PAGINATION.
Numeration of the pages in a book.

PAPER.
Papermaking involves mixing vegetable fibers and water into a paste which is then drained, pressed and dried in a mould until a sheet is formed. This has to be sized with glue or gelatine to give the paper its final appearance. Linen or cotton rags are used to make good quality paper for printmaking. "India" and Japanese papers are also imported for this use on account of their high quality. Tracing paper is used for transferring a drawing onto the plate or block. Formerly the paper with the drawing on it was covered on the verso with black or red chalk and the design was transferred to the plate by indenting its outlines on the recto. The drawing may also be pricked for transfer. Special transfer paper is used in lithography to transfer the image from the paper on which it has been drawn onto the stone. It is grained if the image has been drawn in chalk or crayon. A smooth autographic paper is used for transferring ink drawings (see: transfer). Various types of sensitized papers are used in photomechanical methods. Tissue paper is used for protecting freshly printed sheets and for wiping the plate after inking in intaglio printing. Blotting paper is used on sheets of dampened paper before printing, and for drying plates after they have been etched and washed before printing.

PAPER CONSERVATOR.
An individual professionally trained to preserve and restore paper.

PATINA.
A surface formation on an object, e.g corrosion, oxidation, discoloration, which may be either natural in origin, or artificially applied (for aesthetic reasons) by the artist or craftsman.

PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSES.
Photographic processes are used to create an image on sensitized paper, either by means of a negative, or by exposing the paper directly to the light, having previously blocked out parts of it with various objects. The negative may also be prepared manually, as in the cliche-verre, a process which could be classed among the printmaking techniques. Photomechanical processes are those which involve a combination of photography with traditional printmaking methods; a positive or a negative image can be reproduced on the surface of any metal plate, stone, wood block or screen, provided that it has been sensitized beforehand. Examples of photomechanical processes are: line block, halftone block, photogravure, collotype, and such techniques can also be applied to screenprinting and offset lithography. The artist can also make an image by combining photographic materials (i.e. sensitized paper, developer, fixative, etc.) in his own fashion. For a long time, photomechanical means were rejected in the definition of original printmaking, for it was not considered to be work done entirely by the artist's hand. This restriction is no longer regarded as valid, for it is now appreciated that the artist may use any photographic means at his disposal in the making of a print.

PHOTOGRAVURE.
Sometimes known as heliogravure (particularly hand photogravure), this technique is one of the most important methods of industrial printing (the others being letterpress and offset lithography). It is an intaglio process which can be divided into two procedures: (1) Hand photogravure, a derivation of the aquatint in its method of obtaining tone. After sensitizing a copper plate and exposing it to light to form the image, resin or bitumen grain was scattered over it. The procedure continued as for a normal aquatint plate. This technique subsequently developed into a totally photomechanical process: (2) Machine photogravure, in which the tone is supplied by a cross-line screen. It was discovered that the plate could be bent into the form of a cylinder, a development which allowed very fast printing speeds (rotogravure). The technique is used more for magazines and catalogues than for print-making itself.

PHOTOLITHOGRAPHY.
A term referring to the use of photography in lithography and offset lithography.

PH VALUE.
P(otential) of H(ydrogen). A method of measuring acidity or alkalinity, numerically equivalent to 7 for neutral solutions, increasing with increased alkalinity and decreasing with increased acidity. The pH scale commonly in use ranges from 0 to 14.

PIGMENT.
The constituent in ink which gives it color

PITTING.
A fault which occurs on metal plates, particularly aluminium. Small holes are also sometimes found on the rubber roller used in offset lithography. An etching ground may also be pitted with small holes caused by an excess of heat on application of the ground.

PLASTER CAST.
A type of trial proof taken from an intaglio plate. Plaster is poured over the plate after it has been blackened with smoke, thereby producing an exact mould of the design.

PLASTIC (ENGRAVING ON).
Sheets of plastic can be engraved in the same technique as a woodcut or wood engraving. The transparency of the material greatly facilitates registration in color printing.

PLATE.
The plate is any metal printing element, whether an intaglio, relief or planographic process is employed.

PLATE MARK.
The mark imprinted by an intaglio plate onto the paper (especially visible at the edges) caused by the pressure of the rollers in the press.

PLUG.
A small piece of wood (or linoleum for a linocut) known as a "plug" is inserted into the block as a means of replacing a bad error or a damaged area in a woodcut. It is cut in accordance with the correction or restoration to be made.

POCHOIR:
A method of hand-applied coloration using a custom template. The template, or stencil, is essentially the image's physical negative which has exposed space in order for color to be applied onto the medium (or sheet) beneath.

PORTFOLIO.
A pliable case, made of thick cardboard, frequently covered with leather or cloth, in which prints are presented, stored, and conserved.

POSITIVE & NEGATIVE.
Photographic terminology is sometimes applied to prints; i.e. a positive design is black on white, a negative one is white on black.

"POUPEE A LA".
The French term used for a method of coloring an intaglio plate by hand. Contrary to usual methods of color printing, the different colours are all applied on one plate with the aid of a stump of rag, known as a "poupee" (or dolly).

