Collagraphy

Collagraphy (sometimes spelled collography) is a printmaking process in which materials are glued or sealed to a rigid substrate (such as paperboard or wood) to create a plate.^[1] Once inked, the plate becomes a tool for imprinting the design onto paper or another medium. The resulting print is termed a collagraph.

The term "collagraph" was coined by Glen Alps in the 1950s, and is derived from the Greek word koll or kolla, meaning glue, and graph, meaning the activity of drawing.^[2]

Artists use a variety of materials in collagraphy, including yarn, fabric, tape, different varieties of cut paper or card, leaves, feathers, and acrylic mediums.^[3][2] The application of ink onto the collagraph plate is versatile, consisting of intaglio-inking into recesses, brayer or paintbrush inking onto relief surfaces, or a combination of these methods. A print can be made with, or without use of a press.^[4]