Silhouette methods - printed

Printed silhouettes are not new. During the 18th and early-19th centuries artists used the printing techniques of the day, copper and steel plate etching, to produce portraits. Many of the printed silhouettes made at this time are of popular characters or of royalty, these selling well to a mass audience. Today, this type of high quality image is highly collectable.

During the late-19th and early-20th centuries, illustrators began to employ more modern printing techniques to introduce silhouettes as book illustrations, printed blocks being easily and cheaply produced and lasting longer than detailed black and white illustrations.

Today, digital printing methods are often used reproduce silhouettes and there's an increasing use of laser cutting tools to produce portraits in this style.