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Acid
Resist A substance applied
to the etching plate that prevents the biting action of acid on areas
covered. top A la Poupee An intaglio technique for printing multiple colors at one time form a single plate by applying each color with a separate folded felt or pad. top Aquatint An etching plate treated with porous ground of rosin, then heated, cooled, and etched. Leaving a distribution of tone where the acid has bitten between the grains of rosin. The aquatint process can be used to produce a range of tones. top Artist's Proofs (A.P.) Proofs printed specially for the artist and excluded from the numbering of an edition. They are sometimes numbered differently to distinguish them from the edition. For instance, when the edition is numbered in Arabic numerals, the artist's proofs may be numbered in Roman numerals. top Bath In etchings, an acid-resistant tray in which the plate is bitten. top Bite In intaglio, the action of acid on a plate. top Blankets Foam rubber or felt pads used between paper and roller on an etching press. top Bleed To extend the print image to the edges of the paper. top Blind Printing The technique of printing unlinked plates to produce embossed effects. top Burnish Part of the method for correcting incised lines in an intaglio plate after the area below the level of the incision has been scraped away so that it will no longer hold ink, it is smothered and polished so that incidental lines of scraping will not print. top Burnisher A bent, rounded tool, usually of metal or bone, with a smooth surface for polishing the plate. top Burr The ridged metal raised on both sides of the lines that are needle-cut in the dry point process. In mezzotint, burr is the surface of the plate when worked with a doctor. top Chine colle (French, Chinese paste) A process used for the adhering of a different color or texture onto the overall sheets by dampening and lightly coating the added papers before affixing it to the host paper, usually in the actual printing process. Originally used for adding color to etchings, chine colle is now often used for the varied texture it provides or for the way it absorbs ink. Sometimes transparent paper is colle over areas already printed. top Chop A printed or stamped symbol used by the printers and print workshop (and sometimes by artists and collectors) as a mark of identification the chop may be inked or merely embosses. top Collage A print with elements adhered to the surface or incorporated by photographic transfer, stamping, inking, or methods. top Collograph A print made from an image built up with glue and other materials, such as paper or fabric, on a plate, usually of cardboards or masonite. top Counterproof An impression in reverse taken by passing a print on which the ink is still wet through and etching press with a sheet of paper. Because the resulting image corresponds to the plate, counterproofs are used principally as aids in correcting plates. top Crayon manner The use of roulettes and other tools on a plate to create effects like those of crayon drawing. top Deckle edge The untrimmed edge of handmade paper, or this kind of edge imitated in commercial papers. Deep etch A method for printing color in relief and intaglio at the same time. top Desensitize In lithography, the use of acidified gum etch to make the undrawn areas insensitive to grease and therefore unprintable. top Dry point An intaglio process in which drawing directly on the underground plate is done with a steel or diamond point. The plate is then inked, wiped, and printed. Dry point gives a velvety line owing to the burr raised by the cut. This soft line is suitable only to small editions because the burr breaks down with repeated printing. top Edition The total prints of a completed single image or series of images that are numbered and signed by the artist and not retained for the proofs (see: artist's proofs; hors commerce proof; printer's proof; publisher's proofs; trial proof; working proof). top Embossing A process used to create a raised surface, or a raised element printed without ink. End grain Block A woodblock usually boxwood, maple, cherry, or other fruitwood, cut across the grain and used for wood engraving. top Engraving The general term for incising lines directly into a metal plate or, in the case of wood engraving, an end grain block of hard wood, in intaglio, engraving differs from etching in that the plate is not grounded, and it is the pressure of the tool, not the use of an acid bath, that creates the lines in the metal. top Etch An intaglio process in which an image is cut through an acid-resistant ground applied to a metal plate. Acid is used to bite this image into the plate. top Etching ground A thin, acid-resistant coating applied to the face of a metal plate through which a drawing is made with a needle. top Etching needle A rounded Steel point used to cut through the ground on an