Is there any Maine artist who hasn’t tried his or her hand at printmaking? Seems not. Here’s a partial list: Winslow Homer, Rockwell Kent, Marsden Hartley, Marguerite Zorach, Yvonne Jacquette and Neil Welliver. These are only some of the artists whose prints have been traveling in one of the most ambitious collections of art ever mounted in the state.

And by state, we mean the entire state. “The Maine Print Project: Celebrating 200 years of Printmaking in Maine,” which exhibits works by more than 350 artists, opened earlier this year at venues from York to Presque Isle. A collective of 25 curators, led by Bruce Brown, who thought up the project, collaborated on the shows, most of which have closed. But several good ones continue through the New Year. And if you haven’t seen any of the collections, it’s now or never.

Don’t worry if you don’t know a lithograph from a drypoint, a silkscreen from a wood block, an etching from an engraving – or the effect computer graphics has had on the entire field. Not only do the venues provide cheat sheets with definitions, but you can see examples in the flesh. Or on paper, as the case may be. And if you’ve missed all the shows or want more information about the history and styles of printmaking in the state, Down East has published David Becker’s “The Imprint of Place: Maine Printmaking 1800-2005,” a comprehensive survey of the prints and printmakers featured in the project.

But first the remaining shows.

The Center for Maine Contemporary Arts in Rockport represents 225 artists in its selection, which runs through Dec. 16. The Blum Gallery at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor has an exhibition through Jan. 4.

The Farnsworth Museum of Art in Rockland has works mounted through March and May. Colby College Museum of Art has woodcuts and linocuts by Alex Katz through January.

Closer to Bangor, the University of Maine Museum of Art downtown is still offering “Richard Estes: Prints” and “John Marin: A Print Survey” through Jan 13. The surveys of works by two of Maine’s highly respected artists are accompanied by selections from the museum’s permanent print collection, which is impressive, too.

Expect to linger in front of Yashuo Kuniyoshi’s lithograph of a bowl of fruit, Robert Colescott’s etching inspired by jazz dancers, Kara Walker’s etching on American slavery, Kathe Kollwitz’s lithograph of a peasant woman, and Max Beckman’s drypoint self-portrait. Allow extra time to examine a dozen etchings by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, the 18th century Italian architect whose densely imaginative interiors are “Lord of the Rings” meets “Where’s Waldo.”

None from the above list is formally part of the “Maine Print Project.” Nor is Bernard Langlais’ wood relief exhibition running concurrently with the print shows, but the collections in these four galleries are an unusually rich encounter with the state’s history of printmaking and its contemporary effect on other art styles.

David Becker, who has held curatorial positions in the print departments of Harvard University and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, said the lingering question both for the show and for his book is: “Does place have an imprint on the art made in a place?” The answer, of course, is yes. Maine art is different from Florida art or Massachusetts art because of the dramatic territory. Becker, who lives in southern Maine, traces that thought in his book.

While some art lovers consider prints a lesser aesthetic because they are reproducible and sellable at reasonable costs, Becker said that the affordability makes prints a more democratic art form. “Too bad” and “tough cookie,” he says to art snobs who think all art should be one-of-a-kind or attainable only by spending large sums of money. “Anybody can collect prints.”

Becker also praised the UMMA shows and the accompanying works from the permanent collection.

“Most museums with print collections have such a large quantity, they can’t hang them all,” he said. “So any opportunity to see them should be taken advantage of. The University of Maine museum has a great collection. When I saw the Piranesi, I couldn’t believe it. Many printmakers are also painters. He’s an example of someone who is entirely a printmaker. It’s a great print collection. That museum will always be a stop of mine when I’m in the area.”

To make the University of Maine Museum of Art a stop on your downtown ventures, call 561-3350 for information, or visit www.umma.umaine.edu. Admission is $3. UM students get in free with ID. The museum is located in Norumbega Hall at 40 Harlow St.