Relief printmaking, such as woodcut, linocut and collagraph, occurs by pressing a raised, inked surface on a flat surface to transfer the image. For woodcuts, the artist must carve an image around the natural grains and textures of the wood for the relief block. Linocut prints use linoleum material, which typically produces a crisper print than a woodcut print. Collagraph prints involve various textures and levels on the carved relief block, and are beneficial for collage type prints on textures such as paper, fibers, acrylic mediums and fabrics.
Planographic prints, such as lithographic, offset and monotypes, occur when both non-printing and printing areas are on the same level. During the lithographic process, an artist draws an image on a limestone slab with greasy paint or crayons, treats the blank areas with repel ink, positions paper on the slab and imprints the image with a press. During the offset printing process, the paper and stones lay side by side while a roller travels over the stone to pick up the images, then travels over the paper to print the image. During the monotype printing process, an artist applies an image to a flat surface and presses paper on the surface to imprint the image.
Stencils are sheets of lightweight material with perforated or cutouts designs. An artist places a stencil over a material such as paper, fills in the cutouts of the stencil with ink, and removes the stencil to revel the printed image. A modern form of stenciling is screenprinting. During the screenprinting process, an artist stretches a fabric, such as silk, over a frame and uses pressure and a squeegee, a flat-bladed instrument, to transfer an even layer of ink over the fabric and imprint the design or image.
Intaglio printmaking occurs when an artist uses sharp tools to cut an image into a metal plate. The artist then wipes the plate with ink, allow the ink to soak into the recessed areas, and wipes the plate clean. An artist then uses the pressure of an etching press to imprint the image on damp paper, leaving behind a printed image with raised areas, much like embossing. Techniques included in the intaglio process are engraving, etching, drypoint, aquatint and mezzotint.