Print-based media

Edward Hedley

Techniques and Technology

Techniques and Technology

• Hand techniques and technology: etching, intaglio, linocut, screen print, woodcut, lithography.

• Mechanical techniques and technology: letterpress, Gravure and Screen process

• Digital and technology: photocopying, laser printing, inkjet, desktop publishing (DTP), digital screen printing.

Etching • The technique is supposed that it was introduced by Daniel Hopfer of Germany,

who decorated armour, and used the technique to printmaking. Etching soon became the most fashionable printmaking medium. Its huge benefit was that, engraving required special skill in metalworking, etching is reasonably simple to learn, especially for an artist who is skilled in drawing.

Hand

Techniques intaglio and Technology

• techniques in which the icon is incised into a surface, known as the matrix or plate. Usually, zinc or copper plates are used as a surface, and the incisions are formed by etching, aquatint, engraving, dry point or mezzotint.

• To print an intaglio plate, ink is added to the surface and then rubbed with tarlatan cloth to remove most of the excess. At the end, a cloth or old newspaper is used to wipe off the rest of the ink, leaving the icon. A wet bit of paper is then added to the top and the plate and paper are run through a printing press that, through pressure, transfers the ink from the recesses of the plate to the paper.

Hand

linocut• Linocut is a printmaking technique, a alternative of woodcut in which a piece of linoleum is

used for the support of the surface. A pattern is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, of what you would want it to look like, and then the raised areas indicating a reversal of the parts to show printed. The linoleum piece is inked with a roller and then rolled onto paper or cloth. The actual printing can be done by hand or with a press, so makes it quite useful.

Hand

screen print• Involves making a stencil that you would use to put underneath the woven mesh

and then pour a bit of colour, from example paint at the side, and then use a roller called a squeegee to roll the paint over the top of the mesh and the stencil, to print the stencil pattern on a bit of paper at the bottom.

• It is also known as Screen Printing, silkscreen, seriography, and serigraph.

Hand

woodcut• Uses a block of wood that would have to be carved into the shape that you would

want. The area cut out will not show up on the paper or cloth, leaving the remains behind to print. The surface is covered with ink by the roller and then pressed against the fabric.

Hand

lithography• It uses stones, plates, metal... Anything that can have a smooth surface. It is used to print text

and pictures onto paper and is very useful. It has an amazing artistic look that many artists use to create super artwork. The image may be printed directly from the stone or plate and may be balance out by removing it to a flexible sheet, usually rubber.

Hand

Letterpress

• Is a printing technique that prints images and text by a type-high bed printing press and moveable type, where a raised area is inked and then pressed onto a piece of paper.

• It was created by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid 15th century and was mainly used for books.

Mechanical

Gravure • Process in which the image to be printed and

engraved into the printing plate, and the printing ink. It is then moved directly on to the paper.

• Gravure is used mostly for long runs of high quality multicolour printing.

Mechanical

Screen process

• You need a nylon mesh over a wooden frame• The mesh is painted with an light sensitive emulsion. When

the emulsion dries it will block out the holes in the mesh. • The image is projected onto the mesh and then exposed to

ultra-violet light.• The mesh is then washed and areas of the mesh which have

not been exposed to the light will have the emulsion removed.• This technique produces a stencil made out of the mesh which

can then be built into part of a printing press • Paint is the put over the top of the mesh and a squeegee is

used to bring the stencil to life.

Mechanical

Photocopying • Photocopying is a very cheap and fast process

that makes paper copies of text and images. The photocopiers use heat to get the ink to stay to the paper by using a light sensitive electrostatic charge. The toner ink is positivity charged and sticks to the negativity charged part of the image. Photocopiers are also know as xerography.

Digital

How a photocopier worksDigital

laser printing

• Laser printer is a computer printer that prints high quality images and text. The images are produced by a laser beam in the printer, the laser beam projects an image on the paper.

Digital

inkjet

• It is the most popular used printer.• It is another type of computer printer that gets

droplets of ink on the paper to create a digital image• It was first developed in the 1950s and started in the

1970s

Digital

desktop publishing

• Also called DTP is a personal computer combined with WYSIWYG page layout software. It does it for large scale publishing or small scale local multifunction peripheral output and distribution.

• Desktop publishing started in the 1985s with the beginning of MacPublisher, the first WYSIWYG layout program.

Digital

digital screen printingDigital

•The digital printing press is run by a computer and does not involve: film, stencils, photographic plates or associated chemicals. •Digital printing uses a technique called “ablation technology”. This involves using a laser to remove silicone and it forms a polyester plate where ink can be laid down. No chemicals are used in this process. •All colours can be printed simultaneously making this a fast and efficient process. The equipment cost is expensive but it is cheaper to use this method because of lower running costs.