Skip to main content
platemaking

platemaking

6.6
Preparing thin metal or plastic plates used for printing
  • noun
  • /ˈpleɪtˌmeɪkɪŋ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : fabricación de planchas
  • The artist learned about platemaking to create detailed prints for his exhibition.

Examples

  • Many traditional methods of platemaking are still practiced in printmaking studios today.

  • The platemaking shop is south of Canal, on a grim street of granite and wrought iron.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • The shelves he builds always disappear into the platemaking room.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Tom is a former partner in a platemaking shop, dumped long ago for some unknown disgrace.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • In the platemaking process, different materials are used to prepare the printing plates.

Synonyms

photoplate making
vsplatemaking
  • Archaic
7.3

The process of making printing plates using light and photo film

is the general process not limited to photographic production of plates
photomechanics
vsplatemaking
  • Specialized
9.5

The process of making printing plates from photos to print images

is broader, covering all plate preparation methods not only photographic ones
photoengraving
vsplatemaking
  • Archaic
8.4

A metal plate made using a photograph to print clear pictures

is the wider plate preparation process beyond photographic engraving alone
stereotypy
vsplatemaking
  • Archaic
9.9

A way of making a metal plate from set letters to print many copies

describes plate preparation generally rather than the specific casting method
cerography
vsplatemaking
  • Archaic
9.9

A method of cutting a design into a plate covered with wax to make prints

is the general plate preparation process, not limited to wax engraving
drypoint
vsplatemaking
  • Specialized
9.8

To scratch an image into a metal plate with a sharp needle to make prints

focuses on preparing plates for presses generally, not only this artistic technique

Surface Forms

platemaking singular
platemaings plural
platemaking plural

Morphology

platemaking = plate + making (transparent) = plate + make + ing

The compound combines 'plate' and the noun 'making' (the gerund of 'make'), so the meaning 'the process of preparing plates' is directly derivable.

Etymology

Platemaking comes from the two simple words plate and making. The plate part means a 'flat metal sheet', like a dinner plate but metal, and making means 'making' those sheets for a printing press, so platemaking is the process of preparing the flat plates that hold the image for printing.