Glossary

A blind stamp (also “chop mark”) is an embossed seal impressed onto a print as a distinguishing mark by the artist, the publisher, an institution, or a collector.

A printmaking technique where a gritty paste, made up from acrylic medium/ PVA glue and ground carborundum, is applied to the surface of a plate. Once dry, the texture of the paste holds the ink, producing a range of tones and textures. 

The restoration of works of art with the aim to correct damage caused by handling, excessive exposure to light, smoke, dust, humidity or aridity, and contact with liquid or any other destructive substance. Present methods allow cleaning and repair, provided that the print has not been subjected to irreversible alterations.

A person specially trained in the preventive care and maintenance as well as restoration of works of art and museum objects. The term restorer traditionally refers to a person trained in carrying out remedial or restorative treatments. In Francophone countries the term restaurateur covers both kinds of person; the term conservator referring to a curator or a keeper.

An intaglio process where, using a sharp tool or needle, a drawing is made into the surface of an etching plate. The drawing creates thin channels in the surface, which holds the ink.

E.A. stands for “épreuve d’artiste,” meaning Artist’s Proof in French.

A printmaking method in which a design is impressed into paper without the use of any ink, creating a heavily raised surface area.

Hand-coloured prints have an old tradition and must be distinguished from those printed in color (color printing). Coloring is done in watercolor or gouache, with either a brush or a stencil cut to allow ink through over the necessary areas directly onto the impression (as opposed to the block, plate, etc.).

Heliogravure, otherwise known as photogravure, is an intaglio printmaking process involving etching a photographic image onto a copper plate. The printed image results is characterised by velvet-like blacks and a broad range of tone. 

H.C. stands for hors commerce, or “not to sell.” Similar to an artist’s proof, this proof was set aside from the editioned prints. Often the H.C. impressions were used as exhibition copies, so that the works being sold were not over-handled or damaged. Sometimes these impressions differed from the editioned prints by being printed on different paper or inked differently, but this is not always the case; most often the H.C. impressions are identical to the editioned prints.

A printmaking process in which and image is incised or etched into a metal plate using a variety of techniques and tools.

An original limited edition print is a print created by an artist or printmaker that is produced in a limited quantity, with the number of prints produced being indicated on the print itself. Unlike a reproduction print, each original limited edition print is a unique work of art, created through a printmaking process such as etching, lithography, or screen printing. The artist or printmaker often signs and numbers each print in the edition, making them highly collectible and valuable. 

An abbreviation of linoleum cut. The technique is a derivation of the woodcut but owing to the supple, relatively soft properties of the material, linocuts have different characteristics. The material takes all types of lines, but is most suited to large designs with contrasting dark and light flat tints. The material is cut with small pen-like tools which have a mushroom-shaped handle. The tools have a variety of forms: straight and rounded edge, double-pointed, as a chisel or a Vshaped chisel, etc. As on a woodcut, the relief parts of the block are inked. For printing a large number of important proofs, the lino is attached to a wooden block. Color printing is done with several lino blocks.

Unprinted parts surrounding the design. Generally the two lateral margins are of equal length; the upper and lower margins may be equal but the latter is sometimes larger in order to allow space for signature, numeration, title, etc.; at one time it may also have contained a cartouche. A larger lower margin may be kept simply to balance the print within the sheet of paper. The size of the margins also depends on the format of the paper. Margins were usually clipped until the eighteenth century, and from the beginning of the nineteenth their existence came to be regarded as an important factor in assessing the commercial value of a print. If clipped, the impression would be worth less, particularly if printed on fine quality paper. Restored margins are known as false margins.

A combination of letters, usually initials of a proper name, or an abbreviated signature. Many artists, and engravers in particular, have signed their work with a monogram; those whose names have remained unknown are called monogrammists.

A monoprint is similar to a monotype, except that the original surface begins with a repeatable image made through traditional printmaking techniques that enable multiples, such as etching, lithography, or silkscreen. An element within or on top of the repeatable image is then uniquely colored, drawn, painted, or otherwise altered, so each print in the series becomes a “variation on a theme.”

