The following is a very basic guide to the different terminology used in printmaking today

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The term Acid free refers to any paper that is manufactured from an alkaline pulp (usually with the added ingredient of calcium carbonate). Acid within paper can have negative attributes and contribute to its deterioration and in turn any prints made with it. Acid free tissue is a disposable material used regularly for intaglio and relief processes – it helps prevent damage to the press and printing blankets.

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A La Poupée refers to a process where a single plate is selectively inked in different colours, using stumps of rag known as a poupée.

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An Aisuki is a rounded chisel type tool used in Japanese woodblock printing, often employed for clearing large areas of wood quickly.

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Aquatint refers to an intaglio process where a dust of acid-resistant resin is sprinkled on the face of the plate and heated so that they adhere to the surface. The plate is immersed in acid, which bites into the metal in very small pools around each particle. The tiny depressions retain the ink and when printed give a soft tonal impression.

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Artist’s Proof refers to a portion of a printed edition beyond the (fixed number) ‘edition’. These proofs are usually annotated with the initials ‘AP’.

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A baren is a circular, disk shaped printmaking tool, used to print by hand (without the need for a printing press). The baren is rubbed over the rear surface of the paper when it is in contact with the inked block. A process very common in Japan when using water based inks. Some printers get the same impact by using the back of a wooden spoon.

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When using pigments to generate printmaking inks, a binder (a viscous clear liquid) is used as a base material to hold the pigments together. In relief printing this can be a processed linseed oil, for screen printing it is often self-crosslinking acrylics, polyurethane dispersions, and styrene-butadiene copolymers.

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Bite is the word used to describe the reaction of acid when applied directly to a metal plate. Biting beyond the surface of the plate, leaving an indention which is thereafter inked and printed.

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The majority of intaglio and relief printing processes (where the press cylinder stays in the same position and the base moves) use different thicknesses of blanket to cushion the print between the roller and the paper.

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Where ink appears outside the designed areas of a print it is described as bleed. In commercial printing bleed refer to the area beyond a printed image that is cropped off to ensure the image runs to the edge of the print.

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Bon à Tirer (or BAT) is a literal translation from the French ‘ready to pull’. It serves as the official, confirmation that the work is error-free and aligns with client expectations – especifically when editioning. It is the first perfect impression used to compare and ensure consistency for all subsequent prints. It can also be referred as the RTP, or ‘ready to print’.

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Brayer (or roller) is the term that is used to describe the hand held roller used to transfer ink from a plate (usually glass) onto the printing matrix (block or plate etc).

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A burin is an engraving tool with wooden handle and a metal shaft. Very sharp with a V gouge point.

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Carborundum (silicon carbide) is a fine powder used in intaglio printmaking. When applied to a plate, it creates a rough, even surface that holds a lot of ink. It can also be used for levelling the surface of lithography stones.

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Chine collé is a process developed in the nineteenth century which enabled artists to print on delicate papers(then imported from China). This paper (chine) was attached (collé) to a heavier (in weight) paper to support it as it passed through the etching press.

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CMYK refers to both digital and commercial printing using a four colour process (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black or Key). Four different inks are used separately, but when combined can generate photographic quality (full colour) images.

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Cobalt driers is a liquid, siccative (drying agent) used to accelerate the drying process – added to oils based inks in around 3% per volume.

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Collagraph is a printing process where various layered materials are set onto a base and then inked as a whole. When inked and printed the areas with the largest number of layers print in the darkest tones.

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A printer’s Chop is symbol or logo that is either embossed or stamped on each print of a finished edition, including all proofs, as a way to identify the printer and publisher of the edition. A printer will often have his/her own individual chop that is separate from the publisher’s chop.

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Cyanotype is an early form of photography that combines two solutions to create a blueprint.

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Before the invention of rollers dabbers were used to apply ink to a block or plate. These were constructed with a wooden handle and the printing surface being stretched leather, padded into a semi-circular sphere.

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Handmade paper leaves an irregular edge during the manufacturing process –  Deckled edge is the irregular (wavy) edge on a piece of printmaking paper.

