Monoprinting.

Monoprinting is a form of printing that you can only create once. There are three different types of monoprints; positive/additive, reductive/subtractive and painterly. With a positive monoprint ink is rolled onto a plastic sheet, paper is then placed on top of the ink. A drawing tool is then used to apply pressure which transfers the ink onto the opposite side of the paper. With a reductive monoprint the plate is covered entirely with ink and then worked into removing the ink partially or wholly using different tools such as; brushes, toothpicks, cotton buds, foam, fingers and many other tools. When the desired image is finished the plate is then run through a printing press with a dampened piece of paper. To create a painterly print ink is directly applied to the plate using paintbrushes, fingers and rags. A sheet of paper is then placed on the top of the ink and it is either put through a press or a roller is used to transfer the image.

This is an example of a reductive monoprint from the artist Val McCann.

This is an example of a painterly print from the artist Cori Solomon.

This is an example of a positive monoprint from the artist Philippa Randles.