Printmaking

ARTD43A Intro to Printmaking &

ARTD43B Intermediate Printmaking

�ARTD43A and B �Intro and Intermediate Printmaking

Course goals

• Explore traditional and contemporary printmaking methods with an emphasis on intaglio and relief methods.
• Understand tools, materials, and studio processes.
• Build technical skills to develop your personal artistic voice.

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No Prerequisites Required

• CSU and UC transferable

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Learn more:

• Mt. SAC Printmaking Page – Click Here
• Contact: Jennifer Chen jchen21@mtsac.edu

What is Printmaking?

• Printmaking is an artistic process that allows artists make multiple original works of art.

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• A design is created on material such as a woodblock, linoleum, metal, stone or as a stencil. The design then gets inked, and the inky image is transferred onto paper or other surfaces.

The power of multiples

The benefit of multiples lies in their accessibility:

• More people can experience the work and are often more affordable than unique originals.

Left: Work in progress for an edition of monoprints

Center: Joseph Poehlman, self-portrait of as a carpenter (Screenprint)

Right: Ruben Ortiz (Lithograph)

The 4 basic types of printmaking

The 4 basic types of printmaking

The name refers to the how the image transfers to paper.

ARTD43A & B Explores Relief and Intaglio

The two types explored in the ARTD43 printmaking class are intaglio and relief.

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The type depend on where the ink is applied.

• Relief prints get the ink transferred from its surface.
• Intaglio gets the ink from the incised lines.

Relief Print

Relief, the oldest type of printmaking was used for textiles.

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• Block printing on fabric
• Hand stamped with dye

Relief Print

🡨 Relief plates, such as linoleum or woodblocks, are carved so that the remaining surface forms the design. Ink is then rolled onto this raised surface and printed onto paper.

Intaglio Methods

• Intaglio means the image is engraved into a plate. The ink sits inside the carved lines, and damp paper is pressed into the plate to pull the ink out.
• Drypoint – Design is scratched directly onto the plate.
• Etching – The plate is chemically bitten, corroding metal into grooves.
• Engraving – Physically cut with tools l

Intaglio- Drypoint

Intaglio is a method where the incised lines get inked and printed.

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One type of intaglio is drypoint.

• Drypoint is a method where the plate is physically scratched with a sharp scribe.
• The plate gets ink wiped into the grooves and cervices then printed onto paper using the printing press.

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Intaglio- Drypoint

Intaglio is a method where the incised lines get inked and printed.

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One type of intaglio is drypoint.

• Drypoint is a method where the plate is physically scratched with a sharp scribe.
• The plate gets ink wiped into the grooves and cervices then printed onto paper using the printing press.

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Above left: Shannon Walters pulling a print off the etching press; Right: Drypoint print

ARTD43A Intro to Printmaking - Projects

Introduction to printmaking projects progress from single-color prints to layered, multi-color artworks.

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Relief Prints Intaglio Print

- 1-color print - Drypoint

- 2-color print - Line Etching

- Aquatint

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Relief Print - Single color

Student relief prints

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Relief Print - Multiple color

Student relief prints

Intaglio- Drypoint

Student drypoint prints

Intaglio- Drypoint

Drypoint print and plastic plate

Intaglio- Etching

Above: Line etched print and aquatint

Left: Application of etching ground on copper

Etching is a chemical method of creating a plate with groves.

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• Corrosive solution is used to etch metal resulting in various textures that can print line or a watercolor-like value

Intaglio- Line etching and aquatint

Intaglio:

Etching is a chemical method of creating a plate.

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• Corrosive solution is used to etch metal resulting in various textures that can print line or a watercolor-like value.

Intaglio- Line etching and aquatint

Intaglio:

Etching is a chemical method of creating a plate.

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• Corrosive solution is used to etch metal resulting in various textures that can print line or a watercolor-like value.

Intaglio- Line etching and aquatint

The print above is with etched with line.

The two on the right is printed after being etched with an aquatint. One in black and white, the other printed with color as a variation.

Rachel Sneider

Linocut and drypoint

Small multi-color prints

Small multi-color prints

Reductive Linocut:

Multi-color print using a single plate

Reductive Linocut:

Multi-color print using a single plate

Small multi-color prints

Two-Color Linocut with

intaglio chine collé

Small multi-color prints

Drypoint with à la poupé

Small multi-color prints

ARTD43B Intermediate Printmaking - Projects

Intermediate printmaking projects cover advanced techniques using different materials and tools.

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Relief Prints Intaglio Print

- Relief engraving - Mezzotint

- Multi-color - Soft ground etching

-Reductive (Suicide cut) - Multi-color

-Multiple plate

ARTD43B Intermediate Printmaking

Student relief engraving

ARTD43B Intermediate Printmaking

Student relief print with two plates and a gradient roll.

ARTD43B Intermediate Printmaking

Student mezzotint created by scraping away areas of a rocked metal plate, smoothing the surface to produce lighter tonal values.

Artists using Traditional Printmaking

Artists using Printmaking

Pablo Picasso

Femme au Chapeau à Fleurs,

1962

Relief Linocut

Artists using Printmaking

Francisco Goya

Si sabrá mas el discipulo, 1799

Etching

Artists using Printmaking

Käthe Kollwitz

Charge,1902

Intaglio- Etching

In Memoriam Karl Liebknecht,1920

Woodcut

Artists using Printmaking

Maternal Caress, 1890

Intaglio: Drypoint and aquatint

The Fitting, 1890

Intaglio: Drypoint and aquatint

Mary Cassatt

Artists using Printmaking

Sharecropper, 1952 (Woodcut)

There is a women in every color, 1975

(Woodcut and Screenprint)

Elizabeth Catlett

Artists using Printmaking

Frida Kahlo

El aborto (Frida and the Miscarriage), 1932

Lithograph

Artists using Printmaking

Shepard Fairey

Obey (2005) and Guns and Roses (2007)

Screenprint

ARTD43A and B

Intro and Intermediate Printmaking

Enroll for Spring 2026�

ARTD43A Intro to Printmaking

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CRN: 40407

Time: MW 11:30-2:50pm

Location: Building 1A-1

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Learn more:

• Mt. SAC Printmaking Page – Click Here
• Instagram: @mtsac_printmakingheadquarters
• Contact: Jennifer Chen jchen21@mtsac.edu