Who It Suits

Printmaking suits people who like process, texture, repetition, and graphic shapes. It is good for anyone who enjoys making several versions of an image instead of one single original.

What you actually do: you make an image on a separate surface — a block, plate, or screen — and transfer it to paper, so one surface can produce many almost identical prints. A typical beginner session is drawing a simple high-contrast design, carving it into a lino block, inking the raised surface, and pulling a few test prints by hand. The appeal is concrete: the marks are bold and graphic, the image appears in repeatable copies, and a small block on a kitchen table is enough to start. The honest constraints: the carving tools are sharp, some processes use corrosive acids or solvent inks, and intaglio work needs a press — so most people start with relief printing and add other processes later.

Getting Started

Printmaking is a family of processes, grouped by how the image sits on the printing surface. The V&A divides them into three main categories:

  • Relief — the image is carved in raised form; you cut away everything that should stay white, ink the raised surface, and transfer it to paper. Woodcut, wood engraving, and linocut are the common relief processes. This is the usual starting point: a lino block, a few carving tools, and a brayer are all you need, and you can print by hand with no press.
  • Intaglio — the image is cut, or “bitten” with acid, into a metal plate, and the ink sits in the incised lines. Engraving, etching, drypoint, and aquatint are intaglio processes. The prints have rich, velvety lines and a plate mark, but the work needs a press, metal plates, and (for etching) acid handling, so it is usually learned in a studio.
  • Planographic — the image is printed from a flat surface. In lithography, a greasy drawing on stone or a metal plate repels water and holds ink; the image is drawn directly, not carved. Screenprinting is usually counted with this family: a mesh screen acts as a stencil, and a squeegee pulls ink through the open areas.

Start with relief, and lino specifically: linoleum is soft, cheap, and easy to cut, which is why it is widely used to introduce beginners — and children in school settings — to printmaking. A single workshop or class is the fastest route, because it teaches carving control, inking, and registration before bad habits set in; but relief printing is also very learnable on your own with one block and a small tool set.

A classic first project is a small, stamp-sized design with thick lines and clear shapes — a leaf, a bird, a simple pattern tile. Keep the design high-contrast: lino crumbles easily and cannot hold fine lines.

Basic Gear

Essentials for relief printing:

  • A soft-cut lino or soft-cut block, small to start (roughly the size of a postcard).
  • A small set of carving tools — a knife and a few gouges (V- and U-shaped) are enough — plus a tool roll or case to store them safely.
  • Printing ink — water-based is the beginner default: it cleans up with soap and water and needs no special ventilation.
  • A brayer (a small rubber roller) for spreading ink evenly.
  • Paper — inexpensive paper for test prints; better paper for final pulls.
  • A baren, spoon, or similar tool for rubbing the back of the paper by hand.
  • Something to protect the table: an old board, plastic sheet, or dedicated print mat.

Optional at first: a hand press (several hundred dollars or more, or shared at a community studio), solvent-based inks, larger blocks, and registration guides. If you later move to intaglio, expect to add metal plates, etching ground, acid, and press access — that is a studio-level step, not a home-start one.

First Session

Carve a small stamp-sized design with thick lines and clear shapes, and mirror the design before you carve — the image prints in reverse. Make several test prints, changing ink amount and pressure each time. The first useful lesson is how much ink is too much: too little leaves gaps, too much fills the white areas. Keep the best test print; it tells you what to change before the final pull.

First Month

Make two or three small blocks. Try one pattern, one object, and one lettering or card design. Keep test prints so you can see how carving depth, paper, and pressure affect the result.

The vocabulary that does most of the work:

  • Matrix — the surface the image is made on: a block (relief), plate (intaglio, lithography), or screen (screenprint).
  • Edition — the set of prints made from one matrix. The number of good impressions is limited by the process and materials, but editions are often artificially limited (as in artists’ editions) for commercial reasons.
  • Proof — a test print made before the edition is numbered.
  • Pull / impression — one print taken from the matrix.
  • Brayer — the rubber roller used to spread ink evenly.
  • Baren — a hand tool (or a spoon) used to rub the back of the paper to transfer the image without a press.
  • Plate mark — the faint outline of the plate pressed into the paper in intaglio prints.
  • Ground — the acid-resistant coating laid on a plate before etching.
  • Squeegee — the rubber blade that pulls ink through a screen in screenprinting.
  • Monotype — a one-off print, usually inked and wiped from a plate; unlike an edition, it cannot be repeated.
  • Gouge — a carving tool with a V- or U-shaped blade, in several widths, for removing areas of the block.

