Glossary

print made from a plate with raised printing parts, so that incised parts (such made by knife, gouge, chisel or cutter) come out blank. The raised lines of the plate design i.e. the high places left standing, are covered with lithographic or printing ink, and put face down on a sheet of paper. Woodcut and linocut are relief prints.

printing technique, where printing parts (actual design) are raised, thus making a relief over the incised background. The ink is applied to the raised parts only, so that they produce the image at printing. This is the most ancient printing technique. Prints in woodcut and linocut are made this way.

(facsimile engraving) – engraving, serving merely to reproduce the works of art (painting and graphic).

steel tool used in metal engraving (mostly mezzotint). Has a form of a metal plate with wooden handle, its working end is rounded and covered  with small teeth. Rocker is used to create an evenly rough surface.

(French lavis – a wash drawing)  - a variety of aquatint, where acid is applied with a brush directly to the plate, thus producing wash drawing effect. Invented in the 18^th century by the French artist Jean Baptist Leprince. Wash manner is a printmaking process that employs any tonal intaglio technique or combination of tonal intaglio techniques in order to imitate the appearance of ink, wash, watercolor, gouache, or oil painting. These techniques may include aquatint, mezzotint, stipple, and tool work. In prints executed in a combination of techniques from multiple plates, it is virtually impossible to identify with confidence the specific techniques used. These prints may also include linear work executed in etching or engraving or both.

graver’s tool, used in crayon manner and for finishing in other techniques as well. Has the form of a steel wheel with many sharp thorns, fixed on a curved rod with handle. The graver rolls it on the surface of the plate, creating small dots and nicks.

engraver’s tool, a steel shaft with cutting edges. Used for intaglio engraving to incise the light tone areas and to remove burr as well.

etching technique, uses very soft greasy ground; the ordinary ground is mixed with tallow, thus the ground is soft and could be easily removed from the plate. The plate is covered with grained paper; when image is applied, the ground attaches itself to paper under the pressure of the pencil and can be easily removed with it, leaving the open part with the image;  then comes the biting. The finished etching has the effect of a pencil drawing.

(from German puntktieren, from Latin  punctum – point) - variety of intaglio engraving on metal, in most cases copper; also called “hammerwork” (the punch-and-hammer method). The image is made with special tools, creating points of different size either on the metal plate directly, or on the acid resistant ground (as preparation for biting). This technique produces prints with very subtle tonal variations. Known since the end of the 15^th century, stipple engraving became very popular reproduction technique in the 18^th century.

tool for metal engraving. Has a form of a burin with sharp crook edge, leaving short triangular strokes or stipples  on a metal surface.  Used in stipple engraving techique. Very popular in England in the 18^th century.