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Black’s excellent and developing series of Printmaking Handbooks is producing some little gems.

Although it can only be an introduction, Megan Fishpool goes a long way towards explaining the processes and practicalities of the complex hybrid print process and manages to cover most forms from stereoscopic and lenticular to intaglio and colagraph. Clearly written, and well researched and illustrated, this is an invaluable guide to a difficult subject.

Author: Megan Fishpool, Medium: Printmaking, Publisher: A&C Black, Series: Printmaking Handbook, Subject: Printmaking

This sumptuous and quite modestly priced volume is going to delight anyone who has any interest in printmaking. If you’re more of a dilettante, then there’s a good mix of things you recognise and things that are new. If you’ve already developed an interest, then you’ll enjoy the well-selected collection of illustrations and the excellent coverage of both history and technique that accompanies it.

I think it’s fair to say that someone with an extensive knowledge of the history of printmaking isn’t going to find much here that they don’t know already, but this is not meant to be a definitive book. Rather, it’s an accessible guide that takes the reader beyond the primer stage and leads them to a greater understanding of the period covered (and that’s important because this is not something that attempts to look at contemporary printmaking, which is a whole subject in its own right). The very best compliment I can pay it is to say that, as what I believe to be its target audience, I absolutely love it. The quality of the reproduction, as you’d expect from Black’s, is stunning.

You can view the author’s own website here

Author: Roger Baynton-Williams, Medium: Printmaking, Publisher: A&C Black, Subject: Art History

Black’s Printmaking Handbook series has already established itself as adventurous and unafraid to take on the big subject and here it does that quite literally: some of these projects occupy a whole room! Certainly, this is a long way from just engraved plates and a single sheet of paper.

As ever, a great deal is crammed into a short length, but there’s no sense of overcrowding and the book only ever attempts to be a general survey. However, as well as some basic technical chapters, there is also a look at a good number of pieces by contemporary workers in the field and the quality of the illustrations is exemplary.

Author: Alexia Tala, Medium: Installation, Medium: Printmaking, Publisher: A&C Black, Series: Printmaking Handbook, Subject: Techniques

My first thought on seeing the title of this really rather beautiful volume was, “aha!” in anticipation of a eureka moment. Clearly, this was what the editor expected, because the front flap blurb is devoted to an explanation of “the book’s apparently rather whimsical title”. And suddenly, my hackles are up; if you have to explain a title, isn’t it the wrong title?

In spite of what you might be expecting, this is not a detailed manual of clever or arcane techniques that you normally only get told about if you know the correct handshake. Rather, it’s a look at the work of 67 contemporary printmakers with a short essay by each about how they work. A more accurately descriptive title would have been “Contemporary Printmakers at Work”, though that, somehow, just sounds dull. But you get the idea.

As what it is, it’s a fascinating and beautiful book and one that any printmaker or buyer of prints is going to want to have on their shelves. It’s not cheap, but Black’s are not afraid to ask the going price for quality and every illustration is perfect.

And the title? Well apparently, “it was chosen because it can hardly be the case that any two artists making prints, even if working in the same technical specialism, will achieve their ends in precisely the same way”. You don’t say. Better ignore Chris Orr’s advice then, “I often startle students by telling them my golden rule: you should never remember anything you learn in a print workshop”. (To be fair, his point is that you should be constantly learning and reinventing).

Anyway, now that we know what the book is, we can say that it’s really very good, but aren’t you glad you’ve got me to decode the runes for you?

Author: Anthony Dyson, Medium: Printmaking, Publisher: A&C Black

Printmaking is a huge subject and, inevitably, a general introduction such as this can only really scratch the surface. However, Colin Gale does a good job of looking at the bulk of the most used techniques: collograph, silkscreen, lithography, woodblock and monoprinting as well as the use of digital images. In doing so, he provides a useful overview that summarises the basic approaches and techniques of each specialism and writes with authority about current trends, looking at the work of many contemporary printmakers as he goes along.

According to the blurb, the book will “help the reader master new skills as well as sharpen existing ones”. Not being a printmaker myself, it’s hard to comment on this statement, but I would have thought that the scope of the book is sufficiently wide that only the tyro would find much of that. It seems to me that it works much better as an introduction, either for someone who’s thinking of taking the plunge or maybe for a collector who’s keen to know more about the techniques behind the artwork.

The book is well and copiously illustrated, so it’s hard to see how it could disappoint even the most experienced printmaker, however.

Author: Colin Gale, Medium: Printmaking, Publisher: A&C Black, Subject: Techniques

Printmaking is a huge subject that includes many different techniques from basic linocut to engraving, intaglio and silkscreen. As soon as you get beyond the very basic, the equipment requirements mount up and some of the materials start to come with hazard warnings.

A simple book such as this can really only scratch the surface (sorry, pun unavoidable) of something which rapidly becomes the realm of the professional and on which much larger and more authoritative books have been written, not to mention academic courses run.

So where does this fit into the market? To describe it as superficial is unfair because the author makes a valiant attempt to include a reasonable amount of detail on each technique and it works well as a primer for someone who’s starting out and wants to give printmaking a try. At the same time, that person is going to have to make a certain investment in equipments and materials and I’m not totally convinced that they’ll get what they’d regard as a worthwhile return if their only source of instruction is a general introduction like this. I’d expect at least evening classes to be involved somewhere and that begs the question of whether a book like this will add anything to what they’re already getting.

