Types of Printmaking: Timeline from Wood Blocks to Computers

Over the course of history, printmaking has remained at the forefront of significant social changes. Within the sphere of art practices—both ancient and modern—the innovations introduced by printmaking have had both a functional and expressive impact. Each new printmaking method has created opportunities for artists and artisans alike. From its bulky early woodblock iterations to contemporary digital modes, printmaking remains both a cause and effect of broader social progress.

Printmaking's evolution as a technology exemplifies cultural shifts in communication and aesthetics. While printmaking methods have changed over time, each new version has introduced additional advances toward individualism and equality, ultimately culminating in what we now call the "democratization of art."

Printing has allowed artists to represent, critique, and celebrate their culture through an accessible and repeatable visual language. Since printing's inception, its various techniques have always challenged hierarchies and signaled wider access to specialized knowledge and the enjoyment of art.

Types of Printmaking: A Brief Timeline

• 200 CE - Woodblock/Woodcut Printing emerges in China, initially used for textile designs and later for Buddhist texts
• 11th Century - Movable Type Printing was invented by Bi Sheng in China
• 13th Century - Metal movable type was developed in Korea
• 14th Century - Woodcut printing arrives in Europe
• 15th Century - European Engraving techniques developed from goldsmith practices
• 1440s - Gutenberg develops his printing press with movable type in Europe
• Early 16th Century - Etching emerges as a printmaking technique in Europe
• 17th Century - Mezzotint was invented in Germany, and gained popularity in England
• 18th Century - Aquatint technique developed, expanding tonal possibilities
• 1796 - Lithography was invented by Alois Senefelder in Germany
• Early 20th Century - Modern screen printing techniques evolved in the United States, embraced by Pop Artists like Andy Warhol
• Late 20th Century - Digital printmaking emerges with computer technology and new art trends
• Present day - Combination of traditional and digital printmaking techniques

What Is Printmaking?

Printmaking is the process of creating images by transferring ink from a prepared surface onto paper or other materials, allowing artists to produce multiple copies of the same work. This transformative technology allows for the creation of multiple originals rather than a single unique work.

At its core, printmaking represents the intersection of artistic vision and technical craft, requiring both creative impulse and methodical execution. The defining characteristic of all printmaking methods is their inherent multiplicity.

Unlike singular paintings or sculptures confined to specific locations, prints circulate widely, crossing geographic, social, and economic boundaries. This distinctive quality has enabled printmaking to expand the reach of everything from fine art to home decoration.

In short, printmaking makes it easier for all of us to enjoy the benefits of art.

Helpful Terms: Relief Printing vs. Intaglio Printing

Relief printing and intaglio printing represent opposite printmaking techniques.

In relief printing techniques like woodcut or linocut, the artist carves away the negative spaces, leaving raised surfaces that receive ink. When pressed, these elevated areas transfer ink directly to paper, creating bold, graphic images with strong contrasts.

Intaglio printing, however, works in reverse—the artist incises lines or textures into a metal plate through methods like etching, engraving, or aquatint. Ink is applied to the entire plate, then carefully wiped from the surface, leaving only in the recessed areas. When dampened paper is pressed against the plate under significant pressure, it pulls ink from these depressions, resulting in delicate, detailed lines and subtle tonal variations impossible to achieve with relief methods.

Woodblock Printing (China, c. 200 CE)

Developed in ancient China during the 2nd Century C.E., woodblock printing initially made it possible to transfer complex designs onto fabric and, later, preserve and share sacred texts. In particular, this early iteration of printing made it easier to circulate Chinese Buddhist writings called sutras. Woodblock printing opened the door to a new way of preserving and disseminating religious practices and teachings, apart from oral traditions.

The creation of woodblock prints involves carving the entire surface of a wooden block, leaving only the raised surface that will receive ink. This relief printing technique produces bold, distinctive impressions when pressed against sheets of paper, creating mirror images of the original designs.

While this ancient form of printing technology had its most direct influence on religious and traditional devotion—playing an important role in expanding the reach of Buddhism into East Asia—it also changed the way people interacted with one another and how much visual symbolism (as opposed to oral communication) affected them over the course of their lives. Crucial for spreading literacy, the influence of woodblock printing was eventually felt in Korea and Japan.

Movable Type Printing (China, 11th Century)

Invented by Bi Sheng in 11th-century China, movable type printing marked a revolutionary leap in print technology. It used individual characters that could be rearranged and reused, innovating on the legacy of woodblock printing. While the older technology required a new block for each page, Bi Sheng's movable types were reusable, interchangeable blocks that allowed for a more standardized way of rendering characters.

The main problem Bi Sheng's innovation faced was the imposing complexity of the Chinese language. Bi Sheng's movable types were not widely used because Chinese characters were not standardized enough to conform to regimented patterns. But the idea of movable type printing, with interchangeable characters, eventually spread and evolved. It particularly took root in Korea, where a kind of metal movable type, developed in the 13th Century, replaced older methods of making prints from baked clay.

