Drypoint is a type of direct intaglio technique (direct carving method) in which a metal plate is carved out directly to create a drawing. The image is carved directly on the plate surface using steel needles etc. which are harder than the plate itse

Engraving is a type of direct intaglio technique (direct carving method) in which a metal plate is carved out directly to create a drawing. A tool called a burin is used to score lines (the image) directly on the printing plate. A feature of this tec

Wood engraving is a type of woodblock printing in which a block of wood with a hard surface, made by slicing a tree into rings, is used for the printing block. This block can be carved with intricate details using a burin. Sometimes referred to as

Screen printing is a typical form of stencil printing. It uses a stencil made from a mesh of tetron or other smooth fiber stretched on a wooden or metal frame. Emulsion is used to block up this mesh, leaving openings in the image section only. Ink is

Etching is an indirect intaglio printmaking technique in which the metal plate is prepared through corrosion. A needle is used to scratch and peel off the anticorrosive coating on the plate to expose the metal surface. When this plate is immersed in

Aquatint is an intaglio printmaking technique and a variant of etching (indirect intaglio) in which the metal plate is prepared through corrosion. A porous plate surface is produced by sprinkling powdered pine resin or asphalt on the surface of the p

Mezzotint is a type of direct intaglio method in which the plate is roughened with countless burrs (dots), using tools such as a rocker, before it is carved to produce soft expressions which are rich in tone and shade contrasts. In French, it is also

Monotypes are created by drawing an image directly on a plate with ink or oil paint, placing a piece of paper on top and applying pressure to transfer the image on the plate to the paper. They are also sometimes referred to as monoprints. "Mono" i

Woodblock printing is a typical type of relief printing using wooden printing blocks. Ink (paint) is loaded on to the relief sections of the printing plate that have been carved out using carving tools, and is transferred to the paper by applying pre

Woodcut is a type of woodblock printing in which a board, cut out vertically along the grain of the wood, is used as the printing block. In Japan, there has long been a culture of woodcut prints such as ukiyo-e, and woodblock printing using woodcut b

Copperplate printing is one of the forms of intaglio printing in which grooves are formed in a pressed copperplate by a physical process such as engraving or acid etching. Ink is then packed into this and is transferred from the plate to paper with a

Kagi kento (L-mark) and hikitsuke kento (straight mark) are L-shaped and straight-line registration marks that are carved on the woodblock as markers for accurately placing the paper in the correct position for printing. The L-mark is carved on th

Planography is a format of print work that uses plates with flat, even surfaces. One example of planography is lithography, in which an artist paints directly on a stone or metal plate with a smooth surface and then take advantage of the mutual repul

In block printing, letterpress (toppan) is a plate format that uses a plate with a convex surface on its type page. It places ink on the convex section produced on the plate and then produces the print on the paper via pressure from above. The format

Stencil is a printing format that involves a process of creating a stencil-plate with holes to make an image, covering the template with ink, and applying pressure to push the ink through the holes in the plate, thereby transferring the image to the

Intaglio is a printing format in which recesses in a printing plate hold the image to be printed. A printmaker fills the recesses made on the plate with ink and applies pressure using a press to make prints. Printmakers use etching or direct engravin