| Offset, or Counterproof |
| In this case the artist transferred his drawing not through the paper, but directly from its surface to make a reversed impression of it. If moistened, drawings in black or especially red chalk will produce an image on another sheet of paper under strong pressure in a printing press. This impression will be fainter than the original and lack its nuances. The reversed image was especially useful to printmakers, who had to reverse their compositions on the printing plate. In the eighteenth century artists used offsets to make multiples of their work, which they subsequently reinforced, in order to make them look like original drawings. |
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by Michael Miller |