The printing plate can be, metal, plastic, card, or lino. It is covered with ink, which is usually etching or litho. The ink can then be removed with e.g. Brush, cotton buds, fingers, rags, or ink can be added to the printing plate. The image is built up and sometimes requires several rolls through the press.
A monoprint is similar to a monotype in as much as it produces a unique print but it has some form of basic matrix. There is always some part of the image that is constantly repeated. The artist then adds a monotype element to the print e.g. hand colouring, chine colle, mixed media.