Original fine art limited edition prints are not to be confused with reproductions of existing works of art in other mediums that are frequently mistakenly referred to as prints. Original prints are most often referred to by the printing technique that was used to produce them such as etching, lithograph, or silk-screen. Sometimes a combination of these terms is used because the artist has chosen to combine processes to achieve the desired results. Artists create images specifically for original prints. Museum quality ink jet prints now provide a new source of quality prints for inclusion in your collection or installation.
 

A Woodcut is a relief print. The process was used as early as the 1400's in Europe. The image is cut into a block of wood with straight or scooped knives called gouges. The raised uncut surface holds the ink. Paper is placed over the block and rubbed by hand or a press to transfer the ink from the block to the paper to create the image.

Engraving, Etching, Aquatint, and Drypoint are intaglio processes. The image is incised with a pointed tool or bitten with acid into a metal plate (traditionally copper, zinc or steel). Ink is rubbed into the grooves, the areas that hold the ink below the surface of the plate. The differences between these processes are in how the grooves are made. They are all rolled through a press to print the image onto paper.

Engraving is a highly skilled craft that was introduced around 1450. The grooves are cut directly into the metal plate with a burin, a sharp pointed steel rod set into a handle. The burin is pushed across the plate and cuts a clean V-shaped furrow. The slivers of metal that are forced up in front of the furrow are removed with an instrument called a scraper. This technique creates a crisp line that forms an image. Shading is traditionally rendered in cross-hatching or other like marks.

Etching, a process introduced in the early 1500's, uses acid to make the grooves in the plate. The plate is covered with a waxy coating and the image is drawn with a sharp needle that scrapes through the ground but not into the plate itself. The plate is then placed in an acid bath which eats into the exposed metal to make the grooves. The quality of line that is produced is dependent on the tool used to draw the image and the length of time the plate is left in the acid bath.

Aquatint is a form of etching that was introduced in the 1650's that produces gradual tonal effects. Through a variety of means powdered resin is made to adhere to a metal plate. The metal that remains exposed around the tiny drops of resin is bitten in the acid bath, creating a pitted grainy surface that holds a thin layer of ink. This prints as an area of tone that can be greatly varied with skill.

Drypoint is a process that originated in the 1500's. The grooves are cut directly into the plate with a needle-sharp instrument that is generally held like a pencil and pulled across the plate. The displaced metal is forced up on either side of the scratched line and gives a velvety texture when inked. The disadvantage to this method is that the plates break down quickly, yielding fewer prints than other
intaglio methods.

Lithography and Silkscreen are called planographic prints as the surface from which they are printed is flat.

Lithography was discovered at the end of the 1700's. It is a process that is based on the fact that grease and water do not mix. On a smooth stone or plate the image is drawn with a greasy crayon or painted with a greasy ink called tusche. The surface is covered with water, which is attracted only to the blank areas, and then inked. The ink adheres to the greasy areas. A press is rolled over the stone or plate to transfer the image onto the paper.

Silkscreen (also called Serigraph or Screenprint) dates to the early 1900's. It is, however, based on the stencil, one of the oldest graphic principles. A stencil is adhered to a silk (or fine nylon) screen and ink is forced through the mesh with a squeegee. The ink prints through the open areas onto the paper underneath. The stencil can be cut from thin material, or painted directly onto the screen with a liquid block-out.

Although monotypes and monoprints involve distinctly different processes, the two terms are often used erroneously as synonyms, or are mistakenly used for each other. 

A monotype is a single print pulled from a glass or metal plate on which ink or paint has been applied. The image can be transferred to paper by hand rubbing or with a press. A monotype remains one of a kind because it contains no repeatable matrix in the image from which a perfect second impression can be made. 

A monoprint begins with a repeatable matrix in the image, such as an etched plate, which could, if desired, be editioned to produce a series of like impressions. What gives the monoprint its singularity is the process of subsequent hand coloring or doctoring to make it uniquely different or a one of a kind print. A series of monoprints - all derived from the same plate, but then individually hand manipulated ,and is often called a unique edition and is signed and numbered accordingly.

Digital Prints ~ Digital information from a computer can be used in various ways by the artist. Vector based illustration programs create images as a series of lines and fills while pixel based painting programs lay down color and tone as points of light. Both types now allow the artist to make composite images on a number of layers, and increased sophistication by artist using these tools have increased the choices now available. Computer files are written to color separation film by a high definition image setter which prints a series of fine dots shaped according to a specified, computer generated screening pattern. The image can then be transferred to an etching plate or screen. Alternatively prints can be made directly using high resolution ink jet printers capable of printing onto art papers or other suitable materials which will absorb the water soluble inks, and meet museum quality archival requirements.