etching plate. top Foul biting Irregularities bitten into a plate because of imperfect grounding. top Ghost impression A second impression taken from a monotype plate. Generally much paler than the original. top Grain To prepare a lithographic stone by grinding the surface with an abrasive in order to get desired texture. top Ground In general, any surface covering of a plate or stone that the artist removes with various tools or chemical solutions to create an image. In etching and aquatint, an acid resistant coating applied to the face of a metal plate to protect non-image areas from the action of the acid. In mezzotint, the background produced by the roughening of the plate surface with roulettes and rockers (see: rocker, roulette) in maniere noire lithography, by extension, the solid black printing image of tusche or asphaltum that the artist works through to create an image that print whit or gray. top Hard-ground etching An etching process in which the acid-resistant ground in which the image is cut is hard ground, a compound supplied in a ball shape to be melted on a hot plate. Sometimes hard ground is supplied in liquid form. top Hor commerce proof (French, "not offered for sale") A proof of a completed print (aside from the edition) that is not intended for sale and is marked "hors commerc" or "h.c." such proofs are sometimes retained as archival impressions by the artist or the publisher, or are used as demonstration proofs in marketing the edition. top Ink ground A acid resist ground composed of a mixture of two lithographic inks rolled on an etching plate with a brush and a solvent, such as kerosene or turpentine, the artist paints through the ground, exposing the plate in those areas. The exposed areas are then dusted with rosin and printed in a normal aquatint manner. The advantage of this method is that both brush marks and tone transfer to the sheet. top Intaglio The general term for a print in which the image is either cut or bitten by acid into a metal plate. Ink is forced into this cut or bitten image, the surface of the plate is wiped clean, and a print is made when the plate and paper are run together under pressure through an etching press. top (No J glossary terms ) top Key block A block or plate carrying the full design with which all other blocks and plates are registered during printing in more than one color. top Lift ground A general term for an etching process in which the artist paints directly on an ungrounded plate with a water solution containing either sugar, soap, or salt. Changes can be made simply wiping the solution off the plate and redrawing. When the final drawing is established, it is dried, then covered with a ground usually varnish, which is in turn dried. The plate is then immersed in water. The substance used in the water solution lifts off the plate, leaving that area exposed. The plate is then bitten in an acid bath usually after a dusting of rosin. top Linoleum cut A relief print, much like a woodcut, but using battleship linoleum rather than a woodblock. The linoleum is somewhat easier to cut and prints more evenly because it lacks the grain. top Lithography A printmaking process in which a drawing is made on stone or metal with greasy materials. The surface is prepared so that the image takes ink while the non-image areas repel it. The print is made with a lithographic press. top Maniere noire (French, "the black image") In intaglio, another term for mezzotint. In lithography, a technique in which the plate or stone is first covered with a solid black printing image (the ground) using tusche or asphaltum. The image is then scraped, scratched, or picked through the ground, leaving the stone exposed where these marks have been made. Another way to work through the ground (acid-tint) is to paint the image with a brush using a weak acid solution. top Mezzotint A intaglio process in which the plate is roughened with a toll called a rocker (see: rocker), producing a black background. The printmaker then works from black to white in establishing the design, scraping and burnishing the roughened surface to the desired degree of white. In this sense, true white will be unprinted paper. top Mixed media In printmaking, a non-specific term for the combination of two or more mediums in the production of a print. top Monoprint A monotype combined with a partially worked etching, lithograph, screen print, or relief print. This technique produces a series of prints in which the worked image is constant but the monotype work is different in each impression. top Monotype A print made from a wet painting on a non-absorbent surfaces such as glass, Plexiglas, or metal that is transferred to paper either by the pressure of the hand or an etching or lithographic press. It is sometimes possible to pull a second or "ghost" impression from a monotype plate, especially if a press is being used. Often the artist will rework areas of the plate between the first