While Korea refined Bi Sheng's method using metal type, Johannes Gutenberg, unaware of these Eastern innovations, independently developed a similar process in 15th-century Europe. While the use of metal type in Korea had only a limited impact, being confined primarily to Buddhist scholars, the European version had a much wider effect, due in part to the comparative simplicity of the Latin alphabet's characters.

For both European and Asian art, the new technology democratized access to knowledge, shifting intellectual power away from elites toward an increasingly literate public. Allowing for a faster and more efficient mass distribution of texts, movable type—and, later, the printing press—fostered academic discourse, revolutionized literacy, transformed religion, and helped radically reshape society.

Woodcut Printing Arrives in Europe (14th Century)

Woodcut printing, an identical process to woodblock printing, involves carving away negative space from a wooden surface to create raised surface areas that, when inked, transfer images to paper. This relief printing technique originated in ancient China around 200 CE. As paper production spread westward along trade routes, woodblock printing techniques traveled with it, eventually reaching Europe by the 14th Century.

Woodcut printing was used throughout the 14th Century to progress European art and literature by introducing secular and religious imagery and ideas to the public.

Where paintings or illuminated manuscripts were held by nobility or clergy, woodcuts could be issued in multiples. Adapted from Asian techniques, this greater accessibility permitted broader social demographics access to visual culture, from religious imagery to playing cards and book illustrations.

Albrecht Dürer showed that the medium had at least as much expressive capacity as painting or sculpture. His 1498 book The Apocalypse not only illustrated the relative ease of circulating prints, but also how they could weigh in on important topics.

Invention of the Printing Press (Europe, 15th Century)

The printing press, most famously developed by Johannes Gutenberg in the 1440s, was a mechanical device that revolutionized the production of books and other printed materials. It worked through a system of movable type and pressure-based transfer. Individual metal letters and symbols (movable type) were arranged in reverse on a composing stick to form words and sentences. These were then locked into a frame called a chase to create a complete page.

The printing press that Gutenberg developed employed relief printing, specifically using movable type printing. In this system, each letter or symbol was cast in metal with a raised surface—the part that would receive ink and transfer the image to paper. The printing surface stood in "relief" (raised) from the non-printing areas, similar to woodblock or woodcut printing, but it used individual metal characters that could be rearranged for different pages.

Engraving (Europe, 15th Century)

Engraving was introduced in Europe in the 15th Century and was shortly thereafter utilized in printmaking. Though the technique had roots in the practice of goldsmiths, who cut ornamental motifs into metal, artists quickly realized its artistic potential. Unlike wood engraving, which uses wood as its base material, engraving is a form of intaglio printing that employs a metal plate as its printing surface.

Martin Schongauer and later Albrecht Dürer found that engravings not only allowed for a level of detail, shading, and line variation far greater than what was achievable with woodcuts, but could also reproduce complex compositions with subtle tonal gradations.

Freed from its traditionally decorative function, engraving ultimately made possible the wider dissemination of maps, illustrations, and scientific ideas throughout Renaissance Europe.

Etching (Europe, Early 16th Century)

Developed in the early 16th Century, etching allowed for a freer and more flexible kind of drawing and was used by artists who sought a greater facility of expression. Artists would coat pieces of metal in a protective wax-like substance. Then, they'd use a sharp tool to scrape away the wax and expose their desired images or designs.

Finally, they soaked the metal in an acid bath, which is critical to the intaglio printing process. Once the acid bath process was complete, the artist would remove the remaining protective coating, apply ink to the plate, and wipe the flat surface clean, leaving ink only in the etched lines. When pressed against dampened paper, the ink transfers from these recessed areas, creating the finished print.

Rembrandt van Rijn famously embraced the medium for its expressive potential and tonal range, using etching to produce works that encompassed intimate portraits as well as grand biblical scenes.

Mezzotint (Europe, 17th Century)

Mezzotint involves roughening a metal plate with a tool called a rocker to achieve rich tonal gradations. Invented in the 17th Century in Germany, the process introduced a new way of producing textured surfaces using printed ink as a dense black coloration. Ideal for reproducing paintings, artists could polish areas of the plate to produce soft gradations from dark to light, allowing for closer approximations of immediate perception.

Mezzotints produced exceptionally soft, painterly effects and captured the elegance of classical portrait compositions with stunning clarity. Their nuanced texture allowed for effects that other intaglio techniques struggled to achieve.

Popular in England during the Baroque art period, a mezzotint's capacity for creating atmospheric depth and delicate tonal shifts made it especially good for capturing moods and gestures. These qualities made it particularly suited to portraiture and dramatic scenes. Although labor-intensive, it was widely used to reproduce works by artists such as Van Dyck and Joshua Reynolds.

