Printmaking Terminology

Why This Matters

Printmaking sits at the intersection of technical craft and artistic expression, and AP Art History exams expect you to understand not just what these techniques look like, but how they work and why artists choose one method over another. When you encounter a print on the exam, you're being tested on your ability to identify the technique from visual clues—the characteristic soft burr of a drypoint, the bold graphic quality of a woodcut, or the smooth tonal gradations of an aquatint. These distinctions matter because they reveal artistic intent and historical context.

The terminology in this guide breaks down into three essential categories: printing methods (how ink meets paper), tools and materials (what artists physically work with), and studio vocabulary (the language of editions, proofs, and production). Don't just memorize definitions—know what visual qualities each technique produces and why an artist might choose etching over engraving, or lithography over relief. That conceptual understanding is what separates a 4 from a 5.

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Printing Methods: Where the Ink Lives

The fundamental distinction in printmaking comes down to one question: where does the ink sit on the matrix? This determines everything about the technique's visual character and the artist's working process.

Intaglio

• Ink sits in grooves below the surface—the plate is wiped clean, leaving ink only in incised lines and textures
• Requires enormous pressure from a press to force dampened paper into the grooves to pick up ink
• Produces a distinctive plate mark—the embossed edge where the plate pressed into the paper, a key identification clue on exams

Relief

• Ink sits on raised surfaces—everything carved away prints white, everything left standing prints black
• Oldest printmaking method, with origins in East Asian woodblock printing centuries before Gutenberg
• Characterized by bold contrasts and graphic clarity; the resistance of the material shapes the aesthetic

Lithography

• Ink sits on a flat surface—a planographic technique based on the principle that oil and water don't mix
• Artist draws directly with greasy materials (craite, tusche) on limestone or specially prepared metal plates
• Allows for painterly, tonal effects impossible in relief or intaglio; revolutionized poster art and commercial printing

Screen Printing

• Ink is pushed through a mesh stencil—areas blocked by the stencil remain unprinted
• Each color requires a separate screen, making registration critical for multi-color works
• Favored for flat, graphic color fields—think Warhol's Marilyns or commercial poster production

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Intaglio Techniques: Variations in Mark-Making

All intaglio methods share the same basic principle—ink in grooves, wiped surface—but how those grooves are created produces dramatically different line qualities and textures.

Etching

• Acid does the cutting—the artist scratches through a waxy ground to expose metal, then submerges the plate in acid
• Allows for fluid, spontaneous drawing since the artist works on soft ground, not resistant metal
• Line quality is consistent and controlled—depth depends on how long the plate sits in the acid bath

Drypoint

• Artist scratches directly into the plate with a sharp needle, raising a characteristic burr (metal shavings) along the line
• Burr holds extra ink, creating soft, velvety lines unlike any other technique
• Limited editions only—the delicate burr wears down quickly under press pressure, making early impressions most prized

Aquatint

• Creates tonal areas, not lines—powdered rosin is melted onto the plate, and acid bites around each grain
• Produces effects resembling watercolor washes—essential for artists wanting value gradations
• Usually combined with etching to add line work to tonal areas; Goya's Los Caprichos is the canonical example

Engraving

• Artist cuts directly into metal using a burin, a specialized tool that removes a curl of metal
• Produces crisp, precise lines with characteristic swelling and tapering as pressure varies
• Extremely labor-intensive—historically used for currency and formal reproductions where precision mattered

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Relief Techniques: Carving the Negative Space

In relief printing, what you carve away disappears. The artist must think in reverse, removing everything that should remain white while preserving the image as raised surfaces.

Woodcut

• Carved from the plank side of wood—the grain influences and sometimes resists the artist's cuts
• Bold, expressive lines result from working with (or against) the wood's natural structure
• Associated with German Expressionism and early book illustration; Dürer's woodcuts remain technical marvels

Linocut

• Carved from linoleum, which has no grain and cuts equally in all directions
• Easier to achieve smooth curves and fine details than woodcut; favored by Matisse and Picasso
• Same printing process as woodcut—the distinction is material, not method

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Tools and Materials: The Physical Vocabulary

Understanding what artists physically handle helps you visualize the process—and occasionally, exam questions test whether you know a brayer from a burnisher.

Matrix

• The master surface from which prints are pulled—plate, block, stone, or screen depending on technique
• Holds the image in reverse; everything prints as a mirror image
• Can produce multiple impressions until it wears out, distinguishing prints from unique works

Plate

• Specifically the metal or plastic surface used in intaglio and some lithographic processes
• Material matters—copper holds fine detail, zinc is cheaper, aluminum works for lithography
• Leaves a plate mark when run through the press, embossing the paper's surface

Brayer

• A roller for applying ink evenly across relief surfaces or lithographic stones
• Essential for consistent coverage—uneven inking ruins a print
• Available in various hardnesses; soft brayers for textured surfaces, hard for smooth, even coverage

Burnisher

• A smooth, rounded tool for rubbing the back of paper to transfer ink by hand
• Used when a press isn't available or for small-scale, intimate printing
• Also used in intaglio to smooth areas of the plate, reducing ink retention

Press

• The machine that applies pressure to transfer ink from matrix to paper
• Different types for different techniques—etching presses use rollers, lithography presses use a scraper bar
• Pressure is calibrated precisely; too little leaves a weak impression, too much damages the matrix

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Studio Vocabulary: Editions and Production

These terms describe the output of printmaking—how prints are numbered, categorized, and authenticated. Expect these on any question about print collecting or artistic practice.

Edition

• The total number of identical prints pulled from a single matrix
• Numbered as fractions (e.g., 15/50 means the 15th print in an edition of 50)
• Limited editions increase value; the matrix is often destroyed or marked after the edition is complete

Proof

• A test print made before the final edition—used to check quality and make adjustments
• Artist's proofs (A/P) are kept by the artist, outside the numbered edition
• Trial proofs and state proofs document the work's evolution; historically significant for studying artistic process

Registration

• The alignment of multiple colors or passes through the press
• Critical for multi-color prints—misregistration creates blurry or offset images
• Achieved through registration marks, small guides that ensure each layer lands precisely

Monoprint

• A hybrid technique producing a unique image with each impression
• Uses printmaking tools and processes but yields one-of-a-kind results, unlike editioned prints
• Allows for spontaneity and experimentation—each pull is unrepeatable

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Both etching and drypoint are intaglio techniques—what is the key difference in how the lines are created, and how does this affect the visual quality of each?

2. If you see a print with soft, velvety lines that seem to fade in later impressions, which technique was likely used, and why does this degradation occur?

3. Compare woodcut and linocut: what visual evidence would help you distinguish between them on an exam?

4. An FRQ asks you to explain why lithography revolutionized artistic printmaking in the 19th century. What technical capability does lithography offer that relief and intaglio cannot?

5. What is the difference between an edition and a monoprint, and how does this distinction relate to printmaking's historical role as a "democratic" art form?