Costs

Relief printing can start cheaply, and the honest way to budget is by route (prices vary a lot by region and change over time, so check current listings before budgeting):

  • Class route (recommended first): a single beginner workshop typically costs roughly US$50–150, varying a lot by region and venue, and usually includes materials.
  • Home route: a small lino block costs a few dollars, a beginner carving tool set roughly US$20–60, a small brayer roughly US$10–30, a tin of water-based ink roughly US$10–25, and a baren roughly US$10–20. Paper is the ongoing cost: cheap paper for tests, better paper for final pulls.

Costs rise with a hand press (several hundred dollars or more), solvent-based inks, larger blocks, and specialist papers. Intaglio adds metal plates, ground, acid, and press access, which is why most people reach it through a studio. Lower-cost routes exist: community print studios and makerspaces share presses and tools, libraries often lend printmaking kits, and used blocks and tools are widely available.

Space Needed

Relief printing needs a stable table, a washable or protected surface, and a drying area for prints. A kitchen table with a plastic sheet works for a small block. Larger editions, wet prints, and any press work need more room than the carving itself. Intaglio and lithography are effectively studio activities: they need a press, running water, and (for etching) a ventilated acid area.

Solo or Social

You can print alone, but workshops and community studios are useful for shared presses, advice, and safer introductions to advanced methods. Community print studios are a common next step after the first few blocks: they offer press time, etching facilities, and critique. On the professional and collecting side, the Print Council of America is the US organization of professionals responsible for works of art on paper, and print fairs and studio open days are a good way to see work at different levels.

Common Mistakes

  • Designing with lines too thin for the material.
  • Forgetting that the image prints in reverse.
  • Carving toward your hand.
  • Using too much ink.
  • Rushing test prints.
  • Buying a press before hand printing is comfortable.
  • Trying etching at home without proper ventilation and acid handling.

Safety / Accessibility

  • Carving tools — lino cutters are genuinely sharp. Keep the non-cutting hand clear of the blade, cut on a non-slip mat or with a bench hook so the block cannot slide, and store tools in a roll or case, never loose in a drawer.
  • Ink — water-based inks are the beginner default and clean up with soap and water. Solvent-based inks need a ventilated space and gloves; check the product’s safety data sheet (SDS) for handling and cleanup, as OSHA’s hazard communication guidance requires.
  • Etching acids — nitric acid, the classic “engravers acid,” is corrosive: NIOSH lists skin, eye, and inhalation as the exposure routes, with prevention centred on avoiding contact and having eyewash and a drench station available. Etching is best done in a studio with a ventilated acid area, gloves, goggles, and training — not as a first home project.
  • Presses — hand presses are heavy and have pinch points; follow studio rules for loading, locking, and standing clear.
  • Age — relief carving is generally a teen-to-adult activity with sharp tools; lino is widely used to introduce children to printmaking in school settings, but young participants should use age-appropriate tools and close supervision.
  • Accessibility — hand printing with a baren needs no press and works seated; larger-handled tools, softer blocks, and water-based inks reduce strain and chemical exposure.

Where It Can Go

Printmaking can lead toward linocut, woodcut, screen printing, etching, monotypes, artist books, posters, fabric printing, or small edition sales. The collectible side is a distinct path: numbered editions, artist’s proofs, and print fairs, where the Print Council of America and museum collections set the context — the V&A holds more than 500,000 prints, from the 15th century to the present. Casual printing — cards, posters, patterns — needs none of that infrastructure.

References

Last reviewed: 18 August 2026.

Processes and terminology:

  • V&A, “What is print?” — plain-English guide to the main printmaking processes (relief, intaglio, planographic), how editions work, and the history of woodcut, linocut, etching, lithography, and screenprint.
  • V&A, “Print” collection — more than 500,000 prints from the 15th century to the present, including the national collections of posters and wallpapers and one of the world’s finest collections of Japanese woodblock prints.

Safety sources:

Community and professional:

  • Print Council of America — the US organization of professionals responsible for works of art on paper; a reference for the collecting and professional side of printmaking.

Drawing, painting, calligraphy, bookbinding, comics, woodworking, and digital illustration all share useful design and making skills with printmaking.