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Debossing is a process that is used to create an indent into the face of paper, sometimes without using ink. The opposite of embossed – which is formed from behind, making an impression above the face of the paper. Poorly printed type (in letterpress terms) pushes the letters through the face (debossing them) rather than simply ‘kissing’ the page and leaving only ink (without any impression).

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Dots per inch (DPI) or points per inch (PPI) refers to the number of elements (pixels on a computer screen or dots on a printed surface) in one inch of an image. 300dpi is usually standard for photo-quality printing where 72 or 96dpi for a computer screen. Screen resolution – not to be confused with size when describing print.

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Drypoint is an approach to intaglio printing where an image is drawn directly onto a metal plate with a sharp pointed instrument (sometimes even a needle) to creates a rough ridge of metal (a burr). When the plate is finished and inked, the burr catches the ink, and when printed produces a dark, thin line.

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Durometers are used to measure material hardness, for example, the shore of roller. The higher the number, the harder the material.

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Edition refers to a set of identical printed impressions made from an individual matrix, plate or block. Produced in an edition of thirty – or produced as an ‘open’ edition, having no fixed number.

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Edition Variable referes to a set of impressions (prints) that vary slightly from one to another. This may be due to different inking techniques, colour, or the addition of certain changing elements. Edition Variable is related to the term Monoprint, although the intention is to maintain extremely similar impression from print to print rather than producing unique images.

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Embossing is any process used to create a raised or surface on the paper, sometimes even without ink. The opposite of debossed – which is used into the face of the paper.

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Emulsion – when mixed with sensitiser (making it light sensitive), a photo emulsion can be used to coat screens to create exposed images for screen printing.

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Etching is a intaglio process where a metal plate is coated with a varnish-like substance (known as the “ground”) that is impervious to acid. The artist creates an image by drawing through the ground with an etching needle to expose the metal. The entire plate is then immersed in acid until the exposed lines are sufficiently bitten, producing grooves in the metal that will hold the ink. The ground is then removed, and the plate is ready to be inked and printed.

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Exposure in relation to screen printing is where a screen coated with light sensitive emulsion is exposed to light source with a design on a transparency between the screen and the light. The light hardens the emulsion it can reach, leaving the areas of the design soft and washable. This results in a screen with areas of open mesh for printing.

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Extender is a transparent modifier added to ink. It makes the colour more transparent and also loosen the ink making it less viscous.

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All paper is described by weight (in grams or GSM ). The heavier (or thicker the paper) the larger the number – paper used in offices can be around 90gsm, while artists’ printing paper can be as heavy as 300gsm or even 540gsm and beyond. Cardboard (which is usually a much thicker substrate) is described in microns (referring to its thickness in millimetres). Bible paper can be as thin as 15gsm and Japanese  Washi paper can be even thinner (around 10 to 12gsm) with Tengu being the thinnest at only 1.6gsm.

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Giclée an archival fine art digital printmaking process.

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A gouge is one of a number of tools used to carve blocks and lino for relief printing. It can have either a V or a U blade.

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Halftone is the breakdown of an image into small dots to simulate the look of continuous tones. Greyscale images need to be broken down into halftones in order to be exposed onto screens for screen printing.

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To Hand burnish is to print by hand or by using a baren instead of a press. Paper is placed over the inked up block and then rubbed over with a hand, baren, wooden spoon or similar to transfer the ink to the paper.

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Hangito is a Japanese Woodblock Printing cutting tool that looks like an angled sharp knife with one bevelled edge.

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Hardground is a substance added to the surface of an etching plate to resist acid. A hardground can be drawn into with a sharp tool to reveal areas of metal to the acid bath.

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Honing is the process of sharpening or maintaining a sharp edge on a cutting tool.

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Intaglio is a printing process using an image that has been incised into a plate. Ink is worked into the recesses of the plate and is usually printed onto dampened paper through an etching press. Drypoints, etchings and collagraphs can all be printed intaglio.

