix) to paper. This dot point is about the main families (relief, intaglio, planographic, stencil), the named processes within them (lino, woodcut, drypoint, etching, monoprint, screenprint), the ideas of the matrix and the edition, and what each process offers expressively. Exploring print is strong AO2, and its graphic, repeatable qualities suit many themes.

The matrix and the edition

Two ideas underpin all printmaking. The matrix is the prepared surface that carries the image; the edition is the set of prints pulled from it.

The four families

Printmaking divides into four families by how the matrix holds the ink.

• Relief prints from the raised surface. You cut away what you do not want, ink the remaining raised surface, and print it; cut-away areas stay blank. Lino cut and woodcut are relief, giving bold, graphic, hard-edged shapes.
• Intaglio prints from incised lines below the surface. You cut or etch lines, push ink into them, wipe the surface, and the ink in the lines transfers under pressure. Drypoint (scratched lines) and etching (acid-bitten lines) are intaglio, giving fine, linear, often delicate marks.
• Planographic prints from a flat surface, using the resistance of grease and water (lithography), or, more accessibly, the monoprint: painting or rolling ink on a flat plate and pulling one unique, painterly print.
• Stencil pushes ink through a mesh where it is not blocked. Screenprint gives flat, graphic areas of colour, easily layered for multi-colour images.

What each process offers

The expressive choice is which process suits your idea. Relief (lino, woodcut) gives bold, simplified, high-contrast images, good for strong graphic statements. Intaglio (drypoint, etching) gives fine, linear, atmospheric marks, good for delicate or detailed work. Monoprint gives painterly, textured, one-off marks, good for spontaneity and surface. Screenprint gives flat, layered colour, good for bold, repeated, Pop-influenced imagery. Matching the process to the idea is the meaningful decision.

Reduction, layering and colour

Print becomes richer with colour and layering. A reduction lino prints successive colours from one block, cutting away more between each layer. Multi-block printing uses a separate block per colour. Screenprint layers flat colours through successive stencils. Layering and registration (lining up the layers) are part of the craft, and the build-up of layers is itself an AO2 development.

Try this

Q1. Name the four printmaking families and one process in each. [Knowledge recall]

• Cue. Relief (lino cut or woodcut), intaglio (drypoint or etching), planographic (lithography or monoprint), and stencil (screenprint).

Q2. Explain the difference between relief and intaglio printmaking. [Short explanation]

• Cue. Relief prints from the raised surface of the matrix (you cut away what stays blank, ink the raised surface and print it, giving bold cut shapes, as in lino); intaglio prints from incised lines below the surface (you cut or etch lines, push ink into them, wipe the surface and print under pressure, so the lines print, giving fine linear marks, as in drypoint or etching).