Trad vs Modern Printing

7/29/2019 Trad vs Modern Printing

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See Wikipedia for this

and another of quark inthe reading list

PrintmakingTechniques by the Digital ArtPractices & Terminology Task Force (DAPTTF) 2005 Digital Art Practices & Terminology Task Force (DAPTTF) This analysis of printmaking techniques andtechnologies is divided into two parts: (1)Traditional Printmaking Techniques and (2) DigitalPrintmaking Technologies. Note: Reproductionis encouraged, however any reproduction should

be accompanied by an appropriate credit, notingthat it is published by the Digital Art Practices &Terminology Task Force (DAPTTF), 2005.Questions about reproduction, permissions, orother comments should be addressed to eitherHarald Johnson ([email protected]), or to JohnS. Shaw ([email protected]).

Traditional Printmaking Techniques

From the time of Drer, indeed from the time ofancient China, artists have used a variety ofprocesses to create a repeatable image on paper.These various methods of creating a fine print (a

print in the fine arts tradition) have been used anddeveloped through the centuries, adapted for new
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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applications, and continuously evolving. Forexample, the serigraphic works of Leroy Nieman orJasper Johns are printed with techniques first used

by Chinese artists roughly 2,000 years B.C. Whereas in this section we are simplydescribing the range of traditional methods bywhich printmakers created their works of art, itmust be kept in mind that these traditionaltechniques have been used and adapted by currentartists in a variety of ways, today using digitaltechnology to enhance and further the capabilities

of these techniques; one example would bemonoprints, which today are usually digital printsthat are subsequently over-worked individually inthe manner of monotypes. (see "Monotypes")

Traditional printmaking techniques fall intofour categories: relief printing where the image iscreated by carving from a flat plane those areas

which will not be part of the image, and applyingink to the raised area (e.g., woodblock); intaglio,where the image is created by removing surfaceand forcing ink into the negative spaces (e.g.,etching); stenciling where the negative image isaffixed to a fine mesh screen and ink then forcethrough the screen (screenprinting or serigraphy);and planographic printing where the image andnegative area are both on the same plane (e.g.,lithography). RELIEF Woodcut Thewoodcut is the art of engraving on wood byhollowing out with chisels areas of a plank ofusually cherry wood, pear, apple or boxwood,leaving a design on the surface. The transfer ofthis design onto paper is achieved by inking the

surface with typographic ink and applying pressurewith a press. The woodcut technique was used for


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decorating textiles in China as early as the 5thcentury AD and by the 15th century it was appliedto religious images and playing cards in Europe.

The finest exponents of the woodcut in 16th-century Europe were the Germans: Albrecht Drer,Hans Holbein and Lucas Cranach. By the early19th century woodcuts were largely supplanted incommercial work by the technique of woodengraving (a more exact process where the designis incised on the end of a hardwood block) and itwasn't till the latter part of that century when

artists rediscovered woodcuts as a medium ofartistic expression. Among these were EdvardMunch, who used softwoods, and Paul Gauguinwho achieved interesting effects by sanding thewood. The Japanese, traditional masters of thewoodcut, must be acknowledged as importantforerunners of much of the work done bywesterners throughout the 20th century.

Linocut The linocut is a printmaking techniquesimilar to that of the woodcut, the difference beingthat the image is engraved on linoleum instead ofwood. Since linoleum offers an easier surface forworking, linocuts offer more precision and agreater variety of effects than woodcuts. Longdisparaged by serious artists as not challenging

enough, the linocut came into its own after artistslike Picasso and Matisse began to work in thattechnique. INTAGLIO Etching Etching isa method of making prints from a metal plate,usually copper or zinc, which has been bitten withacid. The plate is first coated with an acid-resistantsubstance (etching ground or varnish) throughwhich the design is drawn with a sharp tool (burin

or other). The acid eats the plate through the


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exposed lines; the more time the plate is left inthe acid, the coarser the lines. When the plate isinked and its surface rubbed clean, and it is

covered with paper and passed (between thecylinders of an etching press under high pressure)under a cylindrical press, the ink captured in thelines is transferred to the paper. The firstetching on record was that of the Swiss artist, UrsGraf, who printed from iron plates. Albrecht Drer,though a consummate engraver, made only fiveetchings, and never really dominated the

technique. That was left to later artists like theItalian Parmigianino and, of course, Rembrandt,perhaps the greatest etcher of all time. Lateradepts of acid etching were Tiepolo and Canalettoin Italy and, of course, Francisco Goya in Spain.The 20th century saw important bodies of work byPablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall andGeorges Rouault. Drypoint Drypoint is anengraving method in which the design is scratcheddirectly onto the (usually copper) plate with asharp pointed instrument. Lines in a drypoint printare characterized by a soft fuzziness caused by inkprinted from the burr, or rough metal edge liftedup on each side of the furrow made by the etching(drypoint) tool. Drypoint is most often used in

