Etching uses acid to cut into metal surfaces to create designs. Linocut is a variant of woodcut that uses linoleum, where a design is cut into the surface and then inked and impressed onto paper. Screen printing uses a woven mesh screen to block out areas of ink and transfer the image. Woodcut involves carving an image into wood and printing the raised areas. Lithography can print artwork using stones or metal plates with a smooth surface.

1. B Y L U K E B A L D W I N
THE PRINT INDUSTRY

2. HAND PRINTING
Etching
Etching is the process of using acid to cut into the surface of the metal to create a design.
Even though there are better ways to print etching is very popular and remains in wide use
today.
Linocut
Linocut is a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum is used for the relief surface. A
design is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife. The linoleum sheet is inked with a
roller and then impressed onto paper or fabric. The actual printing can be done by hand or with
a press. Linocuts are very simple, cheap and quick.
Screen Print
Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink blocking
stencil to receive a desired image. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer
ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh. With screen printing
the main result is the visual result it creates and the inks are very durable. It takes a long time
to set up the job.

3. HAND PRINTING
Woodcut
An image is carved into the face of the of the wood. The areas to show white are cut away with a knife or
chisel leaving the characters or image to show in black at the original surface level. Wood is very durable and
the materials are very cheap. The process of cutting the wood is quite quick.
Lithography
Lithography is were stones and or a metal plate with a smooth surface are used. It can be used to print art
work or other suitable material. It is a very old style of printing. Lithography is cheap fast and comes out clear.

4. MECHANICAL
Letterpress
Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing using a printing press. A worker locks movable type inks it
and presses paper against it to transfer the ink from the type which creates an impression on the paper. It is
quite slow when compared to other techniques.
Gravure
Gravure is a type of the intaglio printing process which involves engraving an image onto a cylinder. It is used
for commercial printing like magazines and postcards. The main advantage of gravure printing is in long-runs
and quality. Gravure printing is disadvantaged in short runs.

5. DIGITAL
Photocopying
A photocopy is made by using a photocopier it copy everything on a sheet of paper onto another piece of
paper. This helps to get the same magazine/newspaper everywhere. Photocopying is cheap and very cheap
but they are not always reliable.
Laser Printing