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ACIDIC
In paper, an unstable state whereby the molecular structure of the paper breaks down, causing discoloration and weakening of the sheet and possible damage to adjoining papers or boards.
ACID FREE
A paper product having a pH level of 7 or above. . In contemporary conservation framing, acid free foam core backing and acid free rag mats should be used to protect the art.
AGING
The continuous action of atmospheric components- oxygen, moisture, light, temperature - on materials and structures, leading to visible damage, discoloration and deterioration.
AIR-BRUSH (Aerograph)
A small air-gun capable of spraying paint, ink, varnish or ground in a stream of fine droplets. It can be used in lithography and aquatint, for the application of a flat tint, and on drawings which are to be photographed in the half-tone technique.
ARCHIVAL
Archival materials should have superior aging properties and a neutral or slightly alkaline pH level.
AP (ARTIST'S PROOF)
A designation for prints pulled outside the regular edition for artist approval and personal use. These prints are marked "AP","P/A" or "EA", numbered separately and often represent 10% of the total edition.
AQUATINT
In Intaglio printing technique, involving areas of tone rather than lines. A ground is used that is not completely impervious to acid, so that after acid-biting, a pebbly or granular texture is produced on the metal plate.
CARBORUNDUM
A very hard mixture consisting primarily of silicon carbide; it is used as an abrasive and, in powdered form, in a method of engraving invented by Henri Goetz. He used it to obtain a dotted effect by sprinkling it over a metal plate (usually duralumin) which was then pulled through a press, thereby causing the grains to penetrate the metal.
CLEANING
As used in conservation, refers to application of solvents and other liquids to remove discolored surface coatings, as well as to re-touching and restoration not part of the original work.
CONSERVATION
The restoration or preservation of art with the aim to correct or prevent damage caused by handling, excessive exposure to light, smoke, dust, humidity or aridity, liquid or any other destructive substance.
CONSERVATOR
A person specially trained in the preventive care and maintenance as well as restoration of works of art and museum objects. The term restorer traditionally refers to a person trained in carrying out remedial or restorative treatments. In Francophone countries the term restaurateur covers both kinds of person; the term conservator referring to a curator or a keeper.
CRAYON
Various types of crayon are used in printmaking. The greasy lithographic crayon is made with a natural grease or a chemical. A corrective crayon is used in lithography to remove lines or blemishes.
FRONTISPIECE
In the oldest sense of the word, the frontispiece refers to an ornate title page in a book; more recently; it has applied to an illustration placed before or opposite the title page.
HAND-COLORING
Hand-coloured prints have an old tradition and must be distinguished from those printed in color (color printing). Coloring is done in watercolor or gouache, with either a brush or a stencil cut to allow ink through over the necessary areas directly onto the impression (as opposed to the block, plate, etc.).
IMPRESSION
In printing terminology, an impression is any print taken from a particular block, plate, etc. The word may be qualified to indicate the type of impression, e.g. "natural" impression, pale impression, etc.
Types of impressions include:
1."Cloudy". If the ink is not applied evenly in screenprinting, a "cloudy" impression will result (from the French " nuage ").
2. Loose impression. A print on Indian or Japanese paper which has not been laid down on thicker paper (to strengthen it).
3. "Natural". From the French "epreuve nature": an impression taken from an intaglio plate after wiping it completely clean, as opposed to leaving a film of ink on its surface, or dragging some of the ink out of the lines to create special effects.
4. "Neigeuse". The French expression for an impression taken from a badly inked or misprinted plate which has caused white patches to appear where there ought to be lines.
5. Pale impression. One in which the design fails to show up sufficiently. This may be due to faulty printing; it also results from a plate with shallow incisions, such as one that has been well-used.
JAPAN PAPER
A good quality paper which is lightly translucent and extremely resistant. It is used for fine impressions. Imitation Japanese paper also exists.
KEY STONE
The stone on which the original drawing is made in lithography. It can be copied for transfer impressions in order to avoid damage which may be caused by over-handling.
KEY TRANSFER
The transfer of each color from a transparency to a block for printing in several colours. The line which forms the outline of each color on the transfer can be called the key line.
LAID PAPER
A type of hand-made paper which shows the pattern of the vertical wire-marks and the horizontal connecting chain-lines of the wires in the papermaker's mould.