combination with other etching techniques,frequently to insert dark areas in an almost-finished print. Mezzotint Mezzotint or "blackmanner" is the technique which, contrary to theother methods in use, works from black to whiterather than white to black. This is achieved bylaying down a texture on a plate by means of apointed roulette wheel or a sharp rocker. The burrs

thus created trap a large quantity of ink and give a


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rich black. The mezzotint artist then scrapes awaythe burr in areas he wants to be gray or white. Theprocess produces soft, subtle gradations and is

usually combined with etching or engraving whichlends clean-lined definition. Historically thetechnique has been associated with England, andis often referred to as "the English method." Soft Varnish Soft varnish or "vernis mou"became popular in the 18th and 19th centuries asa method of drawing or transferring designs andtextures directly onto a plate. When used for

drawing, a paper is placed on top of a soft stickyground and then drawn over. The resulting line isbroad and soft, sometimes thought to resemblepencil or chalk drawings. When used to capturetextures directly the subject (lace, leaves, flowers,etc.) is laid directly on the soft ground and thenpassed through the etching press with theresulting image being exposed to acid. Both effects

can be interesting. Aquatint This technique isso called because its finished prints often resemblewatercolors or wash drawings. It is a favoritemethod of printmakers to achieve a wide range oftonal values. The technique consists of exposingthe plate to acid through a layer (or sometimessuccessive layers) of resin or sugar. The acid bites

the plate only in the spaces between the resinparticles, achieving a finely and evenly pittedsurface that yields broad areas of tone when thegrains are washed off and the plate is inked andprinted. A great many tones can be achieved on asingle plate by exposing different areas to differentacid concentrations or different exposure times.Aquatint techniques are generally used in

combination with etching or engraving to achieve


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linear definition. Aquatint was little favored byetchers until Francisco Goya used it to such greateffect in his celebrated edition of 80 etchings

entitled "Los Caprichos." After Goya the techniquewas used extensively by Edgar Degas and CamillePissarro. In sugar aquatint, also called "sugarlift," the artist uses a sugar-ink mixture to drawwith pen or pencil on a surface treated with resin.When dry the drawing is covered with a layer ofvarnish and when dry introduced into a hot-waterbath that exposes the drawing in the resin. The

plate is then bitten in the acid bath and theresulting print has a soft, painterly look. Carborundum Carborundum is really thereverse of etching, wherein diverse materials(carbon powder, iron filings, etc.) are used in aglue medium to build a convex texture on theplate, which is then inked and put through thepress. When used with other etching techniques

this procedure produces varied and interestingeffects of line, texture and relief. Embossing Strictly speaking not an intaglioprocess, embossing is a process developed byJapanese printmakers, who first printed etchingplates without ink, creating a relief, white-on-whiteimage, a process that quickly found favor in the

west. In Spain it is referred to as "golpe enblanco." STENCIL Silk Screen orSerigraphy Silk screen, or "serigraphy" as itprefers to be known in fine-art circles, originatedin China and found its way to the West in the 15thcentury. It's a stencil process based on theporosity of silk (nylon or other fabric) that allowsink to pass through the areas which are not

"stopped" with glue or varnish. One or more layers


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of ink are applied with a squeegee, each onecovering the open areas of succeeding screensuntil the final composite image is achieved.

Photographic transfers, both in line and halftone,can also be fixed to the screen with a light-sensitive emulsion. Serigraphy took on the statusof art in the late 1930s in the United States whena group of artists working with the Federal ArtProject experimented with the technique andsubsequently formed the National SerigraphicSociety to promote its use. PLANOGRAPHIC Lithography This is the printmaking techniqueinvented by Senefelder in Germany in 1796 thattakes advantage of the repulsion between oil andwater to transfer an image from a smoothlimestone surface to a sheet of paper. It isconsidered one of the most authentic means ofartistic reproduction as it prints directly the touchof the artist's hand. On the other hand, sheer

production numbers detract somewhat from itsappeal to collectors, as the method permitspractically unlimited editions. The first artists wholeft their mark on the lithographic tradition weremainly French and go from the early Delacroix andGricualt to Daumier, Degas, Manet, and especiallyOdilon Redon. The advent of color lithographyin the mid-19th century saw significant work byToulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin, Bonnard and EdouardVuillard. The American expatriate, James McNeilWhistler, produced some remarkable views of theRiver Thames in England while his compatriots ofthe firm of Currier & Ives were papering the UnitedStates with their own characteristic lithographs.Other 20th-century practitioners have been Edvard

