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What is an Original Art Print?

Kuupäev:   23 February 2010
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One of our specialisations is dealing with Original Art Prints, and sometimes people are unsure what an original Art Print is, so we offer here some information to clients and collectors without going in to too great depth of the processes. First off its probably worth noting their is not necessarily a clear definition of what a Original Art Print is, this is partly because artists co-opt different technologies and new methods are developed and its difficult to get different parties with different interest to agree on a term.

It would be reasonable to say that original art prints broadly fall in to 5 top line technique categories as follows. 1. Intaglio Print, 2. Relief print 3. Lithographic Print, 4. Silk Screen Print, 5. Digitally manipulated Prints, You may have heard elsewhere and seen on Art Engagement descriptions of works using terms such as wood cut print or linoprint , these descriptions are all sub categories of one of the main 5 type prints listed above, a little bit more on the sub categories is written further down.

A little on what Original art prints are not. They are not Reproduction prints. Reproductions are basically just that a reproduction of an original work, e.g. when you buy a poster of an artwork from a museum you like, these are reproductions, and generally do not have any input from an artist, and may be sold in volumes of many thousands. These may be created by for example a digital photograph being taken of an artwork, and then run through a sprayed ink printing process to paper, (e.g. inkjet printing from a colour printer) therefore a reproduction of the original work. In some cases living artist may sign such reproductions of their work, but it is not generally an accepted practice for a quality artist to do. Art Engagement does Not sell reproduction prints.

All the other methods of printing Art Engagement may sell, (Intaglio Print, Relief print, Planograpic Lithograph Print, Silk Screen Print, Digitally manipulated Prints) and they are created by a artist, often with the assistance of a print maker, and are produced in limited numbers, sometimes just two or 3 often a run of around 25 or 120 or 150 and sometimes more up to 250 is not uncommon. It can be considered generally excepted that a print run of more than 150 works is getting on the excessive side, this is partly because too many prints decreases the rarity value of the work and secondly because some of the printing techniques will only support a certain number of prints before the quality would deteriorate. Prints should also be numbered and signed by the artist so you may see a sign for example 25/120, which means its print number 25 of a run of 120. Print numbering is usually on the bottom left below the print with the artist signature on the bottom right. A print in most cases is signed in pencil, because it is more likely to show up if tampered with. Sometimes a print is also signed by the print maker on the bottom often on the left hand side, along with description of print method used. Sometimes a title of the artwork may be placed in the bottom middle below the artwork. The Artist and a print maker generally work in tandem to produce the run of prints, as the print maker has great understanding of materials to use, and processes and operational skill of print presses to assist and help the artists to realise what they are trying to achieve artistically.

So to the rest of the different print making techniques in brief Silk Screen printing uses a textile that is stretched round a frame usually made of wood or metal, the Textile has cuttings in it to form the picture or impression wanted, Paint is put in to the frame at one end and the frame rests on the paper to print on to it. Paint is then pushed from one end of the frame to the other and where the cuttings have been made in the textile the paint makes the impression on the paper.

Relief Prints use a print block (sometimes called a matrix) often made from vinyl sheet, metal sheet or wood. The artist indents relief areas in to the printing block using different tools such as knifes, the relief areas they create are the areas that will not have any ink applied to them, hence these form the pattern of the artwork they are creating. Paint is then rolled on to the print block and sits on top of the block not in the relief areas, paper is then pressed on to the block normally via a press that can exert more force than possible to do by hand. The same Print block may have the complete picture created on it from the start with different colour paints used in different sections of the block as required or it may be one of a series of cuts made into the block, that are used one after the other to form the complete picture.

Intaglio also uses a printing block usually made from metal such as copper or steel. In intaglio the printing inked area is all that is recessed in to the block (opposite to Relief) so the artist creates indents into the printing block usually with a mixture of cutting tools such as knifes along with acid formulas to etch with. Once the block is ready with the artist design on, the paint is pushed across the printing block in to the indents created, the excess ink not in the indents is rubbed off and then the print block is pushed against a paper to press the image on to the paper by means of a press. Intaglio printing requires high pressure on the block to the paper and a press is requirement to do this. One or more printing blocks may be used to create the finished picture. More printing blocks tend to be used when different colours are involved or the artist wishes to overlap some of the designs.

Lithographic prints again use a printing block which is usually made of limestone. The artist creates the image on the plate usually using a greasy ink or chalk. Ink is then usually rolled on to the print block fixing itself to the greasy areas but not to the other parts of the block that are made damp, The inked block is then pressed on to paper to form the image with the help of a press.

Digital print making is somewhat different from the other forms of print techniques the physical input required in the print process is a lot less, but is still time and creatively intensive. Digital print making is a form of picture manipulation and creation using computer software, often using elements from different photos taken and adding in elements using software tools, the finished article is then Printed usually on a high quality ink jet printer or sometimes using dye sublimation printers on high quality paper.

The terms giclee print, means to spray and usually refers to ink jet printing which many artists working with digital printing may use to create prints of their digitally manipulated work. The term Iris Print is also sometimes used, Iris being the name of high quality and expensive printers, it is used to denote a possible superior quality in digital printing. You may also see some prints referred to as digital litho or digital screen, which means that the pattern on a print block may have had some digitally originated material to produce the image on the block but the final process is still by means more traditional of manually inking and pressing the block against paper.

Other terms for prints are generally divisions of one of the main print types listed above, and generally refer to the sub type of print block / material used e.g. Intaglio may be referred to as copperplate print or engraved, in Relief printing terms such as wood cut print or linocut print are referring to the type of print block used etc. An original art print normally uses high quality handmade paper, It's susceptible to hazards of sunlight and excessive heat and needs protecting and mounting correctly. Hopefully this goes someway to helping any collectors understanding of what Original art prints are and highlights some of the work by artists gone into creating prints. Should you have any query as to the process of prints created shown on Art Engagement we would be happy to advise.

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