Relief Printmaking:
Printing from a raised surface. Relief printing plates are made from flat sheets that are carved into. Ink is rolled onto the carved surface with a brayer and the areas carved away will not print, leaving ink on the raised surface. Paper is placed on top of the inked plate and the image is transferred through rubbing by hand or by running through a printing press. The completed image is a mirror image of the original plate.

Relief printmaking techniques:
Woodcut – Carving and cutting into wood.
Linocut – Carving and cutting into linoleum plates. (An adaptation of linocuts for younger children is achieved by using rubber or Styrofoam plates that are easier to carve into)
Engraving – Carving into wood or metal with a fine line tool.
Collograph – Gluing objects onto a plate and printing these raised textures and surfaces.

Intaglio Printmaking:
Prints that are made by cutting into the surface of a metal, Plexiglas, or stone printing plate. Sharp tools are used to gouge into the surface of a smooth polished plate. Plates are inked and then wiped clean so that ink sits only in the etched depressions. The ink is then transferred onto paper through an etching press.

Intaglio Techniques:
Engraving – Scratching and cutting into stone, metal, or Plexiglas with a fine line tool.
Etching – Using acids to carve into metal or stone. A metal plate is first covered with an acid-resistant material, and then this material is carved into with an etching needle. The exposed metal is eaten away in an acid bath, creating depressed lines that are later inked for printing.
Photo Etching – A metal plate is coated with a light-sensitive emulsion and exposed to light, which hardens the clear parts of the design. The hardened parts of the coating act as an acid resist and the plate is then etched in an acid bath.

Planographic Printmaking:
Printing impressions from a smooth surface, rather than creating incised or relief areas on a plate. The term was devised to describe lithography.
Lithography – An image is created by drawing on a stone or metal plate with a greasy crayon. Water and ink are applied, and only the greasy parts absorb the ink. The ink is then transferred onto the paper by running the plate through a printing press.

Stencil or Serigraphy Printmaking:
A stencil is a sheet of paper, fabric, plastic, metal, or other material with designs cut, perforated or punched in it. Ink is forced through the openings of the stencil with a squeegee onto the surface to be printed.

Serigraphy Techniques:
Silk screening or Screenprinting – Areas of a fabric screen (usually a polyester fabric) are blocked out with a stencil or ink resists, and the ink transfers through the fabric with a squeegee onto the paper or fabric to be printed.

Monotype or Monoprinting:
One-of-a-kind prints made by painting on a smooth sheet of metal, glass or plastic with water-based paints. The painting is transferred onto a sheet of paper by hand or with a press. Monotype printing is not a multiple-replica process since each print is unique.