Monotype is a printmaking process in which an image, pattern or color composition painted directly onto an individual plate is transferred to a sheet of printing paper, typically by using a printing press. The process results in a single unique impression that is painterly in feel yet has the deep intrinsic beauty of a print. Flexibility, simplicity and openness to chance effects are the overriding features of monotypes.

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Many artists have worked with monotypes--Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin and Picasso are a few of the more prominent. Dense, heavy printing inks that have the consistency of tar are typically used because they are the most light-fast, although water soluble paints like gauche and watercolor can also produce good results. Plates--the surface upon which the monotype image or pattern is created--can have smooth surfaces such as plexiglass, or textured surfaces such as wood or press board. Monotypes easily lend themselves to the incorporation of a variety of other printmaking techniques such as chine colle, collograph or dry point and etching. Such incorporation allows for a striking way to balance sensitive tonal and textural imagery with the bold color masses that result from painting directly onto a plate.