Abraded
Having a worn or rubbed appearance as a result of mechanical or chemical action. An abrasion is a localized abraded area.

Abstract Art
Not realistic art, though the intention is often based on an actual subject, place, or feeling.

Abstract Expressionism
A 1940's New York painting movement based on Abstract Art. This type of painting is often referred to as action painting. American Genre Painting: Usually paintings of the rural Midwest and west during the 1920s and 30s.

Acrylic
Refers to a class of synthetic polymeric resins used extensively in emulsion paints, varnishes and adhesive formulations. In sheet form the acrylic resins bear trade names such as Plexiglas, Lucite and Perspex.

Acrylic Aquatint
First documented by Keith Howard in his 1991 publication "Safe Photo Etching for Photographers and Artists" where Speedball Screen Filler is airbrushed onto a copper plate and etched.

Acrylic Resist Etching
A term to describe the use of liquid acrylics and polymers in making etchresist grounds for metal plates.

Acrylic Soft-Ground
An acrylic soft-ground first developed by Keith Howard in 1991. A small amount of water soluble Graphic Chemical 1659 black relief ink is roll-coated onto a copper plate. While the ink is wet soft-ground textures are pressed into this ink-ground after which the ground is dried and plate etched in ferric chloride. After etching the plate is printed.

Aeration
A method, using a fish tank aerator, for circulating ferric chloride, or any etchant in a vertical etching tank, developed by Keith Howard in 1997.

Aesthetic
The science of the "beautiful" in a work of art. The aesthetic appeal of a work of art is defined by the visual, social, ethical, moral, and contemporary standards of society.

Acidic
In paper, an unstable state where the molecular structure of the paper breaks down, causing discoloration and weakening of the sheet and possible damage to adjoining papers or boards.

Acid Free
A paper product having a pH level of 7 or above.

Aging
The continuous action of atmospheric components- oxygen, moisture, as well as light, temperature - on materials and structures, leading to deterioration.

Akua Ink
Water-based inks made with gum-based binders, developed by printmakers Susan Rostow & William Jung. Rostow & Jung offer 2 types of inks. The original, Akua Kolor was developed for monotype in 1996. Akua Intaglio, developed in 2001, is thicker and tackier than Akua Kolor. Akua Oil converter medium will convert Akua Intaglio into a stiffer oil ink, that still cleans up with soap and water.

Air Brush
A small air-gun capable of spraying paint, ink, varnish or ground in a stream of fine droplets.

Alkaline Buffer
An additive used in paper-making processes and conservation treatments that will raise the pH level.

Aluminum
This metal can be used in printmaking either as a plate, or as a support for an impression to be made upon.

Aquatint
A technique of acid-biting areas of tone rather than lines. A ground is used that is not completely impervious to acid, and a pebbly or granular texture is produced on the metal plate.

Aquatint Screen
A transparent screen with opaque random dots, generally made through an imagesetter onto lithfilm, which is used to simulate the effect of a traditional intaglio aquatint when the screen is exposed to an ImagOn plate. Used in conjunction with Intaglio-Type Non-Etch techniques.

Aquatint Intaglio-Type
Techniques, developed by Keith Howard in 2003, to utilize airbrush stencils to create tonal variations with the Intaglio-Type non-etch technique. Ink-Emboss with Intaglio-Type, refers to the thickness of the ink on the final print

Archival
An archival material should have a neutral or slightly alkaline pH; it should also have good aging properties.

Art Deco
During the 1920s and 30s, artists used decorative motifs derived from French, African, Aztec, Chinese, and Egyptian cultures.

Art Nouveau
A style which evolved during the 1890s which used asymmetrical decorative elements derived from objects found in nature.

Artist Proof
Additional proofs from a print run that are not included in the regular edition. These prints are pulled for the artist approval and for personal use.

Ashcan School
A group of American painters and illustrators of the early 20th century, often known as "The Eight." Their work depicted such subjects as the streets and inhabitants of big cities.

Avant Garde
A term describing art that departs from the existing norm in an original or experimental way.