However, to be more positive, if you’re interested in printmaking and want an overview of the various types and techniques available before you take the plunge, this will fit the bill admirably. Louise Woods goes into more detail than you might expect and you’ll get a very real sense of what’s involved. It should also be possible to make a basic start using simple materials, although this is inevitably going to be a very limited progression.

For what it is, this is sound. It’s in the same format as the Artist’s Bible series: that is to say, it’s spiral bound, though I can’t quite see the point of this as it’s not really something you’re going to need to keep open as you work. It feels nice in the hand, though, an often-neglected quality in books.

Search Press 2008
£12.99

Author: Louise Woods, Medium: Printmaking, Publisher: Search Press, Subject: Techniques

Up to now, Black’s Printmaking Handbook series has concentrated more at the professional end of the market, where cost is not necessarily a consideration. While this latest volume does not compromise on artistic quality or offer cheap and cheerful solutions, it does nevertheless offer possibilities for the amateur, or less committed, worker who does not want to incur a large equipment outlay or to handle materials which can be hazardous.

For all that, the authors manage to deal with the more traditional, shall we say, techniques such as etching, lithography and silkscreen as well as simpler ones, such as paper constructions, and the use of found materials. Although this may look as though they are simply extending the brief to cover techniques which are really beyond the scope of the book, the authors manage to show how results can be achieved without major expense.

The quality of both the writing and illustration of this series has been exemplary and this addition to it in no way compromises that. The authors both have extensive teaching experience and hold senior posts and have addressed the direction of the book with all seriousness, showing that it is possible to produce artworks in print while working on a restricted budget. This is not a populist weekend project book, but a serious look at another side of printmaking from a professional point of view.

A&C Black 2008
£15.99

Author: Mandy Bonnell, Author: Steve Mumberson, Medium: Printmaking, Publisher: A&C Black, Series: Printmaking Handbook, Subject: Techniques

Printmaking is not an area which anyone could accuse of being over-published, but Black’s are more than making up for this with this series of handbooks that offer both a way in for the novice as well as a more serious approach that will satisfy the demands of the more experienced practitioner.

In this volume, Mychael Barratt looks at both the practice of making prints from an incised or engraved plate and at the work of a number of contemporary printmakers who are preserving the tradition as well as extending the boundaries of the craft. These include Norman Ackroyd, Anita Klein and Paul Rego.

As ever, this is not a particularly cheap book (for the size, at any rate), but the quality of production and the number of colour illustrations more than justify the price.

A&C Black 2008
£15.99

Author Mychael Barratt
Publisher A&C Black
Medium Printmaking
Subject Techniques
Series Printmaking Handbook

Author: Mychael Barratt, Medium: Printmaking, Publisher: A&C Black, Series: Printmaking Handbook, Subject: Techniques

This small paperback condenses a vast amount of information and experience into its 128 pages.

Nigel Oxley founded the Kelpra studio, which produced editions for artists such as Elisabeth Frink, John Piper and Patrick Heron and the book is illustrated with their works, including stage proofs and inking notes.

Behind this is a well-structured manual on how to make colour prints, going through all the stages of the process from preparation of the plate to the pulls for each colour and the precautions, both artistic and safety related, that are necessary.

The way Nigel tells it, colour etching sounds almost like a simple process and he is excellent at navigating the many complexities and pointing out ways around the possible pitfalls. Work of this quality is, of course, beyond the novice, but the way Nigel tells it, there’s hope for even the most inexperienced printmaker. Anyone who is more than a little proficient and is aware of the mountain they have to climb, as well as those who are familiar with Nigel’s work and simply want to hear it from the master’s lips, will want this book.

This quietly authoritative series from A&C Black continues to impress.

A&C Black 2007
£14.99

Author: Nigel Oxley, Medium: Printmaking, Publisher: A&C Black, Series: Printmaking Handbook, Subject: Etching

OK, I confess. My knowledge of this subject is small to the point of non-existence, so I’m going to assume that, this being a very specialist subject, if you have an interest, you also probably have some degree of knowledge and can probably judge this book more or less for yourself.

There is a considerable interest in ephemera and they can be highly collectible simply because, although produced in quantity, most copies tend to be discarded and individual examples can therefore be quite rare.

Printed from woodblocks, the works discussed and illustrated here were produced for everyday life. There are examples of decorative paper, playing cards and board games rather than the more familiar portrayals of kabuki actors or courtesan beauties (it says here). Being by their nature less often seen, a collection such as this (there are 208 pages in the book and 2 or 3 colour illustrations on each page), must be invaluable.

Rebecca Salter approaches her study of these prints from the point of view of an artist rather than an academic, which should make this a fascinating study from an inside point of view. An acknowledged expert on Japanese woodblock printing, she has spent six years in the country and also teaches at Camberwell College of Art as well as elsewhere.

My guess would be that, even in the unlikely event that Rebecca doesn’t know one end of a woodblock from another – and, as I said, I’m not qualified to judge this – the collection of material illustrated alone makes this book a worthwhile purchase.

First published 2006
£30.00

Author: Rebecca Salter, Medium: Printmaking, Publisher: A&C Black, Subject: Japanese Prints