What is printmaking?
Printmaking entails applying ink to one surface and printing that ink onto another surface. The printmaking process includes several types and techniques. To ensure a successful print, it’s essential to have the appropriate pressure and quality equipment.
An artist can use several techniques to print their designs, and these methods can fall under any of the four main types of printmaking. Engraving, lithography, woodcut and etching are some of the more traditional art print techniques.
Modern techniques, such as screenprinting and digital printing, have become the norm. However, some artists and art enthusiasts still prefer the enchanting results of traditional methods.
Many forms of printmaking involve drawing or painting onto a plate to produce a matrix and then producing prints from that matrix by mechanical processes. One might be skeptical about the artistic significance of such prints, on the basis that only the process of drawing or painting the matrix enables printmakers to exercise intentional control over the features of the resultant prints. This might lead one to think that such forms of printmaking lack artistic significance independent of drawing and painting. I examine whether or not such skepticism is warranted and argue that it is not. Nevertheless, I identify limitations on the independent artistic significance of another form of printmaking, namely that which involves producing prints from multiple matrices.
History of printmaking:
Engraving is one of the oldest art forms. Engraved designs have been found on prehistoric bones, stones, and cave walls. The technique of duplicating images goes back several thousand years to the Sumerians (c. 3000 bce), who engraved designs and cuneiform inscriptions on cylinder seals (usually made of stone), which, when rolled over soft clay tablets, left relief impressions. They conceived not only the idea of multiplication but also the mechanical principle, the roller, which in more sophisticated form became the printing press.
The history of printmaking began in Han Dynasty China. The earliest known example, a woodblock print on silk, has been dated sometime during the Han Dynasty from 206 B.C. to 220 A.D. The first print on paper was made during the seventh century.
Through the centuries, printmaking has required incredible handiwork and the ingenuity to create visually interesting and evocative artwork. It offered immense value to society as an art form that allowed images and text to be reproduced. Prints could be distributed to everyday people who couldn’t necessarily afford one-of-a-kind oil paintings. Printmaking allowed societies to disseminate information through mass-produced books, religious illustrations and maps.
As engraving became increasingly commercialized and reproductive, artists in the 17th century turned to etching. Acid etching was seen as more creative, flexible and honorable. As Italy became a center for the technique, printmaker Guido Reni developed the distinctive Italian style of delicate lines and dots.
The 19th century injected many aesthetic styles into the art world. Each artistic revolution brought its respective printmaking masters. The German invention of lithography presented a new medium to artists, while the French influence dominated the European printmaking world.
After the invention of photography, art was no longer necessary as a reproduction tool, which let printmaking and other art forms return to creativity and experimentation. While known for his paintings, Pablo Picasso also created over 1,000 prints from woodcuts, linocuts, lithographs, etchings, drypoints and engravings.
As traditional printmaking as an art form flourished, modern printing techniques were also born. Printing as we think of it today began when Chester S. Carlson invented the photocopy in 1938. Later popularized by the Xerox Corporation, the technology involved dry toner powder rather than ink. The machines used static electricity to bind the powder to paper. In 1969, inventor Gary Starkweather introduced laser printing, which used a laser to bond the dry toner to the page.
The inkjet printer came on the scene in 1976, and it is still the preferred method used for fine art printing today. Printer Jack Duganne coined the word “giclee” in 1991 to market inkjet printing to the fine art world. It made the yet-untested technology sound more refined and dignified. The IRIS printer remained the most popular fine art printer until the 2010s, when the Epson and Canon printing companies developed newer, cheaper technologies that accommodated archival inks.
differences between prints and reproductions
prints where printmakers emply traditional or more modern techniques are more valuable than reproductions printed with modern technologies.
The accessibility that photography, social media and inkjet printers lend us, greatly contributes to the visually over-saturated market.
Artists working within the printmaking medium slow down the image creation process by spending painstaking hours at a desk perfecting their craft of image creation. When the artist is ready to go to print they usually make editions of their work, printing more than one image.
The edition size vary significantly depending on the chosen medium and the artist's intent. Monotypes (as the name suggest) is an edition of one with no two prints looking exactly the same while screenprints are capable of potentially exceeding 200.
