The term “print” has several meanings, so it is important to

understand exactly what is meant by the artistic terminology. A print in

the artistic sense is not a reproduction of a work of art doing in some 【M1】__________

other medium, such as painting or drawing. That can in no sense be

considered as work of art, since the artist had no involvement with it. A 【M2】__________

print is an original work of art created by an indirect method. Instead

for making an image directly on a surface, as in drawing or painting, the 【M3】__________

artist works on a master surface, that may be a sheet of metal, a block 【M4】__________

of stone, a wood, plastic,or linoleum (油布). From this master 【M5】__________

surface, numerous impressions may be made by inking the surface,

laying a sheet of paper on it, and then subjected both surface and paper 【M6】__________

to pressure, generally by means of a printing press.

A print may exist in several versions. Sometimes the printmaker

alters the image between impressions, so that each print was slightly 【M7】__________

different from the others. Any series of such prints is referred to as

multiples. The number of impressions (known as the edition) that are

possible from a single original varies by the material. Prints made from 【M8】__________

linoleum, which wears readily, will be fewer than that made from a 【M9】__________

metal plate, which is capable of striking fine-quality prints in the

thousands. It is customary to number prints as they come off the press,

the earlier impressions being the finer and therefore the most desirable. 【M10】_________

【M7】