Prints, Lithographs and Screenprints

“Graphic art” covers different techniques. An engraving, lithograph and screenprint are not made in the same way, although each process can produce more than one impression. Understanding the process helps collectors read a listing, compare editions and distinguish an artistic print from a reproduction.

Technique alone does not determine quality or value. The artist’s involvement, date, publisher or printer, edition, signature, paper, condition, provenance and documentation are also relevant.

What is a print or engraving?

In broad terms, printmaking uses a prepared matrix to transfer an image to paper or another support. The matrix may be metal, wood, linoleum or another material. Depending on the process, the image may come from incised lines, acid-bitten areas, relief surfaces or other interventions.

Processes include etching, aquatint, drypoint, woodcut and linocut. Each produces different visual and physical characteristics.

Ask:

• What is the specific technique?
• Who prepared and printed the matrix?
• When was the edition produced?
• How many impressions were declared?
• Are additional proofs known?
• Which paper was used?
• Was the plate or matrix cancelled?
• Which records accompany the impression?

What is a lithograph?

Lithography is based on the incompatibility of grease and water. Traditionally, the image is worked on stone; prepared plates can also be used. The surface is treated so that ink adheres to the image areas and is repelled elsewhere.

Lithography can retain a direct drawn quality and may use separate stones or plates for multiple colours. An offset reproduction of an image should not automatically be described as an original lithograph simply because it is printed on paper.

Relevant questions include:

• Was the image created for the lithographic process?
• Is the workshop or printer identified?
• Does the impression belong to a documented edition?
• Is the signature handwritten or printed?
• Does the numbering correspond to that edition?
• Is the printing date known?

What is a screenprint?

Screenprinting transfers ink through a mesh prepared with open and blocked areas. Each colour may require a separate screen and pass. The process can produce intense colour fields, overlays and works on many different supports.

As with other processes, there are original screenprints conceived by the artist, authorized editions and reproductions. The listing should explain which situation applies and who participated in production.

How to read an edition

A fraction such as `12/75` will generally identify impression 12 from a numbered edition of 75. The number alone, however, does not explain the complete edition.

You may also find:

• `A.P.` or artist’s proofs;
• printer’s proofs;
• state proofs;
• hors commerce impressions;
• editions numbered in Roman numerals;
• unnumbered impressions;
• dedicated impressions.

Proofs are not automatically problematic, but their role should be understood and documented. Publisher, printer and catalogue information may help establish the complete edition structure.

Hand signature, plate signature and printed signature

A hand signature is added to the individual impression. A plate signature is part of the matrix and prints with the image. A reproduced signature may be photomechanical. These are different situations and should be described accurately.

A handwritten signature does not establish authenticity by itself. Consider it together with:

• technique;
• paper;
• numbering;
• stamps;
• provenance;
• documentation;
• correspondence with known editions.

Paper, margins and condition

For a work on paper, the support is part of the artwork. Watermarks, blind stamps, texture, thickness and dimensions may help identify an edition. Margins may contain numbering, signatures and other relevant marks.

Review:

• yellowing and oxidation;
• damp stains;
• mould;
• fading from light;
• folds and undulation;
• tears or losses;
• tapes and adhesives;
• trimmed margins;
• permanent mounting;
• contact with acidic materials.

A front photograph may not reveal these issues. Request images of the back, margins and details.

Original edition, later edition and reproduction

The listing should explain the distinction:

• original edition: an impression from the edition conceived or authorized in the context of the work’s production;
• later edition: an impression produced at another time, whose relationship to the artist and matrix must be explained;
• posthumous printing: produced after the artist’s death;
• reproduction: a copy of a pre-existing image made through a process that is not the original graphic work;
• after another artist: a work based on another artist’s composition.

These definitions require context. Ambiguous wording should not be used to hide the nature of the object.

Checklist before buying

1. Identify the exact technique.
2. Confirm whether the work belongs to an edition.
3. Review numbering and proofs.
4. Distinguish hand, plate and reproduced signatures.
5. Identify publisher and printer where relevant.
6. Review paper, stamps and marks.
7. Request front, back and margin photographs.
8. Request condition information.
9. Review certificates and provenance.
10. Confirm the description that will appear on the invoice.

Browse Graphic Art and International Masters. The Artwork Authenticity and Provenance guide provides a complementary documentation checklist.

To ask about the technique, edition, condition or records for a listed work, use the contact page.

Content reviewed by Cassia House, Buenos Aires. Updated August 2026.