Fallbrook School of the Arts

the art or technique of making prints, esp. as practiced in engraving, etching, drypoint, woodcut or serigraphy.

 

Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper.  Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable of producing multiples of the same piece, which is called a 'print'. Each piece produced is not a copy but considered an original since it is not a reproduction of another work of art and is technically (more correctly) known as an 'impression'.

Prints are created from a single original surface, known technically as a matrix. Common types of matrices include: plates of metal, usually copper or zinc for engraving or etching; stone, used for lithography; blocks of wood for woodcuts, linoleum for linocuts and fabric plates for screen-printing.

Works printed from a single plate create an edition, in modern times usually each signed and numbered to form a limited edition.