This strategy can bring about a print with numerous hues, for example, the notable Great Wave off Kanagawa, by Hokusai. Relief printmakers usually use a separate block or matrix for each printed colour. Hundreds of years ago, block printing originated in China and was common throughout East Asia. The design of the relief process does not allow them to work on details, but they result in highly contrasting graphic images. Paper is laid over the plate, and are compressed through a press, transferring the ink from the template to the paper. When the section around the picture is removed, the plate surface is rolled up with ink. There are three basic printmaking techniques: relief, intaglio, and planar.Ī relief print, for example, a woodcut or linoleum cut, is rendered when the zones of the grid (plate or matrix) that are to display the printed picture are on the original surface the areas of the grid that are supposed to be ink-free are removed. Printing performance depends on how you prepare the prototype/grid (or matrix). Printmaking is utilized by numerous artists today. While traditional printmaking techniques include woodcut, etching, engraving, lithography, and screen printing (Serigraphy) modern techniques have extended to include spray painting, encaustic and gelatin printmaking. Printmaking is significant because there are different kinds of works of art associated with printmaking.

Each print is considered as original artwork and not a 'copy,' because each print is made by hand. The print media allows pictures that are altered from the source. Since its inception, the ability of the medium to replicate images and create unique visual qualities has inspired all, from book publishers to artists and designers. It is assumed that printmaking started as early as the 1st century AD during the Han Dynasty of China. Printmaking is a method (or rather a bunch of methods) of producing multiple artworks essentially from a template.

Intaglio vs relief