Badger Acrylic Aquatint Solution for Printmakers
An acrylic aquatint solution developed by Keith Howard and Elizabeth Dove in 1997 in collaboration with the Badger Airbrush Company, as a high quality airbrushed acrylic aquatint.

Barbizon School
French landscape artists who worked near Barbizon, France between 1835 and 1870.

Bas Relief
A low relief sculpture that projects only slightly from its 2 dimensional background.

Bauhaus
A design school founded by Walter Gropius in 1919 in Germany. The Bauhaus attempted to achieve a reconciliation between the aesthetics of design and the more commercial demands of industrial mass production.

Beading
A greasy surface repels water and aqueous preparations by reducing them to droplets.

Bed
(Of a Press) Part of a press on which the plate or block rests during printing. In a lithographic press, the bed is a mobile element which transports stone to a position beneath the scraper or roller.

Beaux-arts
A school of fine arts located in Paris which stressed the necessity of academic painting. Contemporary Art: Generally defined as art which was produced during the second half of the twentieth century.

Bevelling
The edges of intaglio plates are bevelled to ensure that they do not cut the paper in the press. A true bevel is only necessary if the plate is more than a millimeter thick, otherwise a light rounding off is sufficient.

Biting
The process of (1) corroding a design on a metal plate in either intaglio (e.g. etching) or relief (e.g. line block); and (2) fixing the image on the stone or metal plate in lithography.

Blanching
A pale discoloration on a surface as a result of superficial water or solvent penetration.

Blankets
Blankets may be used as the packing placed between the upper roller of the intaglio press and the paper when printing. These are used to even out the pressure being applied to a plate.

Block
The wooden element which is printed in making woodcuts and wood engraving. The word also applies to typographical printing elements.

Blurring
An impression will receive a blurred appearance if the paper and the inked roller are not properly registered during printing.

Bon a Tirer
Literally means "Good to print:" It is generally assigned on a trial proof by the artist when he wishes to indicate to the professional printer that a satisfactory state of his print has been obtained.

Bordeaux Etch
First introduced into printmaking by Cedric Green, is a copper sulphate solution designed for etching zinc plates quickly and safely.

Buckling
A radical shrinkage or compression of a surface (e.g panel painting) as a result of environmental action. This often results in generalized lifting or cleavage of the paint and decoration layers.

Burin Engraving
Also known as line engraving.

Burnishing
The operation of smoothing out the grain in the mezzotint process with the aid of the burnisher, a polished steel tool with a large round head. It is also used on metal plates where corrections are required.

Burr
The cutting action of a tool across a metal plate causes rough ridges known as "burr" to be thrown up on either side of the incision.

Callipers
A tool resembling a pair of dividers used in making corrections on an intaglio plate.

Canceled Plate
When the printing of a limited edition of prints has been completed, it is usual to deface the plates, stones, etc., to ensure that there is no possibility of their being reprinted.

Carborundum
A very hard mixture consisting primarily of silicon carbide; it is used as an abrasive and, in powdered form, in a method of engraving invented by Henri Goetz.

Chiaroscuro
The dramatic use of light and shadow to create a mood or a focal point in a painting.

Chine Colle
Areas of thin colored tissue mounted on or glued to the surface of a print.

Chisel
A flat tool used in woodcutting. It has a bevelled edge and is either pushed manually, or knocked with a mallet, over large areas to be cut away, i.e. those between the edges of the design and the sides of the block.

Chroma-lithography
In a loose manner this can mean simply printing lithographs in color.

Citric Acid
A non-toxic additive which enhances a ferric chloride based etching bath by preventing sedimentation. A major component of the Edinburgh Etch when added to Ferric Chloride.

Cleaning
As used in painting conservation, refers to application of solvents and other liquids to remove discolored surface coatings, as well as to retouchings and restorations not part of the original work.

Cliche Verre
A process of planographic printing, the artist draws a design with a needle on a glass plate coated with an opaque ground from which positive photographic prints are made on sensitized paper.

Clipping
Reducing the margins of a print.

Collage
A grouping of different textured materials or objects that are glued together.

