Definition of Terms A) Original Art An artists takes a vision or original concept and renders this concept onto canvas, paper, wood, cloth, metal, cardboard or any other surface. These are unique, one-of-a-kind works of art. The conceptions, expressions and renderings are distinctly and directly the artist's own creative efforts and energy. B) Print or Graphic Any work of art produced in an automatic, multiple, commercial or hand printing process C) Hand Pulled Graphics 1. Silk-screen or Serigraph - Incorporating the idea of "block out" stencils the artist presses inks through stretched silk through the stencil onto the paper to make his prints. There are many methods for creating silk-screen stencils: with cut paper, solid glue painted on to the silk, existing objects, etc. 2. Lithograph - The artist uses a grease base crayon or grease base ink to draw his image on the smooth surface of a limestone block or another ultra smooth surface. He then coats the stone's surface with a mild acid solution, resulting in the image being set in. Lithography operates on the fact that grease and water repel each other. The stone surface is sponged by the artist with water which is rejected by the set design. Then he rolls the surface with a grease-base ink which is attracted by the design. Paper placed on the stone and "run" through a press results in the printing of the artist's image only. 3. Etching - The entire surface of a steel plate is printed by the artist with a substance called "touche." A sharp tool is used to scrape the touche away from the steel surface in the form of his design without his actually abrading the steel surface. The designed plate is submersed in an acid bath that "bites" the design into the steel. The plate is inked and paper is placed on the plate and is "run" through a heavy press. 4. Wood Block or Wood Cut - The image that the artist plans to print is drawn onto the surface of a smooth block of wood. Then he cuts the wood away which he does not want to print with carving tools. Only the design to be printed is left at the level of the original surface. The block is inked and used like a stamp onto the paper or place into a press with paper. D) Machine Produced Prints 1. Offset Lithography - This can be a complex printing process. It is a print produced commercially through photographic reproduction. By this method "fine arts" reproductions are produced. The printer uses four or more color separations in order to produce the best facsimile of the artist's original. "Limited edition prints" or signed and numbered offset lithographs have become widely-accepted in the collector's market. 2. Poster - A poster may be an original or an offset reproduction which always incorporates words, letters, or announcements in its design. Sometimes, in order to improve the design, the lettering is covered or cut away in the framing process. Posters are the earliest form of advertising known. Because the prospect has little time to devote to a poster, usually only a glance, the information communicated is brief. For this reason posters are usually used as a reminder medium, supplementing a major exposure of an idea in another medium. E) Color The one thing that all methods of hand-printing have in common is that generally only one color can be printed at a time. So, if you see ten colors in a print, you should know that ten plates, stones or stencils were created to make it. Today, one of the most dynamic investment markets is the entire field of original prints. The public in general has come to appreciate the great technical difficulty involved in printing an original graphic. F) Signed and Numbered (S/N) Authenticated with the artist's signature, the total number of impressions in the edition, and the order in which the impression is signed; "5/20" indicates that the print is the fifth signed of an edition of 20 impressions. 1. Open Edition Prints-- Prints that are not numbered and have no indication that they are limited are considered open edition prints. G) Artist's Proof (AP or EA) A print outside of the regular (numbered) edition is an artist's proof. In as much as, every artist has a different use for his proofs an exact definition is impossible. Some proofs are experimental. They precede the regular edition and are unique in that they show the evolution of the final design. Sometimes when printed along with the regular edition they are retained by the artist for commercial or personal reasons; sometimes they are printed from the same plates without change after the regular edition. Usually, 10% of the edition is printed as A/Ps. H) Hors De Commerce (HC) Hors De Commerce (Not for Trade) traditionally were the graphics pulled with the regular edition but marked by the artist for business only (H.C.). These graphics were used for entering shows, exhibits, samples, etc. Today, however, since people began to acquire and collect them, these graphics now generally find their way to the market place through regular channels and are sold. I) Printers Proof (P/P) A printers proof is one outside the regular signed and numbered edition but printed at the same time or after the regular edition from the same plates or screens without changes. It is usually a very small number of prints given to the printer for the printer's own purpose. J) Remarques A current practice by some artists is the addition of a small personalized drawing with the artist's initials usually near his penciled signature in the margin of the graphic and this is called a remarque.