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WoodcutWoodcutWoodcut is a relief printing technique. It is one of the oldest printing techniques in the world, so old that this technique was used in the age of the Ancient Egyptians. Woodcut and letterpress printing were developed simultaneously. Letterpress printing had its heyday around 1500 when it was used to illustrate Hartmann Schedels books. Although it is an ancient technique, woodcut was only used as an artistic technique in the 16th century by artists such as Albrecht Dürer or Hans Baldung. To create a woodcut, different tools like a knife or a gouge are used to carve out the unwanted background from the thin wooden plate. Those parts that are cut away will stay white in the impression and only those parts of the surface that are left over will be printed black thus printing the motif. A woodcut print can either be made by hand or in a press. Woodcut can usually be recognised by a slight embossing on the reverse side of the paper.
Wood engravingWood engravingWood engraving is a relief printing technique which highly contrasts with etching or engraving. Relief printing means that the engraved lines are not filled with ink but that the space left, (the end grain of the wood) is covered with ink and then printed. This later technique was developed around the end of the 18th century. It was first founded by Thomas Bewich (1753-1828) in England and was used for the illustration of books. In comparison to etching it was quite a cost effective and cheap way of reproducing and copying graphics. By using different v-shaped tools to carve the wooden plate, black and white lines as well as plain areas can be formed. Very fine shading and dotting can create the impression of different grey-scales. A special characteristic of the wood engraving are black and white lined grids and dotting. Famous examples for this technique are works by the graphic artist Thomas Bewick.
EtchingEtchingEtching is a printing technique that was first developed in the 16th century. Up until the 18th century it was a very popular procedure used to illustrate books as well as to create pieces of art. The lining on a plate is not as precise as the other techniques, which gives etching a more natural look. The slightly uneven character of the lines is due to the fact that they are not engraved but bitten with acid. Usually a copper or zinc plate is coated with an etching ground - an acid-resistant substance. Once the coating has dried, one can draw on it with a sharp tool or a needle to expose thin lines of metal. The acid only bites in the exposed lines. Here the duration of the exposure decides about the depth of the lines, which causes the intensity of the colour on the print. The lining of an etching is less sharp and shows slight irregularity which is a typical characteristic of this technique. In order to print the template the varnish has to be cleaned off. Now ink can be rubbed into the plate and be printed on paper. The ink in the lines is transferred on the paper to create the etching and capture the work intended. Another typical characteristic of this technique is that the lining appears very natural as one does not need much pressure to draw on the etching ground. This enables the artist to move the hand freely and to draw very fine, detailed lines. Etching also enables the practitioner to add in a wide range of tones through adding different intensities of shading much like an artist might do when working with a pencil.
AquatintAquatintThe aquatint is an etching technique that was initially developed in Paris in 1765/68 by Jean Babtiste LePrince. The special characteristic of this technique is that not only the lines but whole areas of the print are treated with acid. This way, it is possible to create a wide range of tonal values, which makes aquatint seem less graphic and more fluid like painting. Usually a copper plate is evenly covered with fine asphalt dust. Then the plate is heated, so the asphalt melts on the template. Now the plate can be exposed to the acid which bites many tiny pockmarks into the metal between the asphalt particles. To create different grey tones, certain areas of the template are covered with varnish whilst other areas are exposed to the acid. The treatment is repeated several times. After the last acid treatment, the asphalt has to be cleaned off the plate. Now it can be covered with ink and printed on a sheet. An aquatint print can be recognised by its fine dotting that is created through the asphalt dust during the acid treatment. Often the aquatint technique is combined with other types of etching to give a print more structure and to achieve linear definition. Such prints often resemble watercolours or wash drawings. For more than one century this technique has been used for the reproduction of other graphics in books or to create pieces of art. A very well-known Artist who used Aquatint was the Spanish artist Francisco de Goya (1746-1828).
Copperplate engravingLithographieThis technique has been developed in the second part of the 15th century by Martin Schongauer who was one of the first copperplate artists. In the 17th century it was mainly used for the reproduction of graphics, maps and music notes. Copperplates engraving reached its heyday through masterpieces by artists like Matthäus Merian and Michael Wening. An etching needle is used to engrave very fine lines into a copper plate. Due to the rigidity of the metal the drawing can not be as free and spontaneous as in other techniques. So the layout of the lines seems more rigid than in other techniques because the motif is engraved and not etched. To create the copperplate engraving ink is rubbed into the carefully engraved motif. The plate is then put under high pressure and then the motif can be transferred onto paper. This procedure can only be repeated several times because the material wears out in the printing process and the prints slowly lose quality. Therefore copperplate prints are very precious for collectors as only a very limited amount of prints can be created.
LithographyLithographyThe lithography is a planographic printing technique which uses stone. The antipathy of acid and water is used in this technique. Unlike relief prints or line engraving, the design is drawn on a flat surface. Between 1796 and 1798 lithography was developed by Alois Senefelder in Munich. To create a lithograph, first a cut stone is treated with acid and grease. Then the grease is transferred to the stone with a drawing pen or with a brush. When finally the grease-based ink is rolled on the stone, only the grease drawing adheres to it and not the rest of the chemically treated stone. When placed under high pressure the motif can be transferred onto the sheet. This technique means that motifs are not engraved but simply drawn on a template. This fact means that one can move the hand very freely as in drawing. This quality can give lithograph prints a charming and light character.
Steel engravingSteel engravingSteel engraving is a relief print technique which has been developed by Jacob Perkins in 1820. It can be seen as a successor of copperplate engraving because it is closely related to this technique. When comparing the two techniques, it is possible to see the difference the material used for the plates makes. Steel plates produce a higher amount of final prints compared to copper because the metal is tougher and more rigid than copper. Steel does not wear out as quickly as copper and therefore prints show clean lines for a longer time. Steel engravings can be used to depict very fine shading but it does not reach the colour depth of a copper plate print. During a chemical process, the steel plate is softened and once this is done fine lines and shadings can be bitten in the metal with acid. After the motif has been bitten in the material hardens again so ink can be rubbed into the lines of the plate. Once this happens the ink can be transferred onto paper. In the 19th century this technique was mainly used to print banknotes or to illustrate books. Some of the most famous steel engraving artists are William H. Bartlett or Albert H. Payne.

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