Collotype

コロタイプ / 19th century–present / Technique / Planographic Printing

A photomechanical process that prints ink from a photographically prepared gelatin surface. Fine, irregular reticulation carries detail and smooth-looking tones rather than a regular halftone screen. It has reproduced photographs and artworks; it is unrelated to the collaged matrix of a collagraph.

Collotype — Eadweard Muybridge, Animal Locomotion: Annie G. galloping, 1887 — collotype, Library of Congress — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — Eadweard Muybridge, Animal Locomotion: Annie G. galloping, 1887 — collotype, Library of Congress — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

At a glance

Visual cues

Detailed images derived from photographs or originals
Apparently continuous tonal changes
Fine irregular reticulation under magnification
Tone without a regular dot screen

Best used for

Exhibitions and teaching that compare Collotype with neighbouring print techniques
Publications studying lines, tones and paper through documented works

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Dictionary entry

Type: Keep lettering in the work separate from added labels; place medium, artist and date outside the image.
Composition: Pair details with the whole image and distinguish the microscopic pattern from overall tone.
Material: Check the collection medium record and the paper and ink; do not infer materials from screen colour alone.
Caution: A screen image may conceal the diagnostic pattern. Use the collection's medium record, and distinguish collotype from collagraph.
Further study: Eadweard Muybridge — Animal Locomotion / University of Illinois Library — PSAP: Photomechanical Prints / Getty — Atlas of Analytical Signatures: Collotype

Related entries

Photogravure (フォトグラヴュール)Shared effects: Calm.Compare Collotype and Photogravure
Halftone (ハーフトーン（網点）)Shared effects: Technique.Compare Collotype and Halftone

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