Here you have some definitions for the main terms used to talk about prints.

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Print, proof, bon à tirer, edition, trial proof, artist proof.

         Original Print is the correct term used to talk about any work that is drawn, painted, or engraved by an artist on various supports - stone, metal, wood, linoleum, celluloid, rhodoid and is afterwards inked and printed on paper using a press.

        When several copies are printed, the term used is edition and this is done starting from a proof called the bon à tirer. This usually mentions the number of copies that the artist and the publisher want to print. The printer must then check that all printed copies correspond to the proof that the artist passed for press. All the prints are then signed by the artist and numbered by the artist or the publisher.

         A few of those prints are reserved for the artist, and they are recognizable thanks to a number system which is different from that of the rest of the edition, or even because they are not numbered. These are called artists' proofs.
Before the initial proof is passed for press, a few copies are printed to choose the paper, the inks and so on. These are called trial proof.

Lithography

        The technique of lithography is based on the repulsion of water by the fat contained in lithographic inks.

        With this technique there is no engraving; the lithographic stone is never engraved and therefore lithographs require as many stones as there are colours; because of this, today zinc plates are preferred.

        The artist draws in pencil or paints in lithographic ink over the surface of a lithographic stone - a chalky stone that absorbs humidity. Then the whole surface of the stone is covered with water; the stone absorbs it except in the areas covered in ink; then a ink roller is run over it; the ink is repulsed by the water, but absorbed in the areas drawn or painted by the artist; finally the lithograph is done by pressing a sheet of paper on the stone.

        The artist may also draw on a sheet of lithographic paper that will be transferred on the stone.

Engraving, dry-point, etching, aquatint.

        Engraving is the generic term used to talk about any work engraved on a metal support.

        To create a dry-point etching, the artist works with a steel pencil, scoring a metal plate.
In the case of etching, the metal plate is covered with an insulating varnish through which the artist does the engraving. The plate is then dipped into a bath of acid (eau-forte) which will erode only the engraved parts, since the varnish will protect the rest.

        Aquatint is used to obtain a wash drawing effect. The plate is coated with grains of resin that are then heated; they will therefore fuse together but not homogeneously - empty areas will remain between the melted grains. The metal plate is then dipped into acid and will be eroded in the uncoated areas; depending on their size and the impact of acid erosion, they will range from grey to deep black.

        For those three techniques, prints are done by laying a piece of paper on the metal plate.

Wood engraving, linoleum engraving

        For wood engraving, the artist works on a wood plate using a gouge or wood chisel, sometimes first drawing on the plate.

         Besides the specificity of wood as a support, what makes this technique difficult is that the artist must remove from the plate everything that is not to be inked. Then an ink roller is run over the surface and it is applied on a piece of paper using a press.

        Linoleum engraving is similar to wood engraving the artist here uses a linoleum plate as support.