The History of Printmaking

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To start everything off, printmaking could not have been invented if paper have never been invented. Paper was invented during the Han Dynasty in about 105 C.E; quickly spreading throughout Europe. As a sidenote, the word paper is derived from the word papyros- Ancient Greek for the Cyperus papyrus plant from which the material used in paper was produced. The oldest surviving as well as oldest known woodcut , from Europe (approx. c. 1380), is known as the Bois Protat- a depiction of Christ’s crucifixion. Unfortunately, because of poor preservation, only one-quarter of the block has survived.

Printmaking is the process of creating original pieces, sometimes even copies in the case of monotyping, usually on paper. Monotyping is a production of multiple pieces that are of the same image, however, all slightly different and not considered a copy because each vary to some extent due to the variables in the printmaking process- unique qualities that the prints during printmaking processes lends itself to. And also, because a recreation of an image created for a monotype is not just a reproduction of an exact image but an interpretation or an expression of a piece. Another term for a print is an impression. Printmaking deals mostly with a creation of an image in any

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number of materials some of these being: metal plates- copper or zinc; polymer plates; stone; aluminum; polymer; blocks of wood; or linoleum. So, through the transfer of ink through a screen or simply transferred via chosen (prepared) material to a sheet of paper- or other, a print is created.

Over time, like everything, printmaking became more and new techniques were created. Now there are many techniques and sub-techniques of printmaking- wood...

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