Collagraph
The print resulting from a collage of materials glued together on a base and printed as a combined relief and intaglio plate.

Collotype
Initially called albertype, after its principal inventor, this process consists in pouring a layer of gelatine mixed with potassium chromate over the surface of a zinc or glass plate which is then exposed to light to receive the image.

Color Block
Color blocks (or tone blocks) print the various colors in a color or chiaroscuro woodcut. The key block prints the outline.

Conservation
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.
Conservator
A person specially trained in the preventive care and maintenance as well as restoration of works of art and museum objects.

Construction Intaglio-Type
Pieces of photopolymer film are added or constructed onto a plate where the final print shows the delineation of each constructed piece. A common Intaglio-Type plate re-working technique.

Contemporary Art
Generally defined as art which was produced during the second half of the twentieth century.

Contemporary Printmaking
An approach to printmaking that integrates computer imagery and technology with traditional painting and drawing skills. It is a user friendly approach to printmaking that offers the intaglio printmaker a totally new realm of creative image making.

Copper
The most important metal used in engraving. It is supple to work, yet strong enough to endure the press, receptive to ink and wipes clean without leaving traces.

Copper Facing
The application of a very thin layer of copper onto a metal plate by means of electrolysis. Zinc must initially be copper-faced if a steel-facing is to be applied.

Copper Sulphate
A common metal salt used to make up the Saline Sulphate Etch or The Bordeaux Etch.

Collograph Marks
Dried acrylic marks are so hard wearing on a plate that they can be used as a raised printing surface. This is often combined with intaglio marks or Intaglio-Type techniques which have incised marks on the plate through etching or mechanical action.

Corrosive Agents
Products used for cleaning and biting the various fabrics, papers, stones and metals used in printmaking are divided into three types: acids, alkalis and salts.

Counter Proof
An impression taken from a freshly printed sheet onto another piece of paper. It shows the design in the same direction as that on the plate, stone or block; the artist uses it for assessing corrections to be made.

Coverage
The ability of an ink to cover and absorb into a surface as regards the amount required for printing. It is relative to the receptivity of the support to the ink.

Cracks
In grounds, paint layers, surface coatings (of paintings), the term designates a system of fissures that develop with the aging of the materials, or as a result of environmental action (expansion, contraction of the support), or a combination of both.

Crackle Intaglio-Type
A non-exposure technique, developed by Keith Howard in 2001, where a raw unexposed ImagOn plate is heated on a hot-plate and then painted with Gum Arabic. As the Gum dries it cracks. The plate is developed in the soda ash developer and then printed.

Crayon
Various types of crayon are used in printmaking. The greasy lithographic crayon is made with a natural grease or a chemical. A corrective crayon is used in lithography to remove lines or blemishes.

Crisco Lift
A very detailed lift process in which positive marks are established with melted vegetable fat, coated with floor varnish, aquatinted, and then etched (developed by Friedhard Kiekeben and Susan Groce in 1998)

Cubism
A revolutionary art movement between 1907 and 1914 in which natural forms were changed by geometrical reduction. Leading figures were Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso.

Dabber
A dabber is half moon shaped, stuffed with cotton and covered with silk and is used for inking the incisions on an intaglio plate and the relief areas on a wood block.

Destruction-Ground
An etch resist technique, first developed by Keith Howard in 1991, where Speedball Screen Filler is diluted and painted onto a copper plate. It is then etched in ferric chloride and printed revealing a corresponding tonal value to the thickness that the screen filler was applied to the plate. Many other types of acrylics can be substitute with the screen filler to create a variety of marks.

Dampening
Paper is moistened before printing as this makes it more flexible when contact is made with the block, plate, etc., and also ensures better receptivity of the ink.

Digital Halftone
A halftone is an image created with a series of large and small dots to facilitate photo reproduction plate making techniques. A digital halftone is made through computer technology and printed from laser or inkjet printers onto clear film.

Deacidify
To chemically stabilize acidic paper; can be either an aqueous or non-aqueous treatment.

