The Complete Printmaker: Techniques, Traditions, Innovations

This book is almost a catalog of every printmaking process around. It covers all the basics: intaglio, relief, screen prints, litho, and monoprint. It covers related technique, including embossed "dimensional" prints (aka "blind" prints), molded paper, and more. It devotes special attention to collographs, prints from textured or collage surface, and much too much more to describe. Best, the tools, materials, and how-to of every process are described in a fair bit of detail. Because so many processes are listed, each one gets just a short section, nowhere near what a printmaker would need in practice. Still, the descriptions serve at least two purposes. First, they may entice an artist into learning more about a process. Second, and more importantly for me, is that you don't have to be a printmaker to read this book and benefit from it. I'm a fan of fine prints, even though I don't make prints myself. I like to know what I'm looking at. I like to see a mark in a print and understand where it came from, how the artist's hand created it. By explaining each process, this book helps me understand the result of the process, and understand its effect on the finished product. Not everyone sees art that way, but it makes me feel somehow closer to the creator. I recommend this to anyone who loves fine prints. Perhaps it's helpful to the printmaker looking for new techniques to try. It is certainly useful for the viewer, in understanding how the artist makes a vision come alive on paper. //wiredweird

Perhaps the current art market is not so preoccupied with the fine art of printmaking that thrived in the 1980s and 1990s, but the democratization of making available works by artists best known for their unique art will always have a justifuable niche among art collectors of all strata. This well written and well illustrated volume about the various forms of print making is as fine as they come. Though centuries old as an art form, "prints" are still looked at as "copies" by the neophytes. The differences and techniques of etchings, lithographs, sereigraphs, etc are all discussed with great facility. The examples are very fine. This should be not only in every art school library, but also in the librairies of fine art collectors who want to really understand what Fine Print Making is all about.

Okay, well, maybe I'm a little passionate about the things I like, but I'm a Leo and that should be expected. I borrowed this book today from my AP Art teacher, my budding interest in printmaking beginning to develop, and I'm floored by the thorough descriptions of so many different printmaking processes. As printmaking is such a broad art form, I had never found a book that satisfies my desires to learn about intaglio, woodcut, monotype, screenprinting and book arts (including a few pages on letterpress printing!), let alone all the other printmaking forms. Highly recommended for anyone in search of a Printmaking Bible.

I have been studying basic printmaking techniques, for about a year , and have found this book to be an excellent guide. It has excellent explanations. Also advice on safety precautions & how to set up the studio. Also very helpful is a quite extensive list of suppliers of printmaking equipment and papers in the U.S.A. It is the most complete book of the many art books that I have read ever. It covers just about everything. Ideal for the artist with experience in printmaking but sufficiently easy to understand for the novice.

This book is a well contrived, well organized, detailed description of methods and materials in-volved in the creation of all of the modern methods and media implemented by printmakers. The book has excellent illustrations, and source lists and covers each type of printmaking in detail. It also answers the questions with which the printmaker is concerned. It is an excellent reference book, and can be read over and over with renewed interest.