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

See Examples For:

printmaking

These were but a small aspect of a long love affair with printmaking that saw him embrace techniques both age-old and radically new.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

Always an industrious worker, his oeuvres ranged from stage set design to photography and printmaking.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

The artist's career spanned seven decades, and he was known for using painting, printmaking, photography and latterly digital art to depict his native Yorkshire and his adopted home of California.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

Two fairs dedicated to printmaking reveal tensions in the historically approachable form between quality and affordability.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

Frustrated with drawing, I switched to the printmaking department, where I overturned great buckets of ink.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris