To make a print, an artist transfers a pattern made in an original work onto paper. A print looks exactly like the original.
Transfer Work of Art
Once an artist creates a work of art by hand on an original surface, the artist transfers the pattern by lifting the pattern and pressing ink onto paper. Artists commonly use woodcuts, lithographs, etching or screenprint to make the transfer.
More Than One Example
Because the artist made an original, the artist can use the pattern to make many prints. Each print gives the owner a recreation of the original work.
Original Pattern Surface
Original works endure as a relief in wood carvings, stone tablet drawings, acid etchings on a metal plate or a paper stencil on fabric.
Print on Paper
By using a press, the artist presses the original pattern in ink on a piece of paper. Colored prints take an original surface for each ink color.
An Impression
The press makes a distinct impression of the original image created by the artist.