Artists usually edition their work in the lower left-hand corner. Some prints have the following letters A/P or artist proof (artists use these for personal use), P/P or printers proof
A print is something hand-made by artisanal hands – something pressed, rolled, inked, and processed in some way by the artist. First the matrix is made, cut or etched by the artist (such as a carved linocut) and then processed through various methods, individually, by hand. We call this process ‘hand printed’, a process whereby the artist gets involved to strike up an edition.
Sometimes other printers (meaning a person, not a machine) take on the job of creating the images for the artist, and we call these people professional printers. Using the artist’s original matrix, they can hand print these images up for the artist and it’s a perfectly acceptable tradition that goes back hundreds of years.
A reproduction – also called a poster – is a digital and mechanical process, removed from the artist’s hands and placed into a mass producing machine. There is a digital image taken of the original artwork, which can be scaled up or down and used in many various ways to create this reproduction. Reproductions can then be mass-produced to much higher volumes than the original image.
The paper is usually different, being thinner (dependent on the printing machines used).
Reproductions can also create multiple images in different formats, such as for cards, posters, mugs, t-shirts, fabric, and so on.
1. If a professional printer or artist creates original prints, the artist signs off the works. It’s up to the professional printer to make sure each image is exactly the same as the signed off image. An edition is created, at the allotted number (for example, I usually do 20 hand-prints in my editions). The artist signs the print run and we call this the edition. Hand-printed, hand-signed – each image a masterpiece!
2. A reproduction can also have an edition, but there is no impression or matrix involved as all works are printed off machines, based on a high-quality digital photo of the artwork.
3. A reproduction can also have a numbered run, signed by the artist. These reproductions will cost far less than the original, and the paper is flat with no impression or signs of any hand-process in it, merely pigment on paper.
However, reproductions are still a wonderful way to own art if buying the original artwork is not possible.
Here’s a quick tip: When buying reproductions, look out for a mention of ‘archival’ quality inks and paper, as those will be of a significantly higher quality and value, and won’t fade like a lesser quality (and often cheaper) poster might.
Both prints and reproductions are copies of some original image, but they are made in quite different ways. Prints are copies painstakingly made by the artist, one at a time; reproductions are copies made mechanically, usually quickly and in large numbers, without involving the artist. Because the term “print” has been watered down and made ambiguous, some prefer the term original print to more firmly signal the participation of the artist in its production.
Prints are made in a number of ways: Relief prints (e.g., woodcuts, linocuts) are made by carving away unneeded areas from the surface of a material, inking the remaining areas and pressing paper against the inked surface. Intaglio prints (e.g., etchings, engravings, drypoints) are made by forming grooves in a surface, forcing ink into the grooves, wiping the rest clean and pressing paper against the surface so that the paper picks up ink from the grooves. Surface, or planographic, prints (e.g., lithographs, monotypes) are made by forming an image on a completely flat surface and transferring that image to a piece of paper. Stencil prints (e.g., serigraphs) are made by forcing ink or paint through unprotected areas of a guide, or stencil, onto a sheet of paper, fabric, or other material.
Reproductions have long been made by the process of offset lithography using large, expensive printing presses to make copies rapidly and in large numbers without directly involving the artist. These days, some artists are making copies on ordinary office copy machines—since the artist may run the machine to make the copies, it may sound as if that qualifies these copies as prints, but let’s not stretch things that far! A more recent way of making copies is the giclée process using a computer and a special inkjet printer. Giclée copies are most often advertised as prints, but they are in fact reproductions (admittedly high-quality reproductions). Sooner or later artists will operate their own computer-printer setups and personally introduce variations from one copy of an image to the next that may qualify these copies as prints — stay tuned.
Despite the significant differences between prints and reproductions, “print” has become the word of choice for any copy and these days you’ll find many people at art fairs selling “prints” that are really reproductions. Why?
1. Prints sell better. “Reproduction” has a cheap connotation and, given a choice, a buyer will almost always choose a print over a reproduction. Much of the buying public doesn’t know the difference between the two. If you label your reproductions “reproductions” and the guy in the next booth labels his reproductions “prints” — other things being equal — which of you do you think will attract more buyers?
