The monotype occupies a place between the graphic arts and painting. As defined by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, A“monotype is a print medium whose simple concept, spontaneous process, and elegant result attract both artists and collectors.” A typical monotype is a painting in any convenient medium that is executed on a aluminum plate, a sheet of plate glass, or a sheet of plexiglass. It is necessary that medium does not dry too rapidly – ordinarily oil paint, printing ink, or even aqueous paint work best. 
Paper is laid over the painted plate and either rolled through a press or rubbed using either or a synthetic baren, a traditional Japanese baren or the back of a large wooden spoon. If using a wooden spoon, a section from a paper shopping bag makes a great protective tympan to place between the spoon and the printmaking paper. The resulting piece is a one of a kind print – the monotype. Once the plate is ready to print, it is laid on the bed of the press and overlayed with a pristine sheet of printmaking paper. Wool protective blankets are they laid over the paper, tucking it in so to speak just before the artist hand cranks the bed between the roller bars in the same fashion as the old washing machines of the 1930’s that had ringers on them. In the lower left one can see the pressure adjustment knob that adjusts the pressure of the press’s roller on the press bed.