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Japanese Woodblock (Mokuhanga) is a type of relief printmaking in which brushes are used to ink up a woodblock with watercolour paint and nori paste. Images are printed onto dampened paper in layers, often registered using kento marks.

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Key block is the key layer in a print that gives the main detail or outline of an image. Usually printed first or last in a multi-layered print.

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Kento is a Japanese Woodblock method of registration. Kento marks are cut into a block using a kento chisel. The corner of the paper slots into these marks so that the paper rests in the same place for each layer.

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Kitchen Lithography is a form of printmaking that uses the same principles as lithography but uses simple household materials such as aluminium foil and cola!

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Letterpress is the practice of printing by hand setting (composition) of lead and wood type and printing using a number of different presses. The process developed in the 1500s (Gutenburg) using moveable type (wood or metal) to create printed books and posters. The process was still actively used right up the 1980s for the production of newspapers before the move to digital typesetting and lithography.

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Lightfastness usually refers to paper and ink. Change caused by exposure to light (including fading of paper).

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Lino  / linoleum is a material made of cork dust and linseed oil with a hessian backing. Used to create relief prints when carved.

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Linoleum cut (or linocut) is a process of relief printing similar to woodcut but using linoleum sheet rather than wood or plywood blocks.

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Lithograph is a planographic printmaking process in which ink is applied to a grease-treated image on a flat surface or a design is drawn onto the face of a flat stone (or certain types of plate) with a greasy (oil based) crayon or ink. Moisture repels oil-based ink from the blank areas and the greasy areas attract ink, reproducing the design when printed.

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Limited edition is a set of identical prints taken from the same matrix or matrices (printing surfaces). Limited editions mean that no more of the same prints should ever be made – in some instances the pate is scored to prevent this happening.

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Mesh is the woven fabric stretched over a frame to make a silkscreen for screen printing.

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Matrix from the Latin ‘word mater’, meaning mother is the surface on which the artist creates an image prior to printing. For example, a woodblock, a linoleum block, a metal plate, a lithographic stone, or a mesh screen. In letterpress printing it refers to a casting block to form individual letters.

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Mezzotint is a process where a metal plate is systematically worked over with a spiked tool called a rocker until it is thoroughly roughened. If inked in this state, it will print a solid black. The artist then works from dark to light, smoothing out graduated highlights with a scraper. The smoother the area is, the less ink it will hold, creating an image in a range of tones.

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Moiré is a visual effect that happens when two similar patterns overlap, creating new, wavy, or unwanted stripes – Moiré can occur when halftone images are screen printed onto fabric or the halftone is not set to the correct frequency for the mesh count.

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Mokulito is a form of Japanese printmaking meaning ‘wood lithography’. An image is drawn onto the block using greasy materials.

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Monoprint is made when an artist alters the image on an already etched or carved and inked plate by adding ink to the surface. When printed, this addition produces an impression that appears different from a conventionally printed impression from the same plate. By manipulating the ink on the plate in each successive printing, the artist may create a series of unique impressions.

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Monotype is a technique the artist creates a composition in printing ink or paint on any smooth surface which is then covered with a sheet of paper and passed through a press, transferring the image to printing paper. Because of the smooth surface, the pressure applied irrevocably alters the composition, making multiple impressions nearly impossible. In the rare instance that two prints can to be pulled from the same surface, one will be strong and the other weak. Unlike monoprints, monotypes are not made using a matrix such as a cut block or plate.

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Noise refers to the marks left behind on a print from areas of a block that have been carved away and have picked up ink from the roller. Sometimes these marks are left to add character or movement to a print.

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Nori is a starch based paste used in Japanese Woodblock Printing. It can also be used for chine collé printing.

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Numbering refers to the process of documenting limited edition prints. They are numbered in sequence with the first number being the impression number and the second referring to the total edition size – for example:  15/30 (number 15 of 30). The numbering sequence does not necessarily reflect the order of printing, and one must keep in mind that it does not include proofs, only the total in the numbered edition.

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Offset describes the process of transferring ink from one surface to another.