2. Ignorance. Not only does the public not know the difference between a print and a reproduction, but neither do many so-called artists. In my painting classes I talk about this, hoping to do a little to inform the next generation of artists, but it’s a tough battle. People simply prefer to say print! Which leads me to the next point:
3. Print rolls off the tongue more easily than reproduction. Why use a four-syllable word when you can use a one-syllable word? Sorry to say, I catch myself occasionally swapping the simple “print” for the formidable “reproduction” in casual conversation.
4. In photography, print is the accepted word for any number of copies of an image and it’s easy to understand the carryover from photography to printmaking.
Printmakers often find themselves trying to explain the difference between these two processes— often to our exasperation! I remember quite well trying to explain to a suspicious individual that my print was in fact art, and that it wasn’t “just a print.” Nowadays, some may think of “prints” as images created using a printer, such as an inkjet digital print: a drawing or painting might be photographed and then printed through a digital printer. These prints might be well made, on beautiful paper and have wonderful colour and clarity; they are ‘prints’ of an artwork— but they are not original pieces. They are, to all intents and purposes, called “offset-reproductions” and are not considered original works
Images produced through printmaking are also considered reproductions: however, each one is, in its own right, an original reproduction. Each print is printed from the same plate, yes: but the design on the plate is the printer’s own, produced through hours of drawing, carving and/or etching. As well, each individual print made from the plate is also inked by hand and pulled through the printing press by hand. Though most printmakers strive to make a consistent edition of prints (each print looking like the other), by virtue of human touch each print will be different in some way. Perhaps the ink is slightly thicker on the edges; perhaps the detail in a certain area appears softer than in the previous print.Human nature produces happy errors and individualistic quirks, and I think most will agree that is a valuable thing.
One of the differences between printmaking and offset reproductions is the ability to reproduce ad infinitum. In traditional printmaking, the plate (wood, linoleum or metal) wears down as it is run through the printing press: the edition will be limited, as the artist’s image begins to degrade at a certain point. A digital file, in comparison, has the potential to create thousands of reproductions.
A printmaker will usually note the edition (or number) of prints underneath the image itself; for example, an artist may write “4/8” on a print that is the fourth print in an edition of eight. However, a printmaker does not simply print eight pieces for an edition: they will print several trial “proofs” first, testing out ink colours, adjusting pressure, working further on details that are not printing properly… as well, an artist may pull 25 prints but only 6 or 7 make it to the edition! There is an incredible amount of labour behind each print.
I should note that I do not mean to trivialize digital reproductions: there is such a thing as an original digital print! This is a subject which, however, gets invariably more complex and contentious at this point. Sometimes an artist will limit their digital prints the same way that a printmaker would. This would ensure that you, as a consumer of fine art or craft, would be purchasing a piece which is not mass produced.
With conflicting views and vague definitions of “fine art prints,” it is to the consumers’ (and artists’) benefit to be conscientious about who is being supported. My best advice, then, is to know where you are buying your fine art print from. Is the print produced by a large company? If so, is the artist given credit? Does the artist seem to have an active role with the company? Or, is the print produced by the artist themselves and/or is it being sold by an organization or third-party company that you trust to pay the artist well for the value of the print? As consumers of art in the age of overwhelming digital reproduction, these are questions well worth asking.
Print has resale value that fluctuates according to the market while a reproduction has little to no resale value
Bibliography:
Abidin, M.Z., Rathic, M.R.M. and Mohd , W.D.S.A.W. (2023) Printmaking: Understanding the Terminology. Available at: https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com (Accessed: 05 August 2025).
Metzger, P. (2005) Prints vs. Reproductions , Art Times. Available at: https://www.arttimesjournal.com/art/Art_Essays/J_F_05_Phil_Metzger/phil_metzger_prints.htm (Accessed: 05 August 2025).
Moore, J. (2021) Art print vs reproduction or poster. what’s the difference?, John Moore Art. Available at: https://johnmoore.co.za/art-print-reproduction-or-poster/ (Accessed: 05 August 2025).
Stark, M. (2014) Printmaking and the value of ‘reproductions’, Saskatchewan Craft Council. Available at: https://saskcraftcouncil.org/printmaking-and-the-value-of-reproductions/ (Accessed: 05 August 2025).
Author: Marika du Toit - MA in Fine Art