Digital Intaglio-Type
A technique, developed by Keith Howard in 2000, where the top Mylar of an Intaglio-Type plate is used to carry the image prior to exposing the plate in the exposure unit.

Deckled Edge
The rough uneven edge on handmade paper and on some good quality machine made paper which has been left untrimmed.

Disintegration
Printing error which occurs if paper that has been excessively dampened is put in the press. It becomes attached to the plate and disintegrates.

Dotter Manner
A method of engraving dating from the fifteenth century. Small round holes were stamped with a punch and hammer into a metal plate which was then inked and printed as a relief block or metalcut.

Dot Work
A loose description of the surface of any metal plate, either relief (see: dotted manner) or intaglio, which has been dotted or grained in a manner such as to create an impression of tone when printed.

Double Image
A printing error which causes the image of the print to appear twice. It occurs if the paper falls out of alignment as a result of not being properly secured during one or, more likely, two passages through the press.

Drypoint
A method of intaglio engraving on metal.

Edition
A limited number of impressions of a print. When the edition is complete the plate or block is often destroyed.

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

Engraver
One who engraves, the specialist who engraved on the stone in lithographic engraving: a technique which was popular when lithography had a larger industry than it has today.

Engraving
A type of intaglio printing in which the plate is cut with a tool called a "graver" or "burin," which cuts a V-shaped trough.

Enviroment, Enviromental Factors
In the context of conservation and deterioration studies, these terms refer to physical effects of the environment, such as humidity, temperature, light, pollutants of the atmosphere.

Etcher
An engraver who practices the etching process.
Etching
A form of intaglio printing in which the lines of an image are drawn on a metal plate with a metal line making tool and then bitten by acid.

Etching "A La Plume"
A method of intaglio printing in which a pen and ink drawing is made on a clean metal plate. When this has dried, the entire surface is covered with a light aquatint ground and placed in an acid bath removing the ground where it is to be found over the ink.

Ex-Libris
An owner's mark placed in a book, usually on the inside of the cover. Engraved ones have been used since the fifteenth century.

Expansion
The result of change in the dimension of a sheet of paper due to excess humidity; more pronounced across the grain than with it.

Expressionism
A concept of painting in which traditional adherence to realism and proportion is overridden by the intensity of an artist's emotional response to the subject.

Facsimile
A print which is an exact copy of an original design, i.e. a "reproductive" print as opposed to an "original" print.

Fading
The gradation of a tint in an imperceptible manner.

False Margins
A print may not have normal margins for a variety of reasons. In this case, it may be mounted on a larger sheet of paper which provides it with false margins.

Fecit
Sometimes found after the name of the engraver or maker at the base of a print, meaning the artist whose name it follows "made it."

Felt
Woollen or cotton material used for packing round the printing rollers.

Fiber Fill
Utilizing paper pulp to complete losses in a sheet of paper.

Fillet
A small ornamental wood molding put on the inside of the matting of a framed work of art.

First Edition
The earliest, first printing run of a print or book.

Flaking
Loss of small islands of paint, or other surface material, or even ground layers following cleavage, blistering, or buckling action in paintings or similar works of art.

Flattening
A restoration procedure involving controlled humidification and controlled drying under pressure.

Format
Plates, blocks and screens, sheets of paper, film and negatives often have recurrent formats, which means that the dimensions of a print frequently recur.

Foxing
The discoloration of paper or other surfaces by brownish or greyish spots, believed to be caused by micro-organisms (mould) developing rapidly at high humidities under stagnant conditions.

Frontispiece
In the oldest sense of the word, the frontispiece refers to an ornate title page in a book; more recently; it has applied to an illustration placed before or opposite the title page.

Frottage
Textural rubbing on paper done with crayon, oil or pencil.

Gesso
An underpainting medium consisting of glue, plaster of paris, or chalk and water. Gesso is used to size the canvas and prepare the surface for painting.

Glass Prints
The "cliche-verre" is sometimes translated as a glass print. Completely distinct from this are certain decorative items produced in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, which are also often termed "glass prints."

