What is Printmedia?

Printmaking is a process that naturally lends itself to the combination of creativity and problem solving. It is truly about discovery and experimentation: students generate an image and then figure out a process to translate the image into their own print. The process allows students to explore design and composition through an analytic and sequential process. Printmaking students are forced to plan ahead for each print they make, reevaluate their judgments at each step in the process, and reflect on the decisions they made by critiquing their own work.

Artists have developed four dominant forms of printmaking over the years, each involving a different method of printing ink on paper and each leaving behind a different consequence. In intaglio, a design is etched or engraved into a metal plate. In lithography, the image on the plate is made with a greasy medium that attracts ink. In relief printing, the plate (often wood or linoleum) has raised images, and in screen-printing, the printing surface is a mesh material. The artist applies ink to the plate or screen and then presses the plate (sometimes using a manual press) or screen onto paper to produce the final print.

Technology has transformed the tradition and techniques of printmaking described above to include new media arts. This includes graphic arts, web design, video, computer animation, and digital imaging. These techniques will provide youth with skills for future arts-related endeavors and careers. The inherently process-oriented nature of printmaking and new media arts lend themselves to project-based, hands-on learning in a unique way. Learning these processes will allow youth to leave the program with specific arts and technology expertise sthat will let them thrive at school and in the workforce.