Monoprint

Monoprint is a printmaking process in which a single impression is created from a plate that contains permanent features. Unlike monotype, where the plate begins as a blank surface, a monoprint matrix may include etched lines, carved marks, textured areas, or other fixed elements that remain consistent from one print to the next. These underlying features form a structural base for variation.

Before each impression is taken, the artist alters the inking of the plate—adjusting colour, pressure, wiping, or layering—to create a new version of the image. While certain lines or forms will repeat due to the permanent marks in the matrix, the final appearance of each print differs depending on how the plate is prepared.

Once inked, paper is placed over the plate and passed through a press, transferring both the fixed elements and the newly manipulated ink to the sheet. The balance between repetition and variation gives monoprints their distinctive character: they are linked through shared structure but remain individually resolved.

Because of this interplay, monoprints are often described as variations on a theme. Each impression retains evidence of the original matrix while reflecting the artist’s decisions at the moment of printing. The process combines the stability of editioned techniques with the spontaneity of one-off works, resulting in prints that are related yet never identical.