Printing Processes

Relief Process

One way works uses a wood cut with ink on it and then letting the ink be pressed onto the paper. You use pressure to transfer the ink to the paper. Grain in the wood allows the artist to vary the color/texture. A linoleum cut is similar to a wood cut. The linoleum cut does not dull the tools as much and prints flat black unlike the wood cut.

Wood cut:

1. Tone the block
2. Transfer with iron oxide or carbon paper
3. Choose white line or black line composition
4. Cut
5. Roll ink over the block evenly
6. Press 

Linoleum:

1. Lay out drawing with a marker
2. Cut
3. Roll ink on block
4. Press

Intaglio

This technique involves scratching or moving the plate. The places were it is scratched holds the ink. What you scratch is what is in ink. Etching is Scratching a way ground. In Etching you do not scratch burrs you are scratching an outline to be eaten away by acid.

Dry point

1. Scratch the surface of the plate
2. Add tone with roulette
3. Steel face
4. Wipe plate with ink
5. Lay damp piece of paper on
6. Press with high pressure

Etching

1. Polish and clean plate
2. Apply ground
3. Smoke plate
4. Draw on plate
5. Etch plate
6. Rinse
7. Etch again
8. Rinse again
9. Remove ground
10. Clean plate
11. Wipe plate with ink
12. Lay damp piece of paper on
13. Press with high pressure

lithography

Lithography is stone printing. The artist draws with a greasy material on the stone. If you want to change a piece you can remove the grease with a razor. The first time you press it is just to get the ink into the stone rather than make the final copy. Different tone with the softness of the paper.

1. Draw with a greasy material
2. Chemically treat the stone with gum Arabic, rosin and talc
3. Apply gum Arabic
4. Apply acidified gum Arabic
5. Replace material with new gum Arabic
6. Buff Arabic in
7. Wash
8. Buff
9. Go over with wet and dry towel
10. Apply ink
11. Press
12. repeat last two steps until you get desired results