Monotype

A monotype print is a unique singular image pulled from one or multiple unaltered plates. The process is plonographic, meaning that the image is pulled from a flat unaltered surface. Different plates can be utilized. I use acrylic plates but metal or glass can also be used. I use multiple plates that can be inked independently. Ink is applied to each plate in various creative methods.

One method is to apply ink directly to the plate as if painting on canvass. The resulting image has a more painterly quality to it. The subtractive method is accomplished by inking the plate with usually a darker ink then removing the inks with rags, brushes, or solvents to "bring up" the image from tha dark field. Other techniques too numerous to mention can be employed by the individual artist and then run through a press to transfer the ink to the surface of dampened paper. Since there is no plate alteration that maintains a consistent mark the monotype image is unique and can not be replicated exactly. Ghost images can be produced from the remaining ink residue, but the image is generally a lighter impression. There are as many techniques to making a monotype as there are artists making them. Each artist's approach is independently unique and creative.

My monotypes are created using multiple plates to develop a layering of colors.

I prefer is to use the subtractive method. The key image, usually the darkest ink, is printed last and defines the shapes in color.

Each print is pulled by hand using a manual press, printed on cotton rag acid free paper and is matted using archival materials.

Monoprint

A monoprint is a sigular image like the monotype, the difference is that in a monoprint there is an element that is consistent, that it is repeatable. Example: if the printer uses a plate that has a permanent mark within it, the mark can be printed repeatedly while the rest of the plate can be inked and manipulated in various manners with each print.

I may use a relief print directly to the paper to be printed or print directly on the plate with the relief block. The image can then be worked around , over or otherwise added to for the final printed image.

Intaglio Print

The technique of intaglio (in-tal'-yo) printmaking is done using many methods and techniques. The image may be scratched into the surface of a metal or plastic plate such as in dry point, or engraved into the surface with burins, or etched into the plates surface with acid.

The lines, pits or grooves in the plates surface are then wiped with ink forcing the ink into the recesses. Excess ink is removed from the surface with tarletan rags. When the plate is cleaned of ink except for in the lines, damp paper is placed over the plate. The plate is passed through an intaglio press under extreme pressure to transfer the ink from the lines to the paper. This process is repeated to create an edition of the plates image.

Solar Plate printing is done from a metal plate that has a photopolymer emulsion surface. The image is exposed to the plate via a positive image transparency. The image may be drawn directly to the mylar or acetate sheet then placed image side down to the solar plate's emulsion to be exposed to UV light. (sunlight or ultra violet bulbs) Drawing directly on the solar plate is also possible. Using the transparency method enables you to re-expose the original image if there is a problem with the first exposure. After the plate is exposed the un-exposed areas are washed out with water. These are the image areas. These "etched" areas are what hold the ink and produce the image when run through the press.

I was introduced to the method by Herb Jackson a prominent painter and printmaker at Davidson College in North Carolina after printing solar plate editions for him.

I have found that the medium offers me the flexability of mark making much like the monotype images I make. The only drawback is that the plates can not be re-worked easily once they are exposed. The advantage of this process is that there are no chemicals used, no acid and if you use water based inkes no harmful solvents, just tap water.

The images Flying Low, The Exit, and Captives Wandering found on the Art Gallery page are solar plate etchings.

Relief Printing

A relief print is cut primarily from wood and linoleum blocks. The artist will draw directly or transfer an image to the blocks surface. The drawn image lines will remain and the surrounding areas of the block will be cut away leaving the image area in relief. It is this surface that will receive ink from a brayer. When paper is placed over the inked surface and pressure is applied the image is transferred to the paper.

A fingerprint is a relief print.

Woodcuts may be made from most soft wood planks. Clear pine works well. I have even used birch ply and poplar wood. Some artists like to incorporate a knot or the grain of the wood into their imagery. Wood engraving is done from the end grain of a harder wood like maple, boxwood, apple or pear. The tighter end grain provides a more precise cut allowing the artist the ability to cut finer lines and detail.
Artists that use linoleum as a printing matrix are able to cut more easily due to the lack of wood grain.
To achieve multiple colors in a relief print you can cut multiple blocks that are identical in size and register each block with a new color precisely with the paper for each color run. The reduction method uses just one block. After each color run, that color area is cut away for the next color run. This is done for every color in multi-color printing. Reduction printing requires the artist to have a clear idea about the colors to be used and the sequence of printing the color runs.The number of the edition varies depending on the printing medium (wood, linoleum) and the cut. Softer woods like pine break down quicker as does linoleum. Through the printing process the edges may break down diminishing the crispness of the image. Wood engravings yiels a larger edition due to the hardness of the wood and the end grain cutting.

My releif editions on wood and linoleum are generally 25 or fewer.

Lithography

Lithography is a planographic process. The image is created and printed from the surface of a prepared limestone slab (the traditional method) or the more modern medium, using a ball ground aluminum plate.

Bavarian limestone is considered the best medium to produce art lithographs from. Limestone is made up of minute animal crystal fossils. The process is very complicated. After the stone is leveled by grinding it down with a fine grit using a levigator the image can be created. Essentially the process is thus: the stones surface is drawn upon with a greasy substance such as a litho crayon. The fats in the grease are embedded into the surface of the stone and then treated chemically so that the grease crystallizes into the surface. These areas will always attract more grease which what inks are. The process also desensitizes non-image areas so that as long as those areas remain wet they will not take ink.

Large editions are possible with lithography. This is what made it such a popular medium in the nineteenth century and even today commercially. As long as the stone is kept free of faults editions of five hundred are not uncommon. Most artists and ateliers will not print a larger edition.

Color printing requires multiple plates or stones or a combination of. There are some tricks to get more than one color on a stone or plate though.