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What is the difference between a print and a poster?
A multiple original print is a limited-edition artwork that has been
created specifically for a chosen print medium (such as etching,
lithography, or woodcut). The artist's signature plus the image and
edition numbers on a print indicate that the artist has been personally
involved in its creation. Prints are produced through hands-on,
labor-intensive techniques to create rich surface textures, vibrant
colors, and a striking physical presence. Posters are created by
reproduction processes, often in unlimited numbers — although some
are "editioned" and "numbered" — we've seen as
many as 1000. Posters have uniformly slick surfaces and flat colors.
Even though a poster may have a signature on it, posters do not usually
have any value as a fine art print. Literally and figuratively, fine
art printmakers make an impression that cannot be duplicated by a
poster.
The printmaking basics are covered in kindergarten
If you ever made a stamp in elementary school from a potato section or
an eraser — or if you've ever been fingerprinted —
you're already familiar with the basic concepts of printmaking.
Printmaking is any process by which an image is transferred from a
matrix. A matrix is any surface that will take and hold an image.
Artists traditionally create images on matrices (also known as plates)
of wood for woodcuts, metal for etchings, and stone for lithographs.
Other matrices are made of glass and plexiglass (for monoprints),
linoleum (for linocuts), and screens (for screenprints). Artists
usually work with matrices that are soft enough to be carved and
permeable enough to hold ink, yet durable enough to withstand the
pressures of the printing process. Once an artist has created an image
on a matrix, the matrix must be inked. Then, the image can be
transferred to paper by hand or with a press (shown here).
In recent years, iris prints or giclées have become increasingly
popular in printmaking for the artist and master printer can achieve
rich, vibrant colors on multiple surfaces, including canvas. Iris
prints are created using the Iris printer which sprays four million
droplets per second of cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink to produce
an image. In the hands of a trained printmaker, the resulting image
is of extremely high-quality, retaining color and depth exactly as the
artist had envisioned. In addition to the high quality images, the Iris
printer also allows printmakers and artists to print on a wide variety
of surfaces, including canvas, Japanese rice papers, and mylar.
Making an impression
Prints are usually created on paper, but artists also print on bark,
leaves, cloth or any other material that is absorbent enough to hold
the inked image. Another term used to describe the object produced by
a printmaking process is an impression, because the image is
transferred by pressing the matrix onto the paper (or other printable
surface).
Myriad methods
There are four traditional printmaking techniques, in chronological
order of development: woodcut, engraving, etching, and lithography.
Screenprinting was developed as a process of commercial illustration
in the early part of the 20th century, and wasn't fully appreciated
as a fine art method until just before World War II. Monotypes have
been made since the mid-16th century, but they were not widespread
until the middle of the 20th century. Some artists combine multiple
printmaking methods to create an image, and some rework single
impressions from an edition to create monoprints. The visual and
textural effects that can be achieved with printmaking are truly
limitless.
The many possibilities of printmaking
Select Making a Print to learn more about
why and how artists make prints, or select any of the printmaking
methods listed here in order of historical development to learn more
about it.
Next: Making a Print — How to make a print
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