AlexPrintsAlex Fragoulis
Process

From a drawing
to an edition.

A print is not a copy of an image. The block or plate is the work's matrix, and each sheet pulled from it is an original. Here is how that happens, and what to look for when you hold one.

Drawing

Ideas start in the sketchbook. The drawing is reversed onto the plate or block, since everything prints as a mirror image.

Making the matrix

Lino and wood are carved with gouges. Copper and zinc are drawn through a wax ground and bitten in acid, or scratched directly with a needle.

Proofing

Trial proofs show what the plate is doing. The image is reworked and proofed again until it's right. These states are sometimes offered as proofs & studies.

Printing the edition

Each sheet is inked and printed by hand, on dampened cotton paper for intaglio or dry Japanese paper for relief. Small differences between impressions are part of the process.

Signing

Once dry, every impression is checked, signed, titled and numbered in pencil. The edition size is fixed and is not reprinted.

A Where the ink sits

Relief, intaglio,
monotype.

Each family of techniques puts the ink somewhere different. Pick one to see the plate in cross-section as it prints.

Reading a print

What the margins tell you

Point at the numbers to see where each mark sits on the sheet.

  1. ImageThe printed area, taken from the plate or block.
  2. Plate markThe edge of a metal plate, pressed into the paper. Only intaglio prints have it.
  3. Edition number13/20 means the 13th sheet signed from an edition of 20. A.P. marks an artist's proof, T.P. a trial proof.
  4. TitleWritten by hand, usually centred under the image.
  5. SignatureIn pencil, bottom right. Pencil can't be reproduced by a printing process.
  6. MarginThe untouched paper around the image. Keep it when framing; it's part of the work.
Techniques

Relief, intaglio, monotype

See the prints
B Tools and marks

Every tool leaves
its own line.

Glossary

A few words you'll see

Edition
The total number of signed impressions printed from one matrix.
A.P.
Artist's proof. A small number kept outside the edition, identical to it.
T.P.
Trial proof. Pulled while the image was still being worked; often differs from the final.
State
A stage of the plate. A print may exist in several states before the edition.
Impression
A single sheet printed from the matrix.
Chine-collé
Thin paper glued onto the sheet during printing, adding a tone behind the image.