Rare Books: Printing Illustrations

In relief printing the area to be printed is raised up (in relief). With woodcut and linocut, the non-printed area is cut away.
Pro: 
- Can be printed in line with text, which is also relief
Con:
- High degree of expertise needed
- Thin lines – prone to breaking w/ repeated prints

Woodcut is a relief process in which knives and other tools are used to carve a design into the surface of a wooden block. The raised areas that remain after the block has been cut are inked and printed, while the recessed areas that are cut away do not retain ink, and will remain blank in the final print.

Learn more about the woodcut printing via the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A relief printmaking method, printing from the surface of a metal plate. Used almost exclusively in the first century of printing. Often the surface of the plate is decorated with punched holes, giving rise to the term 'manière criblée' - sieved manner.

Intaglio refers to printing techniques where the areas to be printed are carved into the printing plate.
Pro: 
- Generally accessible to anyone with the ability to draw
- Make fine-lined illustrations without worrying about breakage
Con:
- Must be printed separately from text

A metal stylus is used to draw on a soft piece of metal such as copper
The stylus pushes into the plate, displacing some metal, creating a thin burr on either side 

The plate is often steel faced in order to increase the strength of the plate and prevent the burrs from breaking during printing
 

Engraving is an intaglio printmaking process in which lines are cut into a metal plate in order to hold the ink. In engraving, the plate can be made of copper or zinc.

The metal plate is first polished to remove all scratches and imperfections from the surface so that only the intentional lines will be printed. When making an engraving, the printmaker incises or cuts a composition directly into the surface of a metal plate using a sharp tool, known as a burin: a steel shaft ending in a beveled diamond-shaped tip that is set into a rounded wooden handle. The burin carves a V-shaped groove into the plate.

Different sizes of burins can affect the size of the lines; the pressure the printmaker applies to the burin can also be used to create thinner or thicker grooves in the plate. Creating smooth lines requires both strength and control on the part of the printmaker.

Learn more about the process of engraving via the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

An iron or copper plate is coated in a ground - an acid-resistant substance, such as varnish or wax.
The artist draws a design into the ground using a stylus or needle. Each stroke removes some of the ground.
When the design is complete, the plate is submerged into an acid bath. The acid eats into the exposed metal, creating linear grooves. 
The ground is then removed and the plate is ready for inking and printing.

Advantages:
-  Precise lines, like engraving
-  Easier to “draw” into the ground than carve into metal
-  Able to fix mistakes by re-adding ground

Learn more about the process of etching via the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Lithography uses absorbent stone as a substrate, allows the artist to draw/paint the image they want to print directly onto the stone. It works on the principle that grease and water repel each other. It is the most autographic of the printmaking processes - there is no carving involved. The artist draws on a stone with a greasy crayon and then covers the stone with a thin film of water. the oily ink will stick to the greasy image but not to the water-covered areas.
Pro:
- Most natural to other artistic methods like drawing and painting
- Can achieve tones and other effects that make an image more dynamic, and makes color printing more naturalistic
Con:
- Need special (expensive) stones that must be perfectly level
- Illustrations printed separately from text

Learn more about the process of lithography via the Metropolitan Museum of Art.