1. m. Monotype.

The term monocopies the dictionary does not gather it, although it is a term extensively used in the ambience of the Fine arts.

As for the term monotype, which yes gathers our dictionary, alludes to a technology used in the typographic printing, for the mechanized making of the mobile types. Enough use different from the meaning that is invoked in the world of the art.

Let's see that they bring us on this matter different dictionaries "specializing" in artistic terminology.

Monotype
It stamps to the one that transfers for contact the image identical or drawn in a rigid support when the pigment is still fresh. From not alone point of view of the skill but also of the language, the monotype is on horseback between the painting, the drawing and the graphic art, with which it coincides with the fact that the final product is a picture, that is to say, the support that contains the definitive image is different from that one in which the artist has intervened. Nevertheless, it differs from the graphic art in the most specific genuine and peculiar of his characteristics: the multiplicity of the product. In effect, after the stamp not to be fixed permanently in the support and, consequently, not having been inked during the printing - the proper pigment used by the artist is the one that creates the transferred image - it turns out to be impossible to obtain more than one picture for this method - hence his name-. The pigment used with major frequency to do is the oil.

Although acquaintance from the XVIIth century, it has been the artists of the XXth who have felt truly attracted towards the monotype due to the originality of his textures.

Monotype
Picture proceeding from the printing (in general the only) of a drawing that makes itself up in a thin plate of metal or crystal and that for pressure passes to role.

Monotype
With this skill the artist does straight on a metal table with inks that are usually of color. The artist has to work rapidly and decisively since the process of doing and of happening for the press has to be realized before the ink dries off. The artist usually starts by working with the clear colors, leaving by the end the dark tones.

The ink only reaches for a return for the press and the moisture of the role can do that the ink makes blots on it, therefore the process can turn out to be exasperating. Every monotype is only.

Monocopy
A monocopy (sic) is an engraving (lithography or etching), which the artist transforms. This transformation realizes it doing with watercolor, drawing with cake, etc. This way the monocopy is not part of a throw, it is the only copy and it is not possible to reproduce.

Monocopy
1. Process of printing of relatively recent use. It consists of a composition realized with inks calcográficas on metallic iron, which is printed by means of the press or for other means or instruments like the roller or the 'frotón'. Every composition allows only one printing, from there his name of monocopy, after which the tracing disappears, staying the iron arranged to be used again. From the type of procedure his fresh, slightly unexpected character stems, since for the rapid drying of the inks it is not possible to realize a meticulous work. One proceeds this way: on the clean iron an ink movie settles calcográfica by means of roller. If black ink is used only, by suitable means - brushes, estecas or appropriate hardware - the areas destined for the gray ones will be reduced of the ink or there will be cleaned completely the areas that must be half notes. If one works with color they can be stamped on the same iron, the respective colors on successive form, taking care especially to carry out a suitable one marked with the areas destined to every color. The typographic or lithographic ones or oil painting can be used in addition to the inks calcográficas. On the last one, it is necessary to add like observation that is not completely adapted by his essential component, the oil. The impression process is the following one: the iron is placed with the clean margins on the slide covered with humid role and felt. It is pressed increasing progressively between every roller passage up to obtaining that the ink impresses the role appropriately. The painters especially, they practise another monocopy species doing in direct form on the iron, by means of brush.

2. The monocopy is a variety of the only impression; only salt a good reproduction of every plate. The artist draws on any smooth surface, using oil, watercolor, or ink. In general the glass is used, but also there is valid a plate of polished copper or the china. It is possible to create the image painting it simply on the surface of the plate or by means of a process of investment, consistent in covering the iron with a thin pigments layer and being eliminate them with the fingers or with a brush up to forming the image. Next the role is applied on the plate and the image will remain transferred, well rubbing the back of the role or using a press of engraving to the etching.

Monotype
The monotype is a skill that some of them consider to be an engraving and others not. Essentially it is recorded by the fact that it is done working on a surface, in this case smooth that is flat and not porous, where the artist does straight then to print it on a role. Nevertheless, only an impression can be done, for what the purists of the matter allege that is not recorded.

Monotype
The monotype, as the proper name indicates, it is a skill to produce the only printings. The iron, of copper, zinc, crystal, methacrylate or another flat material, they make themselves up with colors to the oil or ink and then it passes for the tórculo. The process allows only one copy. The current artists use big materials variety to create authentic colages on his irons, which throw surprising results.

