1. PRINT-BASED MEDIA
Different Forms and Techniques

2. ETCHING
INTAGLIO
LINOCUT
SCREEN PRINTING
WOODCUT
LITHOGRAPHY
HAND PRINTING
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3. ETCHING
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the
unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio the
metal (the original process—in modern manufacturing other chemicals
may be used on other types of material). As an intaglio method of
printing, it is, along with engraving, the most important traditional
method of printing that remains in use today.
The process of etching involves a metal plate being covered with a waxy,
acid-resistant substance, or ground. The artist then scratches off the
ground with a pointed etching needle where he wants a line to appear in
the finished piece, so exposing the bare metal. The plate is then dipped in
a bath of acid or has acid washed over it. The acid bites into the metal
where it is exposed, leaving behind lines sunk into the plate.
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4. INTAGLIO
Intaglio is the process of printmaking in which an image is cut, or incised
into a surface, known as the matrix or plate. To print an intaglio plate, ink
is applied to the surface then rubbed away with a cloth to remove most
of the excess. The final smooth wipe is often done with newspaper or old
public phone book pages, leaving ink only in the incisions. A damp piece
of paper is placed on top and the plate and paper are run through a
printing press that, through pressure, transfers the ink from the recesses
of the plate to the paper.
Intaglio techniques are often combined on a plate. For example,
Rembrandt's prints are referred to as "etchings" for convenience, but
very often they have engraving and drypoint work as well, and sometimes
no actual etching at all.
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5. LINOCUT
Linocut is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut, in which a sheet
of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for the
relief surface. A design is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife,
V-shaped chisel or gouge, with the raised (uncarved) areas representing a
reversal (mirror image) of the parts to show printed.
The linoleum sheet is inked with a roller (called a brayer), and then
impressed onto paper or fabric. The actual printing can be done by hand
or with a press. Due to ease of use, linocut is widely used in schools to
introduce children to the art of printmaking; similarly, non-professional
artists often cut lino rather than wood for printing. In the modern day art
world however, after the input of Picasso and Henri Matisse, the linocut
is an established professional print medium.
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6. SCREEN PRINTING
Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support
an ink-blocking stencil. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh
that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed
through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate. A roller or
squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing or pumping ink past
the threads of the woven mesh in the open areas.
Screen printing is also a stencil method of print making in which a design is
imposed on a screen of silk or other fine mesh, with blank areas coated
with an impermeable substance, and ink is forced through the mesh onto
the printing surface. It is also known as silkscreen, serigraphy, and
serigraph printing.
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7. WOODCUT
Woodcut is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an
image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing
parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are
removed, typically with gouges.
The areas to show 'white' are cut away with a knife or chisel, leaving the
characters or image to show in 'black' at the original surface level. The
block is cut along the grain of the wood (unlike wood engraving where
the block is cut in the end-grain).
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8. LITHOGRAPHY
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone (lithographic limestone)
or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface. It makes use of simple
chemical processes to print text or images on to paper or other suitable
materials.
The positive part of an image is a hydrophobic, or "water hating" substance,
while the negative image would be hydrophilic or "water loving". Thus,
when the plate is introduced to a compatible printing ink and water
mixture, the ink will adhere to the positive image and the water will clean
the negative image.
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9. LETTERPRESS
GRAVURE
SCREEN PROCESS
MECHANICAL
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10. LETTERPRESS
Letterpress printing is relief printing of text and image using a press with a
"type-high bed" printing press and movable type, in which a reversed,
raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a
positive right-reading image. It was the normal form of printing text from
its invention in the mid-15th Century until the 19th Century, and remained
in wide use for books until the 20th Century. In addition to the direct
impression of inked movable type onto paper or another receptive
surface, letterpress is also the direct impression of inked printmaking
blocks such as photo-etched zinc "cuts" (plates), linoleum blocks, wood
engravings, etc., using such a press.
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11. GRAVURE
Gravure (also known as rotogravure or roto) is a type of intaglio printing
process that involves engraving the image onto an image carrier. In
gravure printing, the image is engraved onto a copper cylinder because,
like offset and flexography, it uses a rotary printing press. The vast
majority of gravure presses print on rolls (also known as webs) of paper,
rather than sheets of paper.