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Oil-based is the term used to describe inks that use oil as their base substance (usually linseed oil). Traditionally these need to be cleaned up with solvents. Cranfield (a UK based Ink manufacturer) make an oil-based ink but developed a water-washable ink called Caligo which can be washed up ecologically with soap and water.

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Opaque refers to being impenetrable by light, opposite of transparent, not see-through. Refers to inks that do not show any colour of the paper, fabric or previous print layers.

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Original print describes a print in the medium the artist originally used (linocut, collagraph, lithograph, etching, screenprint etc). This is not the same as a reproduction which is usually digitally printed – a digital print.

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Overprinting describes a process when colours are printed over the top of one another.

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Paper fingers are folded pieces of paper or card used to protect paper and blankets from finger marks during the process of printing.

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Photo Emulsion is a materials that when mixed with sensitiser, a photo emulsion can be used to coat screens to create exposed images for screen printing.

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Photogravure is an intaglio printing process whereby the image is transferred to a plate by using sensitized carbon tissue, which is placed in contact with a positive photo transparency. Following exposure to ultraviolet light, the carbon paper is removed, and the plate is then etched and printed in the normal intaglio manner.

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Pigment refers to the coloured particles in an ink.

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Planography is a printing process, such as lithography, that prints from a flat surface. The printing and non-printing areas exist in the same plane and rely on chemical properties to hold or repel ink.

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Plate describes a metal, card or plastic surface used to create an image, usually used when printing intaglio.

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Platemark describes the embossed mark left on a print made by the edges of the plate when printing through an etching press.

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Plate tone in intaglio printing, describes the faint tone that is printed from a plate by the residue of ink left on the plate after wiping.

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Poise refers to a unit of measurement for viscosity in ink.

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Process colours – printmaker’s primary colours. Process cyan, magenta and yellow inks can be mixed together to create a wide spectrum of colours. Process colours are often more transparent than other inks and allow for overprinting to create more colours that mix on the surface of a print.

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A Printer’s Proof is a complimentary proof given to the printer (specifically when editioning for an artist). There can be from one to several of these proofs, depending on how many craftsmen (printers) were involved in the production of the print. They are usually identical to the edition but may sometimes include slightly flawed prints omitted from the final edition.

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Rainbow roll (or also described as split fountain) is when more than one adjacent colour is rolled out onto a plate and mixed in a gradient as the ink is rolled out.

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Reduction is a relief printing method in which the same block is carved into between each layer, leaving a smaller printing surface with each layer.

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Registration is the lining up of print layers or a single print layer onto the substrate.

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Registration marks are guides drawn or carved to aid in the proper positioning of matrix and substrate in the printing process.

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Relief Printing is a printmaking process where the unwanted areas of a block are carved away. The raised areas of the block are charged with ink (usually using a roller) and printed onto a substrate such as paper or fabric. For example linocut and woodcut.

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Retarder is an ink modifier used to slow down the drying time of ink.

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RGB refers to a digital colour palette. Usually used when images are seen on screen (television or computer screen). The three colour RGB process is described mathematically over Red, Green and Blue with a combination of coordinate from 0 to 255 per colour.

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A Roulette tool with has a spiked wheel and is used to incise lines of even dots on intaglio plates.

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Screen film is a transparency on which a design can be digitally printed or hand-drawn, used to expose an image onto a screen for screen printing.

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Screenprint (also titled as serigraph or silkscreen) is a printing process where silk (the material where the process gets its name from) or a synthetic mesh is stretched tightly over a rectangular frame. A photosensitive emulsion is coated on the face of the material, exposed to light then washed off to reveal ‘open areas’ to be printed or a stencil is adhered directly to the fabric face, blocking the nonprinting areas. The image is created through forcing ink with a squeegee through the open areas.

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Scrim (tarlatan) is rough, loosely woven fabric used in intaglio printing to wipe ink from the plate.

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Serigraphy or screen printing, is used when referring to a fine art process rather than the commercial process.