Munch, the German Expressionists, and the


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Mexicans Jos Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera andRufino Tamayo. Intaglio One of the fourmajor types of printmaking techniques (the others

being relief printing, stencilling, and planographicprinting) whose distinguishing feature is the factthat the ink forming the design is printed only fromthe recessed areas of the plate. Among intagliotechniques are engraving, etching, drypoint,aquatint, soft-ground etching and crayon-manneretching. MONOTYPE Monotype Monotypeis a one-off technique in which a flat surface on

copper, zinc or glass is painted with oil colors orink and then passed through the etching press.The process permits only one copy; thus"monotype." Modern monotypes take advantage ofa wide variety of materials including perspex,cardboard, etc., with artists creating veritablecollages on the surface, then printing them forsurprising results. The term monoprint is often

used interchangeably, but in actual fact amonoprint is a unique image where part of theimage is repeatable on a fixed matrix and part isnot. Digital prints onto film transferred to areceptor paper are monoprints. Note: Much ofthis Traditional Printmaking Techniques materialwas developed by Miguel Booth and his colleagues

at the World Printmakers website(www.worldprintmakers.com) and is usedgratefully with permission of the publishers. ^back to top

Digital Printmaking Technologies


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Common technologies used to produce digitalprints include inkjet, electrophotography (dry tonerand liquid toner), thermal transfer (mass transfer

and dye sublimation transfer), and laser imaging(digital photo printing) on photographic paper. INKJET Inkjet is a popular technologybased upon the ejection of small drops of fluid byan actuator that is controlled by a digital computersystem. Once ejected from a printhead orifice(nozzle), the droplets pass through the air to aprinting medium, typically paper, on which they

form spots or dots. By controlling both theactuator and the relative position of the medium,an array of spots is produced on the medium toform a pattern. With the appropriate ink dropletsizes, ink colors, and ink-receiving medium, animage is created. Today, image quality andpermanence can be produced in commerciallyavailable inkjet systems with performance

exceeding traditional photographic technology. Piezo, Thermal, and Continuous-Flow InkjetTechnologies These three are the most commoninkjet technologies employed. For the digitalprintmaker they are usually combined with water-based (acqueous) inks, either pigmented or dye-based. The differences among them are the

actuator technologies:

Piezo [or piezoelectriccrystal actuator based on-demand inkjettechnology, in the full term] uses a small crystalthat bends when current is applied to it to producethe actuation effect. This "piezo effect" is based ona very small movement of the crystal andsubsequent compression of the ink in an inkchamber. The result is the ejection of a very small

droplet of ink from a small orifice in the inkjet


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printhead. When properly designed, this systemcan generate very small, reproducible droplets ofink that can produce outstanding results when the

droplets are properly positioned on well-designedinkjet media. Since the actuating pulses can bevaried, resulting in more or less bending, a varietyof droplet volumes can be produced. This leads tothe ability to achieve a digital gray scale and tofurther improve the image-quality capability of thetechnology. Thermal [thermally activatedactuator based inkjet technology, in the full term]

uses heat to create a very small bubble ofsuperheated vapor to push a small droplet of inkfrom an inkjet printhead orifice. This is the mostwidely used inkjet technology in the world and canprovide very good print quality when properlyimplemented. It is a more robust technology thanpiezo since the energy used to eject the dropletmakes thermal less susceptible to clogging of the

orifice. Also, bubble formation in the ink is notencouraged by the process as it is in piezo; a verysmall bubble will cause a piezo printer to fail toeject a droplet. In the early days, the heatingand shock experienced in the actuation processlimited the ink formulation latitude for thermal.New advances in this technology allow water-

based ink designers the freedom to develop inksthat do not limit the image quality or durability ofthe print output. As with piezo technology, finaldrop volume may be varied to provide grayscalerendering. Continuous [or Continuous Flowinkjet printing technology, in the full term] is usedfor digital printmaking exclusively with theIRIS/IXIA inkjet printers (the IXIA has replaced

the IRIS). It produces a stream of droplets all


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identical in size, and the electronics of the systemchooses which ones will hit the medium and makea spot and which ones will not. Continous flow has

provided excellent image quality but at a very highcost in both initial investment, reliability, andspeed, as well as image permanence. Pigmentedinks cannot be used with this technology. It is nolonger a preferred technology. ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY Electrophotography is based upon thedeposition of either dry powder or liquid toner onto

a photoreceptive surface on which a charge isproduced, usually by light from a laser or othersimilar point light source. The toner issubsequently transferred either to a blanket thento paper or directly to the paper and then fused toform the desired image. Dry toner technology islimited in the size of the particles that can be used.Since these particles are relatively large, this

