Printmaking is…

A type of art that uses an inked block or plate to print an image.

This allows multiple printings, unlike drawing or painting.

Printmaking started in China

The Chinese developed a printing technique called “woodcut” to print books of Chinese characters and images, around 100 AD.

Five Major Types of Prints

occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges. 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 Cut

Engraving 

is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing images on paper as prints or illustrations; these images are also called engravings.

Relief

Relief, or relievo rilievo, is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb relevo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane

Intaglio

Intaglio are techniques in art in which an image is created by cutting, carving or engraving into a flat surface and may also refer to objects made using these techniques:

Stencil Printing

A process which involves cutting of the design on special paper or cardboard or metal sheet in such a way that when ink is rubbed over it, the design is reproduced on the surface.

Some Famous Printmakers are…

Andy Warhol, 1960s Albrecht Dürer, 1500s

Some More Famous Printmakers…

Chuck Close, 1986 Katsushika Hokusai, 1800s

Choosing Ideas

Your image will print backwards (mirror-imaged)

There is no shading in linoleum cuts; only black or white

Your print is created by carving out lines

It’s very difficult to put detail into a lino cut

Linoleum Cuts use Line Things to Consider