LINOCUT
An abbreviation of linoleum cut. The technique is a derivation of the woodcut but owing to the supple, relatively soft properties of the material, linocuts have different characteristics. The material takes all types of lines, but is most suited to large designs with contrasting dark and light flat tints. The material is cut with small pen-like tools which have a mushroom-shaped handle. The tools have a variety of forms: straight and rounded edge, double-pointed, as a chisel or a Vshaped chisel, etc. As on a woodcut, the relief parts of the block are inked. For printing a large number of important proofs, the lino is attached to a wooden block. Color printing is done with several lino blocks.
LITHOGRAPH
Along with woodcutting and intaglio engraving, this is one of the oldest methods of printmaking.
LITHOGRAPHIC ENGRAVING
Engravings can be produced on a lithographic stone by a variety of preparations. The lines achieved slightly resemble those of a steel engraving. The technique lies half way between planographic and intaglio printing.
LITHOGRAPHIC ETCHING
A polished lithographic stone can also be used for etching. The surface is covered with liquid ground such as is used for intaglio printing. After drying, the drawing is done with a blunt needle. A dilute acid is used as a mordant. N.B. This must not be confused with the etching used in lithography to fix the image to the stone.
LITHOGRAPHIC MEZZOTINT
A method which is akin to mezzotint in metal engraving although it does not attain quite the same quality. Various methods of working the stone exist of which the aim is to create the white areas by scraping away parts of a specially prepared black background.
LITHOGRAPHIC WASH
A process used in lithography for obtaining the effects of a wash drawing. It has also been known as a lithotint. It must not be confused with a lithographic aquatint in which the grain is more marked. The color is applied with a dabber.
LITHOGRAPHY
With woodcutting and intaglio engraving, this is one of the oldest methods of printmaking. It dates from the end of the eighteenth century. It is based on the chemical fact that there is a natural antipathy between grease and water. The image is drawn on a stone with a greasy ink which is dark in color only to aid the draughtsman with his work, The stone is then thoroughly dampened; the water remains on the ungreased areas only. The printing ink is applied with a roller: it adheres only to the greased parts. Lightly dampened paper is then placed over the surface of the image, followed by a protective sheet. Stone and paper are passed through a flat-bed scraper press.
Lithographic printing is a delicate operation necessitating a careful preparation of the stone and a particular kind of inking. The prints are not marked by the effect of the press as in intaglio printing, although a slight mark indicating the edge of the stone is sometimes visible.
Transfer methods can be used to avoid the difficulties involved in moving heavy stones round a studio. The drawings are made on transfer paper which is grained, or on autographic paper which is smooth, and then transferred to the stone. Lithographic methods have also been adapted to metal plates (grained zinc and aluminium). Lithographic color printing is done with several stones (or metal plates), one for each color
NUMBERING OF PRINTS
Impressions taken from a particular edition are sometimes numbered. The numbers are written at the base: the number of the impression within the edition is followed by the total number printed. There usually is NO correllation between print number and where in the edition the actual print falls (i.e. print 1/100 is probably NOT the first impression taken from a plate, it's the first numbered).
OFFSET LITHOGRAPHY OR OFFSET
One of the four major industrial printing techniques of which the others are: letterpress, photogravure and screenprinting. It has become the most commonly used method in commercial printing, although its importance in printmaking is not very great. It is an extension of the lithographic technique: the image is picked up from the stone, or more usually plate (either zinc or aluminium which has either been grained or covered with an absorbent oxide), by a rubber roller which then reprints it onto paper. Text and image can be transferred photographically and prepared in the usual lithographic technique based on the natural antipathy between grease and water. The advantage of offset is that it enables the damping, inking and printing itself to be done by a series of rollers which enormously speeds the operation, thereby enhancing the commercial value of the technique.
ORIGINAL
1. The original design is the one from which a copy or tracing is made for the block, stone or plate. 2. An original print is produced when the artist himself has prepared the block, plate or stone.
PLATE MARK
The mark imprinted by an intaglio plate onto the paper (especially visible at the edges) caused by the pressure of the rollers in the press.
PRINT
The image obtained from any printing element. Originally, this was either a metal plate, engraved in intaglio, or a wood block (or metal plate) cut in relief. From the beginning of the nineteenth century, lithographic stones were included, and today screenprinting adds a further type of printing element. An impression taken planographically from a painted surface may also be termed a print. In the past, a rigid distinction was observed between prints obtained by manual processes and reproductions obtained by photomechanical methods. This distinction has less value today, because reproductions have been incorporated into artists' original prints and are therefore not solely produced, as originally intended, for mass production. A print is termed, "original" if the artist of the design has worked on the printing element himself, as opposed to reproductive and interpretative prints which involve the use of an intermediary person to reproduce the design onto the printing element. Original prints are often only produced in small numbers; they may be numbered and signed by the artist. These distinctions between reproductions (which occasionally may also be signed and numbered) and original prints are, however, generalized. In practice the frontiers are more imprecise, particularly in commercial printing. It must be noted that some people have a much more rigorous definition of an original print than others, e.g. of a photomechanically produced original print of which only a very small number of impressions, numeration and a certificate of authenticity will make it qualify.