Gouache
A watercolor medium which is mixed with finely ground white pigment to provide an opaque paint.

Gouge
A tool used for cutting wood and linoleum, specifically to clear away larger spaces of the block.

Gradation
Gradual strengthening, or weakening, of a tone.

Grain
A loose description of aquatint ground and of its resulting effect on an impression, and of any other printing element or impression with dots or grain on its surface.

Hand-Coloring
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.

Hatching
Parallel lines which are cut close together in an engraving with the aim of giving an effect, en masse, of a grey or dark tone.

HC (Hors De Commerce)
An impression pulled outside the edition for the personal use of the publisher or artist.

Humidity
See also relative humidity. The absolute humidity is the content of water vapor in the air measured as grams per cubic meter or in equivalent terms.

Imitation
A reproduction of an original drawing or of a particular artist's style.

Impasto
The thick textured build up of a picture's surface which is created through the repeated applications of paint.

Impression
In printing terminology, an impression is any print taken from a particular block, plate, etc.

Impressit ("Imp")
Indicates the name of a printer. The artist has occasionally acted in this capacity as well as making the design.

Imprint
The imprint obtained by making a mould of a relief block or an intaglio plate (in, respectively, intaglio and relief).

Incandescent
As used in lighting, refers to the type of lamp with a tungsten filament. The light produced is a continuous spectrum in the visible region, and is on the 'warm' side, i.e. about 2,500-3,0000 Kelvin.

Initial
A large typographical letter appearing at the beginning of texts. It can be specially engraved and decorated with figures or various ornaments.

Ink
Colored liquid used for writing, drawing and printing. It can be thick in texture, or even solid, in which case it is dissolved. A large number of different types of ink are used in printmaking. Drawing inks are used for preparatory designs on blocks and plates.

Inking
The process of putting the required amount of ink onto the necessary parts of the printing element. It is applied with either a roller or a dabber; on an intaglio plate pieces of muslin or a brush are also used.

Inpainting (Retouching)
Introduction of new paint into areas of loss in an original construction.

Invenit
Accompanies the name of the artist of the original design on a print.

Intaglio
A printing process in which an image is incised or etched onto a metal plate using a variety of techniques and tools. Ink is applied to recessed areas of the printing plate by wiping or dabbing.

Japon Paper
A good quality paper which is lightly translucent and extremely resistant. It is used for fine impressions. Imitation Japanese paper also exists.

Japanese Woodcuts
A Japanese technique of woodcutting.

Key Stone
The stone on which the original drawing is made in lithography. It can be copied for transfer impressions in order to avoid damage which may be caused by over-handling.

Key Transfer
The transfer of each color from a transparency to a block for printing in several colours. The line which forms the outline of each color on the transfer can be called the key line.

Laid Paper
A type of hand-made paper which shows the pattern of the vertical wire-marks and the horizontal connecting chain-lines of the wires in the papermaker's mould.

Lettering
All printed inscriptions relating to the design represented in a print.

Light Staining
A print which has been exposed to the light, over a long period, without any protection, becomes dusty and dirty and acquires a stained appearance.

Line
This refers to any line as it appears on an impression, whether taken from the inked or uninked parts of the printing element; as well as to the incisions made in a plate or block, and the marks on a lithographic stone.

Line Engraving
The process of adhering a reinforcing fabric to the back of a canvas painting, giving it new strength and durability.

Linocut
An abbreviation of linoleum cut.

Lithograph
A process in which proofs are pulled on a special litho-press from a flat surface (often stone) that is chemically sensitized to take ink.

Lithographic Engraving
A polished lithographic stone can also be used for etching. The surface is covered with liquid ground such as is used for intaglio printing. After drying, the drawing is done with a blunt needle. A dilute acid is used as a mordant.

Lithographic Mezzotint
A method which is akin to mezzotint in metal engraving although it does not attain quite the same quality. Various methods of working the stone exist of which the aim is to create the white areas by scraping away parts of a specially prepared black background.

Lithographic Wash
A process used in lithography for obtaining the effects of a wash drawing. It has also been known as a lithotint. It must not be confused with a lithographic aquatint in which the grain is more marked. The color is applied with a dabber.