It is possible to deduce, in view of the definitions that we could have gathered, an attempt of establishing a coherent meaning to the different terms, which in this one I marry they are applied not to a skill, but neither to a set of skills, nor to a process, but to different processes and, certainly, to a plastic language provided with enough entity and personality.

The engraving skills (included the serigraphy, of the most ancient) have been developing for centuries. Precursors of the current printing, these skills have been prospering, diversifying and perfecting, with the common target of the serial production of the graphic work. During the XIXth century and especially in the XXth century, the engraving skills have been limiting themselves to the edition of artistic graphic work (limited in the number of originals), moving away from the proper reproduction of big throws of the industry of the graphic arts.

Some artists of the XXth century (Picasso, Looked, Dalí, Tápies) have prepared an enormous graphic work in collaboration with the workshops of engraving (principally French and Catalan). They gave polish to the engraving dignifying it and helped to his diffusion. Fruit of this one an approach of the artists there are the innumerable technical contributions that have gone joining to the engraving.

Little by little, the ancient profusion of workshops of engraving was diminishing and equally the artist was approaching and interested increasingly by this one noble art. But the artist likes experimenting, and between inks and irons, dry tops and rollers it discovers the monotype, by means of which it can express itself in a very wide scale of records, without feeling encorsetado for the need of seriación. Also it is necessary to emphasize the artists' quantity that they exercise of engravers at present, that is to say, that devote themselves to the edition and, therefore, handle the skills and processes inherent in the engraving.

The author finds in the monotype a vast area for the plastic experimentation, incorporating those elements that extend his stylistic freedom, resorting to an indirect system (the step along the tórculo, the pressure of the role on a smooth surface impregnated with painting, pigments, etc.) that invests of way to speculate about the image in the final support. This one investment of the image, it is a proper circumstance of all the skills of engraving except in the serigraphy (engraving of sifter).

Certain similarities exist between the monotype and the tests of the state of an engraving. In these, the artist is still in the phase of correction of the counterfoil and experimentation, incorporating or eliminating elements, accentuating tones, changing the chromatic palette, etc. These you prove that there are, in fact, an inventory of the creative process on the iron, they allow to the observer an approach the modus operandi of the artist, as it happens with the sketches previous to any artistic work. I am useful here to claim the defeat as effective source of renewal and learning. In most of the skills of engraving the wished result is not obtained but after a process of tests and corrections.

Considering the big diversity of skills of engraving and his derivations, we find big difficulty in his classification. Simply we will try to establish not exhaustive approach to the universe of the monotype. If we attend on technical criteria we might establish the first approach to the differences between monotypes realized by means of serigraphy, monotypes calcográfica, pictorial, lithographic, photographic and digital.

In the monotype realized by means of serigraphy (skill of sifter) it would be necessary to distinguish between:

The one that is constituted of only one time, covering (poster paint as pigment is used usually) the surface of the screen and transferring the above mentioned image with only one gone on from the scraper to the role.

The one that allows, by means of successive reservations with liquid blocker (the one that is usually used to cover pores or imperfection of the screen) or with adhesive staff, printing successively each of the tones up to completing the wished motive.

With the term monotype calcográfica I want to refer to that one in which the step along the tórculo is used to transfer the image to the role. In my opinion, it would be necessary to distinguish between the monotypes realized by means of the making or not of counterfoil:

When there is used counterfoil prepared across any of the skills of engraving to fix the image (although all the effort focuses on the attainment of original only one, in this one I marry).

When there is not used counterfoil (understood like rigid support on which the image has been fixed somehow, to transfer), there is used a rigid iron on which the artist prepares, by means of pigments or other elements, the image that will be transferred to the role.

The lithographic monotype allows a wide variety of records, given the versatility of the skill, ideal to reproduce the lines of the artist with all his tones. It can be realized using the traditional support of stone or metallic iron.

The skills of the gums bicromatadas allow to realize the only impressions on any support by means of photographic procedures, applying a sensitive emulsion.

