Editing Printmaking (section)

=== Monotype ===
{{main|Monotyping}}
[[File:Paul Gauguin, Arearea no Varua Ino (Words of the Devil) (recto), 1894, NGA 11586.jpg|alt=Watercolor monotype showing two women, one with her back to the viewer|left|thumb|upright|[[Paul Gauguin]], ''Arearea no Varua Ino'' (Words of the Devil), [[Watercolor painting|watercolor]] monotype on Japan paper mounted on cardboard, 1894, [[National Gallery of Art|The National Gallery of Art]], Washington, D.C.]]
[[File:Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione - The Creation of Adam - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Monotype]] by the technique's inventor, [[Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione]], ''The Creation of Adam'', c 1642]]
Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface, or matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to acrylic glass. The image is then transferred onto a sheet of paper by pressing the two together, usually using a printing-press. Monotypes can also be created by inking an entire surface and then, using brushes or rags, removing ink to create a subtractive image, e.g. creating lights from a field of opaque color. The inks used may be oil based or water based. With oil based inks, the paper may be dry, in which case the image has more contrast, or the paper may be damp, in which case the image has a 10 percent greater range of tones.

Unlike [[monoprinting]], monotyping produces a unique print, or monotype, because most of the ink is removed during the initial pressing. Although subsequent reprintings are sometimes possible, they differ greatly from the first print and are generally considered inferior. A second print from the original plate is called a "ghost print" or "cognate". Stencils, watercolor, solvents, brushes, and other tools are often used to embellish a monotype print. Monotypes are often spontaneously executed and with no preliminary sketch.

Monotypes are the most painterly method among the printmaking techniques, a unique print that is essentially a printed painting. The principal characteristic of this medium is found in its spontaneity and its combination of printmaking, painting, and drawing media.<ref>[http://washingtonprintmakers.com/resources/techniques/monoprint Washington printmakers' gallery] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228183408/http://washingtonprintmakers.com/resources/techniques/monoprint |date=2010-12-28 }}</ref>

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