technology generally suffers from insufficientlygood image quality to satisfy the digitalprintmaker. Liquid toner, however, can use veryfine particles that allow for production of near-photographic quality output. Today, liquid tonerimage quality and permanence can meet the needsof some digital printmaking applications. Liquid

electrophotography's advantage is higher printingspeed as compared to inkjet printing or thermaltransfer printing but at a very steep price. THERMAL TRANSER Thermal transfer isbased upon using heat to transfer either a coloredcoating containing a binder and colorant or dyemolecules (by sublimation or diffusion) from a thincarrier film to a receiver sheet that contains a

receptive surface coating. The heat may be


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provided by an array of nibs (similar to those in athermal fax machine) that are activated by acomputer when a color spot is desired, or by a

laser that heats the carrier film causing thetransfer to occur. Good-quality color prints can beproduced by this technology, which is frequentlyused in photo kiosks for printing either digital orscanned photo reproduction prints. DIGITALPHOTO PRINTING (LASER IMAGING) Digital Photo Printing (laser imaging) is basedon traditional photographic silver-halide

photographic print paper that is imaged by a laseror similar point light source to provide a full-colorphotographic image. This technology is gainingpopularity in both wide-format photo printing andfor digital photo finishing, both in minilabs and inproduction labs. Laser imaging produces truephotographic prints and can be very productive inlarger volume applications, however it requires

photo paper as a receptor, which limits its mediaflexibility

Digital vs. Offset Printing: advantages of eachand how to decide which is right for your

project.

The growth of digital printing technology has brought technical


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advancements, more options, and exciting new features to todayscommercial printing. It's also brought some confusion. An understanding ofthe advantages and disadvantages of digital printing and how those compareto traditional offset lithography is critical in making the right choice.

Most CommonOffset lithography is the most common high volume commercial printingtechnology. In offset printing, the desired print image is burned onto a plateand is then transferred (or offset) from the plate to a rubber blanket, andthen to the printing surface. The lithographic process is based on therepulsion of oil and water. The image to be printed gets ink from ink rollers,while the non printing area attracts a film of water, keeping the nonprinting areas ink-free.

Mechanical Steps Eliminated in Digital PrintingDigital printing eliminates many of the mechanical steps required for

conventional printing, including making films and color proofs, manuallystripping the pieces together and making plates.

So Which is BetterWell, it seems that depends.

Advantages of DigitalShorter turnaround.Every print is the same. More accurate counts, less waste and fewer

variations, due to not having to balance ink and water during pressrun.

Cheaper low volume printing. While the unit cost of each piece may behigher than with offset printing, when setup costs are included digitalprinting provides lower per unit costs for very small print runs.

Variable Data Printing is a form of customizable digital printing. Usinginformation from a database or external file, text and graphics canbe changed on each piece without stopping or slowing down thepress. For example, personalized letters can be printed with adifferent name and address on each letter. Variable data printing isused primarily for direct marketing, customer relationshipdevelopment and advertising.

Advantages of OffsetHigh image quality.Works on a wide range of printing surfaces including paper, wood, cloth,

metal, leather, rough paper and plastic.The unit cost goes down as the quantity goes up.Quality and cost-effectiveness in high volume jobs. While todays digital

presses are close to the cost/benefit ratio of offset for high qualitywork, they are not yet able to compete with the volume an offsetpress can produce.

Many modern offset presses use computer-to-plate systems as opposed tothe older computer-to-film work flows, further increasing quality.

Still Not Sure Which is Right?Use this checklist to help decide:


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Quantity. Offset printing has a front-end cost load. Short runs may have ahigh unit cost. But as quantities increase, the unit cost goes downwith offset printing. Very short runs can be much more cost effectivewith digital printing; while larger quantities are likely to have a lowerunit cost with offset printing.

Printing medium. Do you need or want a special paper, finish or unusualprinting surface, or unique size? The options are increasingcontinually for digital, but offset printing still offers the mostflexibility.

Color. Digital presses use four-color process printing. If you need onlyblack ink or one or two ink colors, offset printing may offer a morecost-effective solution. If you need four-color printing, digital mayoffer advantages in lower up-front costs.

More on color. If youre planning to print using the Pantone MatchingSystem, offset printing will give you the best match, since it usesactual Pantone ink. Digital printing simulates the color using a four-color matching process, so some digital printers may offer lessaccurate color matching on projects.

Turnaround. If you need it fast, digital usually offers quicker delivery.Proofing. Digital offers accurate proofs since you see an actual sample of

the printed piece. Accurate color proofing for offset printing can beexpensive.

Customization. Without question, digital printing offers the mostaffordable way to customize marketing materials, direct mail pieces,letters, etc.

Summary

Use the above checklist to help you decide and talk to your printer beforesubmitting your job for advice on preparing files properly for the option youchoose

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Trad vs Modern Printing