and second printings or use more than on plate, but the second impression never exactly the same as the first. Many types of pigment can be used, including oil paints, acrylics, printer's ink, enamels, watercolors, and gouache, depending on the desired effect. Whatever the pigment, the transfer process entails a metamorphosis between the image as drawn or painted on the plate and the image as it ultimately appears on the paper. top (No N Glossary Terms) top Offset A technique of commercial printing in which the image is taken by the paper from the roller of the press after the transfer to the roller from the plate. top Photo intaglio A photomechanical technique for transferring the image to a light sensitive Plate. The process is used extensively in offset lithography. top Photogravure An intaglio printing process in which the image has been placed on the plate by photographic means using carbon tissue. top Plano graphic printing A term applied to lithography for printing from a flat surface. It is distinct from intaglio or relief printing. top Plate Mark In intaglio prints, the impression of the plate itself forced upon the paper by pressure of the etching press. top Pochoir A process of making multicolor prints and for coloring black-and-white prints using stencils and stencil brush. top Press run A single printing on a press. In color prints, there is usually on press run for each color. top Printer's proofs Proof printed specially for the printers who work on an edition. Often marked "Printer's Proof" or "PP" these proofs are excluded fro the numbering edition. top Proof An impression taken at any stage in the making of a print that is not part of the edition. top Publisher's proofs Proofs specially printed for the publisher of a print and excluded from the numbering of the edition. Usually designated with the name or initials of the publisher. top Pull to print Transfer ink to paper. top (No Q Glossary Terms) top Rainbow printing The rolling of several colors simultaneously, usually in a continuous blend, onto a stone by the first printed image of a design. top Registration The correct relationship of succeeding printings to the positioning established by the first-printed image of a design. top Registration marks Crosses or other marks used by the artists and printers as aids to the accurate positioning of two or more printings on a single sheet of paper. Registration marks are usually positioned to print outside the trimmed sheets area of the final print, or they can be removed before the actual print is begun. However some artists consider registration marks part of the process and deliberately make no effort to disguise them. top Relief print A print in which the non-image areas have not been cut away and only the surface of the block or plate is inked and printed. Included in this category are woodcuts (the most ancient form of printmaking) and linoleum cuts. top Relief printed etching (or reverse etching) A print from an etching plate in which the surface is inked with a hard roller and any ink that penetrated the incised lines is wiped away. The opposite of intaglio printing. top Rocker A multi-toothed steel tool for laying mezzotint ground. It is rocked across the plate many times in all directions to produce the characteristic burr. top Roulette A tool used to make lines or areas of dots in a metal plate or ground. The roulette has a toothed wheel that revolves, making a track. Salt aquatint A form of lift ground using a saline solution. top Sanding The process of working directly on the intaglio plate with fine-grained sandpaper to alter or remove lines or create tonal areas similar to those produced by aquatint. top Sandpaper Aquatint A aquatint ground obtained by passing a conventional grounded plate through a press with fine sandpaper placed face down on it. top Scraper In intaglio, a wedge-shaped steel tool used for removing burrs and moderating other effects of etching or engraving. In lithography, a leather-covered blade that presses the paper against the inked stone or plate. top Scraping In intaglio, a process for making changes In the plate by scraping the metal with a wedge-shaped tool below the level of the incised line so that the scraped area does not hold ink. The surface is then smoothed and polished with a burnisher. In lithography, the process of scraping away tusche or asphaltum with a razor to make a corrections or to create an image in maniere noire. top Screen-print A print from a series of stencils, one for each color. Each stencil is applied to a stretched silk or metal mesh so that all areas except those to be printed are blocked out. Originally, the process was called silkscreen printing. During the 1930's when it was first used as a fine art medium, the designation "serigraph" was coined to distinguish screen prints mad by an artist in limited editions from screen prints produced under commercial conditions. Later the term serigraph was