Print Glossary
A , B , C , D , E , F , G , H , I , J , K , L , M , N , O , P , Q , R , S , T , U , V , W , X , Y , Z
A
Aquatint: A print processed like an etching, except that the ground or certain areas are covered with a solution of asphalt, resin, or salts which, when heated, produces a granular surface on the plate and rich gray tones in final print. Etched lines are usually added to the plate after the aquatint ground is laid.
B
Baker Lake: A lake occupying 1,029 square miles in the north-central region of the area which was formerly known as the Northwest Territories, Canada.
C
D
Drypoint: A technique of intaglio engraving in which a hard steel needle is used to incise lines in the metal plate, with the burr at the side of the furrows retained.
E
Engraving: A print made by cutting a design into a metal plate (usually copper) with a pointed steel tool known as a burin. The burr raised on either side of the incised line is removed; ink is then rubbed into the V-shaped grooves and wiped off the surface; the plate, covered with a damp sheet of paper, is run through a heavy press. The image on the paper is the reverse of that on the plate. If a fine needle is used instead of a burin, a drypoint engraving is produced.
Etching: A print made by coating a copper plate with an acid-resistant resin and drawing through this ground, exposing the metal with a sharp instrument called a stylus. The plate is bathed in acid which eats into the lines; it is then heated to remove the resin, and finally inked and printed on paper. The techique itself is also called etching.
F
Frottage: Another term for rubbing.
G
H
Handmade:Prepared by hand rather than by machine.
Hatching: A series of parallel lines used as shadings in drawings and prints.
I
Inuit Art: Art of the Native people of Northern Canada and Alaska. One area renown for their prints is Bakerlake (see above).
J
K
L
Lithography: A print made by drawing a design with oily crayon or other greasy substance on a porous stone or, later, a metal plate; the design is then fixed, the entire surtace is moistened, and the printing ink which is applied adheres only to the oily lines of the drawing. The design can then be transferred easily in a press to a piece of paper. Invented in 1796 by Aloys Senefelder.
M
N
O
P
Photography: The art of taking and printing photographs.
Print: A picture or design reproduced, usually on paper and often in numerous copies, from a prepared wood block, metal plate, or stone slab.
Q
R
Relief: The projection of a figure or part of a design from the background or plane on which it is carved or modelled.
Rubbing: A reproduction of a relief surface made by covering it with paper and rubbing it with pencil, chalk, etc.
S
Stencil: A sheet of celluloid, cardboard, or other material in which a design has been cut so that when the ink or paint is passed over the sheet the pattern will be reproduced on the surface placed below.
Serigraph: An original silk-screen color print.
Silk-screen: A stencil process in which coloring matter is forced onto the material to be printed through the meshes of a silk or organdy screen so prepared as to have pervious printing areas and impervious nonprinting areas.
T
U
V
W
Woodcut: A print made by carving out a design on a wood block cut along the grain, applying ink to the raised surfaces which remain, and printing from those. The spaces between the lines may be colored by hand, or as in the case with many Japanese woodcuts, by using separate blocks for one or more colors.
Wood engraving: A technique of engraving on a block of wood cut across the grain. Finely detailed prints result from this method, which is relatively repaid in execution.