Printmaking

Introduction
Major techniques of printmaking
- Relief processes
  - Woodcut
  - Colour woodcut
  - Wood engraving
  - Linoleum cut
  - Metal cut
  - Cardboard (paper) cut
  - Relief etching
  - Rubbing
  - Dotted print (criblé)
- Intaglio processes
  - Engraving
  - Drypoint
  - Mezzotint
  - Crayon manner and stipple engraving
  - Etching
    - Hard-ground etching
    - Soft-ground etching
    - Relief etching
    - Aquatint
    - Lift-ground etching (sugar-lift aquatint)
    - Acids and the etching process
  - Metal graphic
  - Printing by intaglio processes
    - Intaglio colour printing
    - Stencilled colours with an intaglio plate
    - Intaglio and surface colour with relief etching
- Surface-printing processes
  - Lithography
  - Stencil processes
- Special techniques
  - Monoprint (monotype)
  - Cliché-verre
  - The cellocut
  - Collagraphy
  - Plaster print
- Process prints
  - Linecut
  - Halftone cut or plate
  - Rotogravure
  - Offset lithography
- Contemporary experimentation
- Mounting and care of prints
History of printmaking
- Printmaking in the 15th century
  - Germany
  - Italy
  - Other countries
    - The Netherlands and Burgundy
    - France
- Printmaking in the 16th century
  - Germany
  - Other countries
    - The Netherlands and Flanders
    - Italy
    - France
  - Trends in the late 16th century
- Printmaking in the 17th century
  - Portrait engraving
    - France
    - Germany
    - The Netherlands
    - England
  - Flemish printmaking
  - European etching
    - Italy
    - The Netherlands
  - Japanese ukiyo-e prints
- Printmaking in the 18th century
  - Italy
  - England
  - Spain
  - France
  - Japan
- Printmaking in the 19th century
  - France
  - Japan
  - Other countries
- Printmaking in the 20th century
  - France
  - Germany
  - Other countries

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Mary Cassatt: Woman Bathing

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Jane Avril

Illustration of vintage printing press with bold text reading Gutenberg's printing press and a blue arrow pointing to the press, against a purple background.

Engraving by the Master of the Playing Cards showing a poet in fur-trimmed clothing standing on grass, holding and reading a large sheet of paper.

Antonio Pollaiuolo: Battle of the Naked Men

Chiaroscuro woodcut The Crucifixion by Hans Baldung Grien shows Jesus on the cross with three mourners, including Mary, at the base, rendered in black and brown tones.

Engraved portrait by Robert Nanteuil of Marin Cureau de la Chambre, shown in a formal robe within an oval frame inscribed with his name and title, with a coat of arms below.

Jacques Callot: The Hangman's Tree

Etching by Hercules Seghers showing a rocky mountainous landscape with a winding river running through a valley, scattered vegetation, and distant hills.

Etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi showing a view through a stone archway onto a grand piazza with large arches, architectural details, and distant figures.

At a Glance

The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai shows a towering blue wave threatening boats, with Mount Fuji visible in the background.

printmaking summary

Related Questions

Mary Cassatt: Woman Bathing — Mary Cassatt: Woman Bathing Woman Bathing, color aquatint with drypoint by Mary Cassatt, 1890–91; in the Art Institute of Chicago.

Printmaking

visual arts

Also known as: fine print, print

Written by

Gabor F. Peterdi

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 9, 2026 •History

Printmaking, an art form consisting of the production of images, usually on paper but occasionally on fabric, parchment, plastic, or other support, by various techniques of multiplication, under the direct supervision of or by the hand of the artist. Such fine prints, as they are known collectively, are considered original works of art, even though they can exist in multiples. To the modern reader, the word print might suggest mechanically mass-produced commercial products, such as...

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