Aquatint (Europe, 18th Century)

Aquatint expanded on the acid-exposure techniques of etching, enabling a bold yet subtle pictorial language. The textured surfaces it produced, reminiscent of watercolor washes, resulted from a process involving dusting a metal plate with powdered resin, heating it till all the particles adhered, then immersing the plate in an acid bath, which "bit" around the resin grains. By controlling the depth of tone through the duration of acid exposure, artists could add nuances and complexity.

The increased sense of individualism that emerged in the 18th Century was perfectly complemented by the tonal effects of this process. Francisco de Goya, whose narrative series Los Caprichos (1799) used aquatint coupled with etching to satirize the church and nobility of late 18th-century Spain, was one of the most prominent pioneers of this then-emerging medium. Significantly, he used this album of some 80 prints to push for more equitable laws and educational reforms.

Lithography (Europe, 18th Century)

Alois Senefelder developed a new method of printmaking in 1796. Known as lithography, this process permitted more spontaneous, organic drawings made up of continuous, smooth lines.

The lithography process revolves around the principle that oil and water repel each other. Artists draw on the surface of the stone using a greasy medium, which is then chemically fixed. During printing, water is applied to the stone lithography surface, adhering only to the non-greasy areas. When ink is rolled over the stone lithography surface, it sticks only to the greasy drawn areas, repelled by the dampened sections. Unlike etching or carving, artists could draw directly on a flat surface, making the rendering process more accessible and intuitive.

Lithography quickly gained enduring popularity. It was second to none for printing sheet music, posters, and newspapers.

By the 19th Century, modern artists such as Edvard Munch and Pablo Picasso worked with the medium, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec famously used lithography to produce iconic posters for Parisian nightlife haunts. Its affordability and ease of reproduction, combined with the expressive possibilities it offered, attracted artists who worked between the emerging worlds of mass (visual) communication and fine art.

Screen Printing (20th Century)

Screen printing dates back to ancient Asia, but in the 20th Century, the modern, commercialized form evolved from earlier stencil techniques. Initially employed for commercial use (posters and textiles, mainly), it was discovered to be extremely effective in generating bold graphic designs.

The screen printing process involves pushing ink through a mesh screen onto a surface, with parts of the screen obstructed to control where the ink flows. Artists create a stencil on a fine mesh screen, often made of silk or synthetic materials. When ink is pushed across the mesh screen with a squeegee, it passes through the open areas onto the printing surface beneath. The technique that became popular in America ("serigraphy") allows for dense, opaque colors and sharp edges.

In the 1960s, screen printing became a tool for both visual rebellion and commercial success. Its accessibility and punchy immediacy made it a favored medium for political posters and underground art scenes—perhaps most famously through the celebrated work of Pop artists like Andy Warhol. Screen printing's entrenched associations with repetition, mass production, and consumerism defined the characteristics of Pop Art, whose reliance on the medium demonstrated how this Depression-era technique could fuse commercial aesthetics with high art.

While high levels of detail can be achieved with screen printing, it's most commonly used for art that has a limited color palette and flat planes of color with little or no shading—each new color (and layer thereof) requires a new screen and another pass of the squeegee, increasing the time and effort. One of the most popular applications is graphic t-shirts, where this simplicity reads well.

Digital Printmaking (Late 20th Century to Present)

Digital printmaking gives artists precise control over color, composition, and size using inkjet or laser printers. Specialized studios are no longer needed to produce prints of high quality, and this accessibility is one of the most striking aspects of the process of digital printmaking. Democratizing the nature of the tools that artists need to create and reproduce images, digital printmaking, which emerged in the late 20th Century, has become a hallmark of 21st-century art practices.

As an artistic process, digital printmaking encompasses a wide range of techniques within both traditional and experimental communities. It enables artists to experiment with layering, repetition, and algorithmic processes while also allowing for instant editing, wide-scale distribution, and (potentially) global engagement. The creation of digital prints has revolutionized the accessibility of fine art, making interior design more affordable than ever before.

Art Prints Inspired by Different Printing Methods

The Legacy of Printmaking Spans From Woodblocks to Computers

Breakthroughs in printmaking techniques have always underscored cultural, technological, and artistic revolutions. From woodblocks in ancient China to contemporary high-precision digital printers, printmaking has made a more egalitarian society possible, encouraged cross-cultural communication, and advanced literacy and science. With each evolution of the printmaking process, artists have gained new tools for artistic expression.

Through centuries of adaptation, printmaking has preserved voices, identities, and revolutions, all the while challenging the singularity of the original artwork and evolving concepts like reproduction, edition, and mass production, which still inform our visual culture lexicon today. Even as we move into an increasingly digital environment, printmaking's enduring legacy lies in its unique capacity to democratize access to texts and images, providing artists with an ever-renewed resource for expressing their moment in history.