Sentence Stems

Printmaking

Printmaking is any of the processes or techniques that involves the transferring of an image from one surface to another, including from wood to paper, or from lino to fabric. ‘Prints’ are the result of these processes and techniques, and exist as multiples of the original image. Each print is an ‘original’ even though they are copies.

Relief printmaking includes many printing surfaces including linoleum, woodblocks, scratchboards, stamps and others. It involves the carving away of sections of a flat surface. When ink is applied, the raised areas that remain carry the ink. The relief or raised areas form the image and transfer the image to the paper.

Relief printmaking was first developed in the 9th Century AD [the 800s] in China (the East), where craftspeople carved woodblocks. They were not seen in the West (Europe) until the 13th Century [1200s], but were confined to the fabric industry. In the 14th Century [1300s], when papermaking industries sprang up across Europe, woodblock prints began being printed onto paper. During the 15th Century [1400s], the ‘book’ was invented, and quickly developed into a thriving industry. The powerful Catholic Church quickly took up the relief printing method to produce ‘religious’ images in order to maintain a sense of ‘control’ and ‘order’ for the population.

Printmaking has had a massive impact on our world. It has developed and evolved according to the changes in techniques and technologies that have accompanied the development of different societies. Up until the time that photography was invented, making prints was the ONLY way that exactly repeatable pieces of information (either text or image) could be made. The only way that people could communicate visually, apart from handwritten or hand drawn information, was through printmaking.

Printmaking techniques allowed information to be copied and spread around quickly, without the need for constant re-writing by hand. Doctors were able to spread around detailed anatomical drawings of the human body, scientists were able to record and disseminate their discoveries, and the first book ever to be published by printmaking was the Gutenberg Bible.

In short, the invention of printmaking was very significant. In the beginning, it was used as a way of communicating quickly with a lot of people, by cutting out the long hand copying. Now, with new technologies like photocopiers and the internet replacing traditional technologies, it has been taken up by artists and designers as a new way to make art.