The print industry

HAND PRINTING

ETCHING!• In etching, a metal (usually copper, zinc or steel)

plate is covered with a wax which is resistant to acid. The artist then scratches off the wax with a pointed etching needle where they want a line to appear in the finished piece, so exposing the bare metal. The only disadvantage is it that it can be a dangerous thing to use.

Screen print• Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to

support an ink-blocking stencil to receive a desired image. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate. A fill blade or squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing or pumping ink through the mesh openings to wet the substrate during the squeegee stroke. Basically, it is the process of using a mesh-based stencil to apply ink onto a substrate, whether it be t-shirts, posters, stickers, vinyl, wood, or other material.

• • Screen printing is also a stencil method of print making in which a

design is imposed on a screen of polyester or other fine mesh, with blank areas coated with an impermeable substance. Ink is forced into the mesh openings by the fill blade or squeegee and onto the printing surface during the squeegee stroke. as the screen rebounds away from the substrate the ink remains on the substrate.

Woodcut• Woodcut is a technique in printmaking in which an image is

carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges. The areas to show 'white' are cut away with a knife or chisel, leaving the characters or image to show in 'black' at the original surface level. The block is cut along the grain of the wood (unlike wood engraving where the block is cut in the end-grain). The surface is covered with ink by rolling over the surface with an ink-covered roller (brayer), leaving ink upon the flat surface but not in the non-printing areas.

Lithography• is a method of printing originally

based on the principle that oil and water do not mix. Printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by German author and actor Alois Senefelder as a cheap method of publishing theatrical works

Mechanical

Letterpress• Letterpress printing is a technique of

relief printing using a printing press. A worker composes and locks movable type into the bed of a press, inks it, and presses paper against it to transfer the ink from the type which creates an impression on the paper.

Gravure

is a printing process, which involves engraving a image onto an image carrier. In gravure printing, the image is engraved onto a cylinder because it uses a rotary printing press. The rotogravure process is still used for commercial printing.