Relief and intaglio printmaking are when an artist etches or carves an original artwork into a block of material—called a matrix or plate—which is then layered in ink, essentially making a fine art stamp. In relief printing, the artist removes what they don’t want to be seen—also known as negative space—before applying ink to the raised surface. Intaglio printmaking is the opposite: Artists carve the desired image out of the plate and apply ink beneath the original surface for printing.
Relief cuts made from linoleum plates are called linocuts, while wood relief cuts are simply termed woodcuts. Both wood and linocuts can create stunning images with deep blacks and fine detailing. Intaglio artists predominantly use plates made of malleable metal like copper.
Letterpress prints are a form of relief printing that uses metal plates to stamp onto paper just like how old newspapers were made. They are often text based but can be used to create other images like drawings, maps, and more. Lithographs are cut from limestone and use grease and water to produce images.