Lithography
The process of making a drawing on a flat stone for the purpose of making a print. An image is drawn on a stone with a greasy ink; the stone is dampened and pressed with moist paper. Stone and paper are passed through a flat-bed scraper press.

Margin
The area of free space around an image on a piece of paper.

Mark
A particular sign or symbol serving as an artist's signature on a print.

Mat
A mat is a board made of paper or cotton that surrounds a work of art, photograph or document used for decoration as well as providing protection for the piece and structure for framing.

Mezzotint
The only intaglio technique that proceeds from dark to light rather than the opposite. The surface of a metal plate is abraded with an instrument called a rocker. An image is produced by smoothing out areas of the plate.

Mixograph (Mixography)
Casting a copper printing plate from a high-relief collage or maquette made up of various materials. The plate used is made up of a thick, resilent material that absorbs ink and creates a frescolike quality.

Monogram
A combination of letters, usually initials of a proper name, or an abbreviated signature.

Monoprint
A one-of-a-kind print made by painting on a sheet of glass or metal, and transferring the still-wet painting to a sheet of paper.

Monotype
A unique image printed from a polished plate, glass, metal, or other material painted with ink.

Montage
The production of a composite image made from various elements as, for example, in the combination of photographic positives or negatives with drawn stencils in screenprinting.

Mould
A mould is a kind of tray consisting of crossed wires in a wooden frame over which paper pulp is spread. A mould is made of a block or plate in reverse to the original when making a replica of it (stereotype). The mould used for casting type is known as a matrix.

Mildew (Mold)
A large group of small fungi, the vegetative structures of which invade many organic substances such as paper.

Mount
The process of adhering paper to a flat surface.

Mural
A continuous painting which is designed to fill a wall or other architectural area.

Needle
A pointy tool used to scratch the surface of a plate usually made of metal or stone.

Negative
A " negative " impression produces white areas in place of the black, or vice versa, e.g. an impression taken from an intaglio plate which has been inked with a roller.

Niello
A niello is the incrustation of an engraved silver or gold plate with a metallic black enamel.

Numbering
Impressions taken from a particular edition are sometimes numbered. The numbers are written at the base: the number of the impression within the edition is followed by the total number printed.

Oil Paint
A powdered pigment which is held together with oil, usually linseed oil.

Original
The original is the one from which a copy or tracing is made.

Original Print
A print made from the original plate, block, stone, screen, etc. which the artist has created and printed from himself.

Overpaint
The covering over of original areas, as opposed to the limiting of retouches (in painting) to areas of damage.

Overprinting
There are three methods of color printing: by juxtaposing the colors; by mixing the colors before printing; and by printing the colors on top of each other, i.e. overprinting, to obtain gradations of tone and different colors.

Page
Each side of a leaf in a book is a page, whether printed or not.

Pagination
Numeration of the pages in a book.

Paper
Papermaking involves mixing vegetable fibers and water into a paste which is then drained, pressed and dried in a mould until a sheet is formed.

Paper Conservator
An individual professionally trained to preserve and restore paper.

Patina
A surface formation on an object, e.g corrosion, oxidation, discoloration, which may be either natural in origin, or artificially applied (for aesthetic reasons) by the artist or craftsman.

Photographic Processes
Photographic processes are used to create an image on sensitized paper, either by means of a negative, or by exposing the paper directly to the light, having previously blocked out parts of it with various objects.

Plate Signed
Prints in which the artist's signature is put onto the plate itself, and then transferred to the print through the same process as the rest of the design.

Photogravure
Prints in which the original image is photographed through a finely cross-ruled screen onto copper-plates, the margins and non-printing areas of the plate are covered with acid resist and the plate is then etched.

Pochoir
A stencil and stencil-brush process used to make multicolor prints, for tinting black and white prints, and for coloring reproductions and book illustrations, especially fine and limited editions.

Pop Art
A style derived from commercial art forms and characterized by larger than life replicas of items from mass culture.