further refined to distinguish screen prints in which the artist made and printed his own screens from screen prints produced in collaboration with a printer. Now, when so many prints are the result of artist-printer collaboration, the distinction has become academic. top Soft-ground etching An etching technique in which the plate is covered with a ground containing wax soft enough to be removed by pressing something into it. This can be anything textured, but paper is most often used. The paper is laid over the waxed plate and pressure applied with a pen, pencil, crayon, or fingers so that the wax is transferred to the back of the paper, exposing an area of the plate that when etched will produce a line with the texture of the paper. The line is softer and grainer than a traditional etched line. top Spit bite A form of aquatint in which the artist paints the acid solution directly on the prepared plate rather than submerging the plate in an acid bath. Variations of tone are easily achieved in this method by the handling of the brush and the amount of acid used. top Spray-paint aquatint A method of aquatint in which the plate is sprayed with a fine mist of enamel paint from a pressurized can, particularly effective for the light and mid-value grays. top State A proof that shows a print in a particular stage of development. top Stenciling The general term for the process in which an image is cut from paper or cardboard so that when inked, painted, or otherwise filled in, the image can be repeated throughout an edition. top Stippling A process suitable to engraving, etching, and wood engraving in which the image or areas of the image are made up of small dots or incisions. top Sugar lift A form of lift ground in which the artist paints the image on an ungrounded plate with a sugar and water solution, which is then dried, varnished, and dried again. When immersed in water, the sugar lifts off the plate but the varnish around it remains, so that only the image area is uncovered. The plate is then aquatinted by dusting the image with rosin and biting it with acid. top Suite Prints related in theme or image and sometimes in technique. A suite of prints is sometimes published in a portfolio with title page and colophons. Surface-rolled Inked for relief printing. top Template A pattern or mold usually made of thin strips of wood or metal. Templates are used both for making monotypes in which the same basic image is to be treated individually in a series and for separating areas of different colored pulp in one sheet of handmade paper. top Traced monotype A type of monotype in which ink is either rolled directly on or transferred from a plate to a sheet of paper. Another sheet is placed over the inked paper and the artist draws with a pencil or stylus, picking up ink form the first sheet with lines made in the second sheet. The process bears basic similarities to soft-ground etching but produces a unique image. top Transfer Lithography A technique for transferring to stone or plate a drawing don on grained paper that will take lithographic crayon. top Transfer paper In lithography, a paper that allows the image to be transferred from one stone or plate to others. top Trial proof An early proof often is incorporating the artist's revisions. top Tusche Grease in stick or liquid form principally used for drawing in lithography. top Ukiyo-e The style of the classic period of Japanese woodcutting, which lasted from the first half of the seventeenth century to the middle of the nineteenth century. Ukiyo-e prints depicted landscapes, images of everyday life, and popular actors, actresses, and courtesans. Master craftsmen cut the woodblocks, after designs by the leading artists of the day. A strict Japanese equivalent to the apprentice and guild system existed, and some cutters cut only landscapes, while others cut only figures. First a key block was cut with the major elements in black outline. Areas of mass and pattern were cut in successive blocks. top (No V Glossary Terms) top Wiping The process of removing ink from the unbitten surface of an intaglio plate, leaving ink only in the lines and areas to be printed. The plate is usually wiped with a ball of muslin or with the hand. top Woodblock Originally the piece of wood from which a woodcut or wood engraving was made. A woodblock print now carries the connotation of a woodcut made from a block of fine-grained wood, which provides a subtle grain pattern and enables the cutter to create more precise lines. top Woodcut A relief print cut with a knife, gouges, and chisels from a plank-grained woodblock. top Wood engraving A relief print cut with a graver, tint tool, and scraper on an end grain block usually of boxwood, maple, or fruitwood. Wood relief Another term for woodcut. top Working proof A trial proof bearing the artist's printer's notes and corrections. top (No X, Y, Z Glossary Terms) top
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