PRINTMAKING TERMS BRAYER A small, hand-held rubber roller used to spread printing ink evenly on a surface before printing. RELIEF PRINT A means of making prints by creating a raised design on a flat surface. The design Is inked or covered with color and stamped on paper or another surface. BLOCK In printing, a piece of thick, flat material, with a design on its surface, used to print repeated impressions of that design. Called a PLATE in etching and engraving (metal). PRINT The actual picture the artist makes from a printmaking process. PRINTMAKING The process of designing and producing prints using a printing block, woodcut, etching, lithographic, or screenprinting. INK Coloring material composed of pigment (color) , a binder, and a vehicle. Ink is usually thicker than most paints, and has a slower drying rate. LINOLEUM PRINT A type of relief print in which the image is cut into a piece of linoleum. MONOPRINT (monotype) A print pulled in an edition of one. There is no series of identical prints that are signed and numbered.

Example of a metal and wood printing block from India used to create a repeating pattern for a boarder.

Images are carved into a block of wood or other carvable material And then inked by rolling the ink onto the wood with a brayer. The image is then pressed onto the flat surface to be printed. This may be fabric, paper etc. Elementary students often use simple foam plates or trays for printing blocks.

An example of a student relief print using a soft material, much like the white polymer erasers we use to draw with.

When relief printing it is important to remember that the image on the block will produce a “mirror image”. This is especially important when text or any directional imagery is used. It is also crucial when printing one image on top of another.

In this image the white areas are those that have been carved away. The marks of the carving tool have been left in the negative space behind the tree to add a pattern. These types of marks are typical but not necessary in a woodblock print.

Artists often use unusual materials to print on Artists often use unusual materials to print on. The text in this background adds pattern and implies a second “story” to the image. Sections of a print may be hand colored or a second small block may be created.

Different tools will create different marks so consideration of mark making is an important part of block printing.

Use of positive and negative space with in parts of the print allow the artist to create detail and form in an otherwise flat shape. In this image the small black wood block marks in the background balance the small white marks in the birds and leaves. How will you consider the space in your print? Boarders are often a useful tool to anchor and organize images

Printmakers create editions of a print Printmakers create editions of a print. This means that more than one print of the image is created. Artists may create one of a kind sets of stationary or numbered editions of a work of art .

What part of this image has been carved away and which part is ink? The artist emphasiazes the roundness of the pears by repeating the curving lines. The horizontal lines in the background and edges help to stabilize the image. The tray, by breaking the border frame Pulls the viewer’s eye into the image while reflecting the curved lines in the fruit.

Although this image is created using a simple foam tray, the variety of line thicknesses and directions creates rhythm, texture and depth and creates a fairly sophisticated image.