PRINTING
The action of making a print on a support, whether it be of paper or of any other material, from a block, plate or stone or through a screen, in any of the printmaking procedures.
PRINTING ELEMENT
The part which is inked and produces the impression when printed, i.e. the block, plate, stone or screen.
PROOF
In a general sense, this word has been used to indicate any impression of a print. Strictly speaking, it should be limited to those impressions pulled by the artist to prove or test his work, whether before or after completion of the block, plate, etc.
PROOF BEFORE LETTERING
An impression taken before the lettering (dedication, title, names of artist, engraver, etc.) has been engraved.
PROOF WITH LETTERING
The lettering comprises all the writing underneath or above the design on the plate, block, etc. Impressions are sometimes taken on intaglio plates with scratched letters before the lettering is properly engraved, or with it only partly inscribed.
PROOF (WITH REMARQUES)
A "remarque" is a scribbled sketch made by the artist outside his main design which is eliminated later for printing the main edition.
PROOF: ARTIST'S PROOF
A proof reserved for the artist outside the main edition. This may be noted in the margin (E.A. on French prints means "(epreuve d' artiste"). Some artists number these proofs. "Fine" proof. A definitive proof taken with particular care, on high quality paper, with margins. Oil proof. In the past, printers cleaned the plate with an oil-rubber and then pulled an impression from it to ensure that no ink remained in the incisions. Printer's proof. A proof reserved for the printer. Signed proof. One which has been signed by the artist. Smoke proof. (Fr. fume) A type of trial proof taken from a wood block which has been blackened with smoke. It may be taken by the woodcutter to serve as a model for the printer. More recently, the term has been used to describe a fine quality impression taken by hand from a wood block. Trial proof. A proof taken while work is still being made on the plate, stone, etc., to test the effect of inking and from which the artist can judge the amount of additions or alterations to be made. Sometimes he may make corrections by hand on the proof itself (a "touched" proof). In the past, woodcutters pulled trial proofs by blackening the relief of the block with smoke and printing it with the aid of a burnisher or rubber. Several trial proofs may be taken until a definitive state is reached. The printer's proof is often a trial proof.
REPRODUCTION
Before the introduction of photography, a work was reproduced by either copying it identically, or interpreting it as closely as possible if a different technique to that of the original was used. Engraving, wood engraving and lithography were the most common methods of reproduction. A print is therefore termed reproductive if it is made by someone other than the artist of the original design, as opposed to an original print which is made by the artist himself. These distinctions are many times blurred in contemporary print-making where it seems that these days anything goes.
SCREEN
The printing element in screenprinting. It is made by stretching material (silk, nylon, metal mesh, etc.) over a frame.
SCREENPRINTING
An ancient method of oriental printmaking which, considerably modified and ameliorated, has become one of the four most important methods of modern printing. Contemporary artists have made much use of it as a printmaking technique. The principle of screenprinting consists in applying stencils to a screen (constructed of silk or of some synthetic or metallic material), in such a way that when ink is applied it is prevented from passing through some parts while penetrating the rest of the screen, thereby printing an image on paper placed underneath. The screen is stretched across a frame and attached to a base in such a manner that it can readily move up and down, so that paper can be easily placed and removed as required. For each impression, the paper is placed against registration tabs to ensure that the printing is done in the correct position. The ink is poured over the masking at one end of the screen and when this has been lowered into position, the ink is scraped across the screen with the aid of a squeegee. The most important part of the process is the preparation of the screen. Stencils may be applied in a variety of ways, including the use of filling-in liquid, varnish or plastic film. A drawing can be made directly on the surface with a special ink which is removed in readiness for printing after the rest of the screen has been blocked out. A photographic stencil is made by initially sensitizing the screen.
SUITE
A set of prints dealing with the same subject, or by the same artist, which are published as a whole. It can also refer to a series of prints taken apart from an illustrated book.
VERSO
(1) The reverse or back of an object. (2) The left hand page of an open book or manuscript.
WATERMARK
Manufacturer's mark made in the paper. It is recognizable by its transparency.
WOVE PAPER
A type of handmade paper produced from a mould with a mesh so tightly woven as to leave no visible pattern.
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