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Shellac is a varnish made from a lack of resin dissolved in methylated spirits. used to seal collagraph plates.

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Shore refers to rubber hardness (via a durometer). Used when referring to screen printing squeegees and inking rollers.

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Signature refers to the practise of signing one’s work in pencil or ink. It became common in the 1880s when artists and publishers noticed that collectors preferred to buy signed impressions rather than unsigned ones. Today it is usual for original prints to be signed, and, in fact, they are often more commercially valuable this way.

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Sizing refers to a water-resistant coating added to a paper’s surface.

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Snap-off relates to the distance between a screen and the paper when printing.

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A Softground etching Is a process where the artist draws with a pencil on a piece of paper that has been placed over a special soft etching ground. The pressure of the pencil causes the ground to adhere to the paper, recording the pressure of the artist’s hand. When the paper is peeled from the plate, it takes with it the adhered ground. The plate is then bitten with acid, the remaining ground removed, and the plate inked and printed.

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Solvent is a substance used to dissolve others, often used to clean up oil-based inks.

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Spit-bite is an etching technique in which acid is applied to the plate with a brush and water or saliva.

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Squeegee is a screen printing tool with a rubber blade fixed to a metal or wooden handle. The blade is used to force ink along the screen and through the mesh.

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A print’s State qualifies any stage in the development of a print at which impressions are taken. A change of state occurs only with the addition or removal of lines on a plate, colours etc.

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Steelfacing is the process of coating a metal plate with a thin layer of steel by electrolysis, which strengthens its surface for further printing. A kind of electric lamination – used when prints are required in high numbered editions.

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Stencil (or pochoir) refers to the process where prints are hand coloured through specially cut stencils.

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Stipple is both an etching and engraving process. It is a method of generating tone by means of dots and short stabbing strokes.

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Stop Out (or stopper) is an acid-resistant substance used in etching to protect an area of metal plate from an acid bath.

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A sugarlift aquatint is an intaglio process where the artist draws on the metal plate using a mixture of sugar, syrup, and ink. When dry, the entire plate is covered with a varnish that is impervious to acid and then placed in warm water. As the sugar melts, it lifts off the varnish and exposes the metal plate where the artist has drawn. These areas are then aquatinted.

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Sumi is a type of Chinese black ink.

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Tarlatan (scrim) – rough, loosely woven fabric used in intaglio printing to wipe ink from the plate.

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Thermofax is a screen made using a carbon photocopy and a thermofax machine, printed with a squeegee in a similar way to screen printing.

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Transparent Base refers an ink modifier used particularly in screen printing to make ink more transparent.

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Trap refers to the areas of overlap between layers in a print.

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Tusche is a greasy drawing medium in the form of a stick or a liquid, used mainly in lithography.

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Tympan a greased plate on a lithographic press. It also refers to a layer of packing, typically of paper, placed between platen and the paper to be printed on.

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Viscosity refers to the fluidity of an ink. Viscosity printing is method of using multiple colours from one plate by using inks of different viscosities. Note, it is not its stickiness – that is tack.

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Water-based inks that use water as a vehicle. These can be cleaned up with water and tend to dry more quickly than oil-based inks.

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The process of Wet-on-dry printing method applies one colour over the top of another once the first layer has dried.

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Wet-on-wet is a printing process where one colour is printed over the top of another whilst the first is still wet. Wet Wet Wet was a UK based pop band with Marti Pellow as its lead singer.

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Wiping in the intaglio process is where ink is removed from the surface of the plate.

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Woodcut is a process (similar in process to linocut) where areas around each desired line are cut out of the block of wood so that the lines to be printed stand out in relief. A relief printing process. Wood blocks, plywood and MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) can be adopted for this process.

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Wood Engraving is a process used in relief printing where an image is incised into the end grain of a hard wood (box wood or sycamore are examples) using a sharply pointed instrument called a burin. The surface of the block is then inked and printed, producing white lines where each incission has been made.

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© Carl Middleton – June 2025.

This is not an exhaustive list – if you have any points to add or question please feel free to get in contact.

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