Print Making
About the hand-pulled print.
What is a hand-pulled print you may ask?These graphic works are prints produced
by printing an image onto paper from a printing plate. Once an image has been created it
is transferred to a printing plate. The printing plates can be made of metal, either copper, zinc
or aluminum. Plates can also be made out of plastic, wood or mat-board. The prints shown in
this web site were produced with plastic and metal printing plates. More than one plate has been
used to create the prints shown. Usually three plates are created to produce a print. The methods
used for creating a printing plate vary depending on the print. All color prints were produced using
aqua-tint on metal plates,engraving and collograph on plastic plates. The plates are then inked
and a sheet of paper is placed on top of the plate, then run through a printing press. I use a press
specially made for printing fine art graphics. The term hand-pulled print comes from the act of
pulling the paper from the printing plate by hand after the paper and plate have been run through
the press.
About the limited edition.
The number of prints pulled from a plate are called an edition.The first few prints
pulled, are called the proof or artist proofs. These prints are usually retained by the artist. The proof
is then used as a guide for what the final edition prints will look like. When the final edition is pulled,
the number of prints in the edition will be marked on the bottom left hand corner of the print.
Which will look like 1/50 - 2/50 to 50/50 the last print of the edition.The number of prints in the limited edition are determined by the artist. Then the artist signs the print by hand in the lower right corner. A print that is not signed will generally mean that the artist has not participated in the production of the print. A print that is signed and numbered by the artist, will be a good indication that the print was produced in cooperation with that artist, and can be called an original.
© Ross D. Jahnig 98
The following are books which I recommend on these subjects.
Gallery