PREPARATORY DRAWING.
Before making an engraving, woodcut, etc., a preparatory drawing is made on the surface of the printing element. It may be a tracing or transfer of the original design, or it may be an original itself, done with pencil, ink, chalk or other medium.

PRESS, PRINTING.
The three most important types of press are: (1) the relief or typographic press; (2) the intaglio printing press, also used in photogravure; and (3) the planographic press used in lithography and offset lithography. Within each of these types, the manual press is generally used by artists making their own prints, and can be distinguished from the mechanical press used in industry. 1. In the relief press (see: letterpress), a heavy rectangular element, the platen, is lowered over the bed of the press onto the paper and the block. 2. An intaglio printing press is comprised of two cylinders, between which the paper and the plate are pulled under great pressure. 3. In the lithographic press, the stone and the paper are transported by a mobile bed to a position beneath the scraper which supplies the pressure. There are different models of each type of press; they vary according to the manufacturer and the period in which they were made.

PRESSURE.
The pressure of an intaglio plate on the paper when pulled through the press results in the formation of a plate mark. In French, a distinction is made between the plate mark on the recto of the paper ("cuvette") and that on the verso ("foulage").

PRICKING.
A method of transferring a drawing, which consists in pricking with a fine needle the outlines of the design, leaving a series of small holes which may then be pounced. This involves shaking powdered red chalk over the dots so that a trace of the design is obtained on the paper or plate placed underneath. The process was much used in lithography for transferring drawings.

PRINT.
The image obtained from any printing element. Originally, this was either a metal plate, engraved in intaglio, or a wood block (or metal plate) cut in relief. From the beginning of the nineteenth century, lithographic stones were included, and today screenprinting adds a further type of printing element. An impression taken planographically from a painted surface may also be termed a print (See monotype). In the past, a rigid distinction was observed between prints obtained by manual processes and reproductions obtained by photomechanical methods (See photographic processes). This distinction has less value today, because reproductions have been incorporated into artists' original prints and are therefore not solely produced, as originally intended, for mass production. A print is termed, "original" if the artist of the design has worked on the printing element himself, as opposed to reproductive and interpretative prints which involve the use of an intermediary person to reproduce the design onto the printing element. Original prints are often only produced in small numbers; they may be numbered and signed by the artist. These distinctions between reproductions (which occasionally may also be signed and numbered) and original prints are, however, generalized. In practice the frontiers are more imprecise, particularly in commercial printing. It must be noted that some people have a much more rigorous definition of an original print than others, e.g. of a photomechanically produced original print of which only a very small number of impressions, numeration and a certificate of authenticity will make it qualify.

PRINTING.
The action of making a print on a support, whether it be of paper or of any other material, from a block, plate or stone or through a screen, in any of the printmaking procedures.

PRINTING ELEMENT.
The part which is inked and produces the impression when printed, i.e. the block, plate, stone or screen.

PROOF.
In a general sense, this word has been used to indicate any impression of a print. Strictly speaking, it should be limited to those impressions pulled by the artist to prove or test his work, whether before or after completion of the block, plate, etc.

PROOF BEFORE LETTERING.
An impression taken before the lettering (dedication, title, names of artist, engraver, etc.) has been engraved.

PROOF WITH LETTERING.
The lettering comprises all the writing underneath or above the design on the plate, block, etc. Impressions are sometimes taken on intaglio plates with scratched letters before the lettering is properly engraved, or with it only partly inscribed.

PROOF (WITH REMARQUES).
A "remarque" is a scribbled sketch made by the artist outside his main design which is eliminated later for printing the main edition.

PROOF: ARTIST'S PROOF.
A proof reserved for the artist outside the main edition. This may be noted in the margin (E.A. on French prints means "(epreuve d' artiste"). Some artists number these proofs. "Fine" proof. A definitive proof taken with particular care, on high quality paper, with margins. Oil proof. In the past, printers cleaned the plate with an oil-rubber and then pulled an impression from it to ensure that no ink remained in the incisions. Printer's proof. A proof reserved for the printer. Signed proof. One which has been signed by the artist. Smoke proof. (Fr. fume) A type of trial proof taken from a wood block which has been blackened with smoke. It may be taken by the woodcutter to serve as a model for the printer. More recently, the term has been used to describe a fine quality impression taken by hand from a wood block. Trial proof. A proof taken while work is still being made on the plate, stone, etc., to test the effect of inking and from which the artist can judge the amount of additions or alterations to be made. Sometimes he may make corrections by hand on the proof itself (a "touched" proof). In the past, woodcutters pulled trial proofs by blackening the relief of the block with smoke and printing it with the aid of a burnisher or rubber. Several trial proofs may be taken until a definitive state is reached. The printer's proof is often a trial proof. Wax proof. A type of trial proof taken from an intaglio plate. The incisions are blackened with smoke and an impression is taken onto a sheet of paper covered with white wax which picks up the design.

PROVENANCE.
A history of ownership. The provenance of some works of art can be traced back to the time that they were made.

PULP.
The fibrous substance resulting from the pulping process in papermaking.