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

Printmaking used to offer an affordable way to collect quality art, but two art fairs show that may no longer be the case.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

Price: $29.99 Amazon Marimekko: The Art of Printmaking Marimekko: The Art of Printmaking is a true feast for the eyes for any lover of design, printmaking, or fashion.

From The Verge • Apr. 28, 2022

At the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, in midtown, Bell created metal plates from a negative, then rolled out print after print, working with the help of master printers Rie Hasegawa and John Andrews.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 17, 2019

Printmaking, extensively on show here, is an innately civilised artform.

From The Guardian • Mar. 7, 2017

Another exhibition on the Fairfield campus picks up the story: “Reflections and Undercurrents: Ernest Roth and Printmaking in Venice, 1900-1940,” runs at the Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery through April 4.

From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2014