Once a staple of newspaper photo features, the rotogravure process is still
used for commercial printing of magazines, postcards, and corrugated
(cardboard) product packaging. Because gravure is capable of transferring
more ink to the paper than other printing processes, it is noted for its
remarkable density range (light to shadow) and hence is a process of
choice for fine art and photography reproduction.
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12. SCREEN PROCESS
Screen process, similar to screen printing, is another method of printing in
which ink is forced through a opening in a stencil. After paper is placed
under the printing screen, ink with a paint-like consistency is applied to
the stencil. Finally, the ink is spread and forced through stencil openings
onto the paper below the screen. This is done by pulling a rubber
squeegee over the screen.
Screen-process printing developed rapidly during the early twentieth
century. A wide variety of stencil materials has surfaced over the years.
Today, just about any surface of any shape or size can be printed using
screen-process methods.
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13. PHOTOCOPYING
LASER PRINTING
INKJET
DESKTOP PUBLISHING
DIGITAL SCREEN PRINTING
DIGITAL
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14. PHOTOCOPYING
Photocopying is a mechanical process that makes paper copies of
documents and other visual images quickly and cheaply. Most current
photocopiers use a technology called xerography, a dry process using
heat. (Copiers can also use other technologies such as ink jet, but
xerography is standard for office copying.)
While photocopying is widely used for business, education, and government
purposes, there have been many predictions that photocopiers will
eventually become obsolete, as companies continue to increase their
digital document creation and distribution, and rely less on distributing
actual pieces of paper.
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15. LASER PRINTING
Laser printing is a common type of computer printing process that rapidly
produces high quality text and graphics on plain paper. As with digital
photocopiers and multifunction printers, laser printers employ a
xerographic printing process but differ from analogue photocopiers in
that the image is produced by the direct scanning of a laser beam across
the printer's photoreceptor.
In laser printing, a laser beam projects an image of the page to be printed
onto an electrically charged rotating drum. Photoconductivity allows
charge to leak away from the areas exposed to light. Dry ink (toner)
particles are then electrostatically picked up by the drum's charged areas,
which have not been exposed to light. The drum then prints the image
onto paper by direct contact and heat, which fuses the ink to the paper.
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16. INKJET
Inkjet printing is a type of computer printing that creates a digital image by
propelling variable-sized droplets of ink onto paper. The ink can be
applied to the paper through various means which differ between the
models of inkjet printer, for example, thermal and piezoelectric inkjet.
Inkjet printers are the most commonly used type of printer and range
from inexpensive consumer models to large professional machines.
There are two main technologies in use in modern inkjet printers,
continuous and drop-on-demand, which is further split into thermal and
piezoelectric. In continuous inkjet technology, a high-pressure pump
directs liquid ink from a reservoir through a microscopic nozzle, creating a
continuous stream of ink droplets. In both thermal and piezoelectric
drop-on-demand, droplets of ink are propelled onto the paper by a pulse.
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17. DESKTOP PUBLISHING
Desktop publishing (also known as DTP) combines a personal computer and
WYSIWYG (acronym for “what you see is what you get”) page layout
software to create publication documents on a computer for either large
scale publishing or small scale local multifunction peripheral output and
distribution.
The term "desktop publishing" is commonly used to describe page layout
skills. However, the skills and software are not limited to paper and book
publishing. The same skills and software are often used to create graphics
for point of sale displays, promotional items, trade show exhibits, retail
package designs and outdoor signs.
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18. DIGITAL SCREEN PRINTING
Digital screen printing is a method of screen printing (a printing technique
that uses woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil) that can be
carried out by digital means. While traditionally processes such as
garment decoration have relied on screen printing for printing designs on
garments including t-shirts, recently new methods and technologies have
become available to make this task easier and more affordable. For
example, printing directly onto garments can be done through digital
screen printing using modified consumer-quality and task-specific
designed inkjet printers to streamline the process.
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19. Etching
Intaglio
Linocut
Screen Printing
Woodcut
Lithography
Letterpress
Gravure
Photocopying
Laser Printing
Inkjet
Desktop Publishing
REFERENCES
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