The Reduction Printing Process
Reduction printing is a method used in relief printmaking, most commonly with wood or, my preference, linoleum blocks.
To create multi-color relief prints, the traditional method is to use multiple blocks of the same size, with each color area cut out on its own block. In reduction printing, a multi-color print is created using only one block by cutting away more and more of the surface in-between each color printing.
Every sheet of paper in the edition must be printed before moving on to the next color, because after the next step of cutting begins it is impossible to go back and create more prints.
When completed, the edition of prints is considered closed, as most of the surface will be cut away and no more prints can be created from the block, which is now reduced to only the final color. In contrast to the multi-block method, where proofs can be created at any point and corrections made to the blocks, in the reduction method the artist can view and correct the work only as it develops progressively. Once a color is printed and the next round of cutting begins, there is no going back. For this reason, the method is also known as "suicide printing."
It is a laborious process. The average print may have between 10 and 15 layers and may take as long as two weeks to complete. Because of the inherent differences in each print, no two are exactly alike and each one is considered an original work of art. All of the color prints on display here were printed using the reduction method.