Portfolio
A pliable case, made of thick cardboard, frequently covered with leather or cloth, in which prints are presented, stored, and conserved.

Positive and Negative
Photographic terminology is sometimes applied to prints; i.e. a positive design is black on white, a negative one is white on black.

Poupee A La
The French term used for a method of coloring an intaglio plate by hand. Contrary to usual methods of color printing, the different colours are all applied on one plate with the aid of a stump of rag, known as a "poupee" (or dolly).

Preparatory Drawing
Before making an engraving, woodcut, etc., a preparatory drawing is made on the surface of the printing element. It may be a tracing or transfer of the original design, or it may be an original itself, done with pencil, ink, chalk or other medium.

Pressure
The pressure of an intaglio plate on the paper when pulled through the press results in the formation of a plate mark. In French, a distinction is made between the plate mark on the recto of the paper ("cuvette") and that on the verso (" foulage ").

Pricking
A method of transferring a drawing, by pricking with a fine needle the outlines of the design, leaving small holes which may be pounced. This involves shaking powdered red chalk over the dots so that a trace of the design is obtained on the paper or plate.

Printing Press
Three primary printing presses are a Typographic Press, Intaglio Press and Lithographic Press (Planographic Press). A manual press is generally used by artists making their own prints, distinguished from mechanical presses used in industry.

Print
The image obtained from any printing element.

Printing
The action of making a print on a support, whether it be of paper or of any other material, from a block, plate or stone or through a screen, in any of the printmaking procedures.

Printing Element
The part which is inked and produces the impression when printed, i.e. the block, plate, stone or screen.

Proof
In a general sense, this word has been used to indicate any impression of a print. Strictly speaking, it should be limited to those impressions pulled by the artist to prove or test his work, whether before or after completion of the block, plate, etc.

Proof (Before Lettering)
An impression taken before the lettering (dedication, title, names of artist, engraver, etc.) has been engraved.

Proof (With Lettering)
The lettering comprises all the writing underneath or above the design on the plate, block, etc. Impressions are sometimes taken on intaglio plates with scratched letters before the lettering is properly engraved, or with it only partly inscribed.

Proof (With Remarques)
A "remarque" is a scribbled sketch made by the artist outside his main design which is eliminated later for printing the main edition.

Proof (Artists Proof)
A proof reserved for the artist outside the main edition.

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

Pulp
The fibrous substance resulting from the pulping process in papermaking.

Raking Light
The technique of illumination of the surface of a work of art (painting) at one side, and at a very low (grazing) angle, which accentuates through shadow effects the contours, texture, and other features.

Ream
480 Sheets of paper.

Receptivity
In printing terminology, a surface is said to be receptive if it retains the ink well.

Recto
(1) The front of an object. (2) The right hand page of an open book or manuscript.

Registration
Owing to the number of plates or blocks, etc., used in color printing, a careful registration is required to ensure that each element prints in the correct position.

Relief
As opposed to intaglio and planographic printing, the black areas of an impression taken from a block cut in relief are made by inking the raised parts, thereby leaving the furrows to print white.

Remarque
A sketch made by the artist on the margin of an etched plate, often unrelated to the main composition.

Reproduction
Before photography, a work was reproduced by copying it identically, or interpreting it as closely as possible if a different technique to that of the original was used. Engraving, wood engraving and lithography were the most common methods of reproduction.

Restoration
Refers to corrective and restorative measures to compensate for damages, deterioration and other defects. An attempt is made to return the work to a satisfactory aesthetic state. Restoration is now considered an aspect of conservation.

Reverse, In
1. The design of a print is always drawn in the reverse sense on the block, plate or stone, so that it will print the correct way round.
2. An image is reversed in all printing procedures except screenprinting.

Rework
When part of the printing element has been corrected or touched up.

Roulette
An engraver's tool having a revolving circular head with either a single serrated edge (the simple roulette) or a wider surface dotted or lined in a variety of forms.

Royal
A format of paper (620 X 500 mm.).

Rubbing
A method of taking an impression from a relief block with a leather rubber or a burnisher used manually on the verso-of the paper.