A monotype typically involves the simple transfer of an image from one smooth surface to another. Since the initial surface on which the artist creates the image is not etched or otherwise absorbent to ink, the image can only be transferred once.

Cheap ground woodpulp paper used in printing. Also known as a butcher’s paper.

An offset lithograph is any type of lithograph that is created using an offset press. Offset lithography uses a similar method to original hand lithography based on oil-and-water repulsion; however, with an offset press, the ink is transferred from the plate to a rubber blanket to the paper. 

Unlike Limited Edition Prints where the number of prints are constrained by the size of the edition series Open Edition Prints can be produced in any quantity. Open Edition Prints are not numbered and it is unusual for them to be signed by the artist.

Sometimes known as heliogravure (particularly hand photogravure), this technique is one of the most important methods of industrial printing (the others being letterpress and offset lithography). It is an intaglio process which can be divided into two procedures: (1) Hand photogravure, a derivation of the aquatint in its method of obtaining tone. After sensitizing a copper plate and exposing it to light to form the image, resin or bitumen grain was scattered over it. The procedure continued as for a normal aquatint plate. This technique subsequently developed into a totally photomechanical process: (2) Machine photogravure, in which the tone is supplied by a cross-line screen. It was discovered that the plate could be bent into the form of a cylinder, a development which allowed very fast printing speeds (rotogravure). The technique is used more for magazines and catalogues than for print-making itself.

A plate signature is where the artist signed the printing plate itself, and then the signature was transferred onto the print through the printmaking process making it part of the work.

A set of prints by a single artist or group of artists, often with a unifying theme. Over time, a portfolio of prints may be separated and each print sold individually.

A print is an image which has been produced by mechanical means using an inked block or plate. Prints can be made by employing various techniques; see the entries for Woodcut, Etching, Engraving, Lithography.

P.P. stands for Printer’s Proof, which similarly to the Artist’s Proof, was an unnumbered proof given to the printer as thanks or compensation from the artist. Depending on the number of printers who worked on a piece as well as the generosity of the artist, there may have been multiple printer’s proofs of any given work.

A history of ownership. The provenance of some works of art can be traced back to the time that they were made.

A print publisher is responsible for funding the production of an edition. Many print shops publish their own editions, in addition to being commissioned by other publishers to do contract printing.

The printing element in screenprinting. It is made by stretching material (silk, nylon, metal mesh, etc.) over a frame.

The dimensions of the full sheet of paper on which a work is printed.

Signatures tell a viewer a lot about the authenticity and dating of a print. The very earliest prints did not have signatures at all, although by the late fifteenth century many artists indicated their authorship of a print by incorporating a signature or monogram into the matrix design. This kind of composition is called "signed in the plate" or a "plate signature." While some prints were pencil signed as early as the late eighteenth century, the practice of signing one's work in pencil or ink did not really become common practice until the 1880s. Today, it is customary for original prints to be signed. When a print is described simply as "signed" it should mean that it is signed in pencil, ink or crayon. A plate signature or a stamped signature should be described as such.

A set of prints dealing with the same subject, or by the same artist, which are published as a whole. It can also refer to a series of prints taken apart from an illustrated book.

An artwork on three separate supports, e.g. panel, canvas, paper, intended to be displayed alongside each other as one artwork.

A trial proof is any impression taken to test the development of the image, after which point the artist may decide to change things. There can be many trial proofs before the B.A.T. is created.

The reverse or back of an object.

Manufacturer’s mark made in the paper. It is recognizable by its transparency.

A woodcut is a print produced from a wooden block. Areas to be left blank on the paper are cut away from the surface of the wood; the lines left in the relief on the block are inked, and leave a mark on the paper when they are printed. The process is often confused with wood engraving (see the entry for Engraving).

A type of handmade paper produced from a mould with a mesh so tightly woven as to leave no visible pattern.