Customer Reviews

The Printed Picture

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Printed Picture "traces the changing technology of picture-making from the Renaissance to the present" - an understatement if there ever was one. The book is laid out in a very accessible "page-spread" format, with an example of each process faced by a written explanation. Some of the examples are mundane but charming, some of them are stunning. The production standards are superb, and quite up to the job of accurately representing the diverse originals. What really distinguishes this book, though, is the erudition of its author. Richard Benson is obviously an expert, but he is also that rarest of teachers, the kind whose enthusiasm for his subject drives him seek ever greater clarity in his explanations. Benson's writing is simple and friendly and full of profound insights that take a while to sink in. For example, he notes that there are two ways to make a color photograph: you can use a monochromatic image as a skeleton and paint the color on top, or you can combine primary colors and create the appearance of neutral values where there is only color present. A simple statement, but critical to understanding modern process printing.

I bought this book on a whim, having a coupon to spend, and I must say it was one of my best three whims ever. If you are an artist, or a photographer, or a print collector, or a bibliophile or just a curious reader, treat yourself. The Printed Picture is a gem.

The Printed Picture may become the standard reference for anyone interested in the history of image creation either as a single copy or in millions. Richard Benson (I'm not related) is to be congratulated in writing about a quite technical subject in a very lucid and accessible way.

The Product Description above will give you an idea about the book's scope. One of the fascinating insights that will intrigue you is that color printing is easier to do than printing in black. This interested me because I buy a lot of black and white photo art books and the problem is that one pass of black printing really can't realistically reproduce all the tonal values of a photo. The solution is to use black and one other ink, usually a grey to capture the lighter areas in a photo. The several hundred illustrations throughout the book show the continuing attempts, over the decades, to reproduce images as faithfully as possible and in multiple copies.

The book is bang up to date with comprehensive sections on color copiers, inkjet printing and scanner technology. The section on Indigo printing might be the way of the future because the technology allows a limited number of copies to be printed and in good quality, too.

I think it is worth mentioning, as another reviewer has, the quality of the writing. It is based on Benson's lectures, over the years, at Yale University and comes across in an easy conversational style that is a joy to read. As well as the writing he also designed the book. It is, as you would expect, beautifully printed on matt art stock with a 250+ screen.

If you work in graphic arts or are just image curious The Printed Picture will explain the background to something that is a big part of everyday life.

***SEE SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.

The technological evolution of distributing identical copies of a single picture has dramatically impacted upon and made practical the phenomena of mass culture. Author Richard Benson presents an informed and informative perspective and presentation of just how far the photographic printing processes have come. Beginning with the early years of relief printing which includes woodcuts, and moveable metal type, to today's digital processes. "The Printed Picture" aptly guides the reader through these subsequent and evolving processes while discussing the significance and roles each individual process has played. In this textbook each photograph is presented with a history of its impact on the processes of the time, as well as the importance of it role into the developing further techniques and processes. Displayed with an style that simplifies a complex process, the information of processes and effects is presented factually and with a sense of humor, "The Printed Picture" is especially recommended for university classroom use. All personal, professional, academic, and community libraries would find "The Printed Picture" to be a core addition to their Art, Photography, and Technological History reference collections.

Sum

If you have any interest in art prints this is a must read. Certain to be a reference book for decades to come.

Pros

* Very high quality illustrations

* The text is very enjoyable to read. He writes in simple English rather than Art-Speak

* Comprehensive look at all significant printing technologies

* A very useful glossary of printing terms

Cons

* I wish he did more to compare-and-contrast C-prints with inkjet prints. These are the most common form of new photographic prints one is likely to find in galleries and museums.

One of my favorite quotes from the book:

"The interesting thing that we see here is the artist's way of hanging on to old technologies after their glory days are over. Wood-block printing, engraving, etching, lithography, and even the more basic picture-making practices of drawing and painting - all of these technologies were tremendously influential is their day, but each has moved away from the broad cultural forefront and shifted over into the narrower realm of art. This is happening now with photography: the digital methods convey a great deal of photographic description, but they don't quite look like chemical photography, and will look less and less like the chemical forms as digital photography evolves. There will always be artists using the earlier technology in vital and effective ways, to make pictures that simply can't be produced with the new methods. Art is like some sort of backward country where old cars are sent to be kept running indefinitely, while modern times and new models race on ahead elsewhere."

A pet peeve of mine for years has been the pretentious word "Giclée". He skewers it:

"...at one point some ambitious marketer decided to call them "giclée" prints. This deeply stupid name has led many a purchaser to think they have some rarefied creature hanging on the wall when all it is is an inkjet print."

The majority of art prints you see on peoples walls are poster prints made using a printing technique called offset printing. This is a cheap way to mass-produce prints that look good. They don't have the vivid colors seen in fine-art prints, and they fade quickly since they are not archival, but they are inexpensive. Offeset printing is only one of the scores of printmaking techniques described in this book. Here is a partial list:

* Woodcut
* Wood Engraving
* Copper Engraving
* Etching
* Steel Engraving
* Aquatint
* Mezzotint
* Monotypes
* Stone Lithography
* Chromolithography
* Japanese Woodblock Printing
* Silkscreen
* the Typewritter
* Weaving
* Rubbings
* Silhouettes
* Daguerreotype
* Wet-plate photography
* Albumin Prints
* Tintypes
* Gum Bichromate
* Blueprints
* Platinum
* Palladium
* Gelatin Silver Print
* Polaroid
* Chromogenic or C printing
* Photogravure
* Retrogravure
* Collotype
* Duotone and Tritone
* Web Offset
* Photo Offset Lithography
* Laser Prints
* Iris Prints
* Dye-based Inkjet prints
* Pigment-based Inkjet prints

The publisher is MoMA and it shows. Everything from the cover to the paper and binding is first class. Richard Benson is professor (and former chairman) at the Yale School of Art.

Excellent reference book on printed art and communications, esp. early photography. Like the "essay" format of the articles.

Get this book if you have any interest whatso ever in photomechanical reproduction techniques. A fantastic reference and history of all things printed, from engravings to atate of the art Inkjet prints.
Well done and worth the Price at Amazon ( a $20 difference if you were to buy direct from MoMA at NYC.

Just about everything a non-specialist could want to know about the story of printing pictures, beautifully presented by a real expert.

The most resent publication which covers a lot of printing techniques including digital, what's still unusual. Good illustrations. Actually it's excellent guideline!