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

Screenprinting
An ancient method of oriental printmaking which, considerably modified and ameliorated, has become one of the four most important methods of modern printing. Contemporary artists have made much use of it as a printmaking technique.

Serigraph
Silkscreen print whose color areas are paint films rather than printing-ink stains. The direct technique is versatile enough to produce an unlimited range of colors and depths.

Sight Edge
This refers to the work of art visible to the viewer. The actual edge of a painting or drawing may be concealed by the frame or mat.

Silkscreen
The term usually used in America for screenprinting.

Sizing
A substance added to paper to create a degree of water resistance.

Soft Ground Etching
One of the etching processes which aims to simulate the effects of a chalk or crayon drawing.

Splatter
A method of applying the ink in lithography. It is sprayed through a metal mesh onto the stone with the aid of a stiff brush. Areas which are to remain white or be very lightly splattered are protected with gum Arabic (staging out).

State
The proofs taken while the artist is working on the plate, stone, etc. to check different stages of his progress are known as states; each one showing additional working constitutes a different state. The last one is said to be the definitive state (or proof).

Steel-Facing
A process consisting of depositing, by electrolysis, a very thin layer of iron onto a copper plate in order to reinforce it.

Steel Plates
Plates made from steel. Steel, made from a mixture of iron and a larger proportion of carbon, did not become used until the end of the eighteenth century, particularly in England.

Stencil
A barrier used to control the application of medium, used to create shapes or apply color or linework to specific areas of a working surface.

Substrate
The primary layer of material; can relate to a mount substance or the base material upon which a work of art is executed.

Sugar-Lift Process
A method of defining drawn areas on an intaglio plate. The necessary area is painted directly onto the metal surface with Indian ink in which sugar has been dissolved.

Suite
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.

Sulpher Print
Sulpher in a powdered form is used to achieve a tone similar to that of an aquatint.

Support
In a painting, the physical structure that holds or carries the ground and paint film. Any material, such as fabric, wood, metal or paper, on which a work of art is executed, serving as a structural base.

Surface Tone
If a plate is not completely wiped before printing, " surface tone " is created by the films of ink left on its surface. Selective wiping creates surface tone.

Tempera
Pigment which is mixed with water or egg yolk and usually applied to board or panel.

Tint
Generally speaking, a tint can be any color; more specifically it is a variant shade obtained by mixing one color with another, particularly white.

Tone
The particular shade of a color; in printing terminology, tone is opposed to line. It refers to non-linear techniques, such as wash or paint, etc., and its interpretation into prints is effected by the tonal processes, e.g. aquatint, brush etching, dotted manner, stipple.

Tirage
Complete print documentation given to the buyer upon purchase of a print. The "who, what, where, when, and how many" of the print.

Transfer
The removal of the support (e.g. wood) of a painting and its replacement by a more stable support. Partial transfer refers to retention o the original ground layer with possibly a thin layer of wood, before reinforcing with the new support material.

Transmitted Light
The illumination of an object by placing the light source behind and viewing from the front. Useful in revealing crack systems and other forms of separation.

Ultraviolet Light
Primarily invisible light, ranging from the x-ray region, about 4 nanometers wavelength to just beyond the violet in the visible spectrum, about 380 nanometers.

Varnish
Usually refers to the thin protective and aesthetic coating on a work of art or museum object. There are natural and synthetic resin varnishes.

Verso
1. The reverse or back of an object.
2. The left hand page of an open book or manuscript.
Watercolor
A pigment mixed with a binder and applied with water to give a transparent effect.

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

Wiping (the plate)
In all intaglio printing methods the plate is wiped after it has been inked; the white areas of a print will not appear clean unless this is done very thoroughly.

Woodcut
A method of relief printing in which wood is the printing element.

Wood Engraving
Another method of relief printing in which wood is the printing element.

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

Zincography
A handmade paper produced from a mould with a mesh tightly woven to leave no visible pattern. A term sometimes adopted from the French, meaning the use of lithography on a zinc plate, as zinc may also be etched.