Although probably the term of pictorial monotype is not the luckiest, we refer to the monotype realized by means of all those manual procedures of transference of image, from the use of a simple potato (in which the motive models itself) happening for it the most know of applying pigments on a smooth surface (glass, metallic iron) that will be transferred by the pressure of the hand on the role, or with help of a spoon of stick.

Finally, it would be necessary to do a separate chapter to speak about the current capacities that get rid of the use of the computers for the originals making in digital format, which then can be transferred to role by means of sophisticated printers. Although here no "formal" difference exists with regard to the engraving, to the effect that, as soon as there was prepared the image to be transferred, the proper graphic information constitutes an authentic counterfoil (never rather, if we speak about mathematical counterfoil), capable of being printed so many times as it is needed, eliminating the wear on this one that inevitably bears any engraving process calcográfico. If the above mentioned image is printed only one time, original only one, it is a monotype.

But these new systems of graphic production have his particulars. Between the most important, it would be necessary to emphasize the quality of the ink and of the role, cost of the systems of impression (printers), of the hardware and software. So that an image printed this way has an acceptable artistic quality and a durability, there must be used inks based on pigments (different from those who are used in a domestic or labor environment, cradles on dyes and of little durability), special roles and systems of impression that have a high cost, which makes it unattainable for most of the artists, for the time being (since the tendency is after the prices fit increasingly). As alternative centers of impression arise under demand supported, usually, by the companies that commercialize the systems of impression, the computer applications, the consumable ones as inks or role, etc. Places on which the artist can print his work, with the additional advantages that the computer science provides (for example, Internet route can send to itself the work straight to the center of impression in format.jpg). This type of incipient, so called impression glicèe, it is in continuous transformation, appearing continuously on the market new models of printers, of special inks based on pigments and of special roles.

The importance of the new technologies is outstanding in the artistic creation, which inevitably produce a change in the means of diffusion of the art, in the processes, intentions, etc. His presence is more and more clear both in the conception of the work (by means of digitization of image, making with graphic applications) and in the impression of the same one (across printers, supports and special inks). Many current graphic works exist only in the networks network, and although any image in digital format is capable of being printed, not necessary they it will be (they it need to be to be enjoyed). Even some of these, there constitute audio-visual proposals nearer to the movies, to the performance or to the video than to the graphic fact in itself.

Since we see, the practice of the monotype supposes a big stimulus to the plastic artists who practise or are interested by the engraving by all his forms, and has conquered definitely a hollow in the world of the art, particularly in the edition of graphic work. Good test of it is the interest that it causes in the engraving contests, joining like a form to be born in mind, and even paragraphs dedicated exclusive to her being created. It is necessary to quote the contests that develop in Latin America, especially in Argentina, where the engraving enjoys big importance and consideration, and the practice of the monotype is very widespread.

The distinguishing element between a monotype and a painting (oil, watercolor, etc.) is purely a technician. The venal value of a work this way realized with regard to a painting is identical, to me to understand, given that that we speak about the only and original work, and it will depend on the same quality factors and originality, of which they take control in the evaluation of any another work of the same artist. The incentive to investigate in the technical process that exists behind a monotype is not minor than the analysis of any pictorial work. I do not also believe that it is possible to catalog it merely like a skill of certain printing, since it can to be solved by any of them or combined between themselves, or by other procedures like direct interventions of the author, colages, for quoting some of the processes that we have seen previously.

The magic in the contemplation and enjoyment of a monotype resides, not only neither in the conviction that we are before the original and only work, nor even in the technical complexity that it could allow to make out, but in this sum of concentration, of suppressed force, of spontaneity, seasoned with a certain quantity of hazard and savoir faire.

In conclusion, it can be said that we are at the beginning of one century in which the art does more and more accessible all the persons to itself, and not only to a cultural elite, to which he contributes especially the graphic work (as it has doing from his beginning). That every time are more the artists who approach his practice, and they enrich with his personal contribution this one average. That it seems that there begin being exiled the secular prejudices that have existed with regard to the graphic work opposite to other means of plastic expression, principally thanks to his diffusion and major knowledge.

We are, therefore, before an encouraging panorama in the edition of original graphic work, opened to the investigation and the experimentation, where the artist can develop and extend his stylistic universe. And the monotype, like maximum exponent of that one territory of diffuse borders between the pictorial practices and the engraving, claims strongly unusual a language with its own idiosyncrasy.