printmaking

American  

[print-mey-king] / ˈprɪntˌmeɪ kɪŋ /

noun

1. the art or technique of making prints, especially as practiced in engraving, etching, drypoint, woodcut or serigraphy.

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Etymology

Origin of printmaking

First recorded in 1925–30; print + making

Explanation

Printmaking is an art form that involves making designs or images by printing them with ink. In most cases, printmaking allows you to produce many copies of the same picture. Short on Picassos? Print some more! In some forms of printmaking, you carve a design into a wooden block, coat the block with ink, and then press it onto paper or canvas. The resulting work of art is called a print. Another type of printmaking requires special screens that have designs burned into them, creating a kind of stencil. Ink is then pushed through this screen onto paper or fabric — this is called screenprinting or silkscreen.

Example Sentences

Long intertwined with protest and politicking thanks to quick creation times and near infinite reproducibility, printmaking is still being used in the activist realm today.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Mr. Puryear absorbed Scandinavian principles of design while studying printmaking at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Stockholm.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025

Gehry’s work for Gemini G.E.L. — one of the most important printmaking workshops in the country — is reflective of his deep engagement with L.A.’s art community.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025

And there is Van Gogh's At Eternity's Gate - one of the very rare survivals of his first printmaking campaign during which he produced six lithographs in November 1882.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2025

Perhaps the distinction between original and copy is not so critical in printmaking after all.

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson