Printmaking

What is a print? 

An artwork created by transferring ink or paint from a matrix (a prepared surface) onto paper or fabric.

Why printmaking? 

It allows artists to create editions (multiple original copies) or one-of-a-kind monoprints using pressure and texture.

Printmaking Changed the World

Ancient Origins (China, 2nd–8th Century CE): Woodblock printing began in China during the Han and Tang dynasties to print Buddhist texts and patterns on silk.

The Communication Revolution (Europe, 1440s): Johannes Gutenberg adapted movable type, and printmakers began illustrating books so knowledge, science, and ideas could spread to everyday people rather than just royalty.

• Before printmaking, every single book, map, and picture had to be hand-drawn by scribes.

• Printmaking was the world's first "mass media"—like the invention of the internet for the Renaissance.

The Law of the Stamp: Every relief block or gel plate transfers an exact mirror image (reversal) of what is on the plate.

• If you carve a letter facing forwards on your block, it will print completely backwards on your paper.

• Words, numbers, and directional symbols (like arrows or left-handed figures) must be traced and transferred in reverse.