Intaglio Prints Answers

The three main types of Intaglio printing are etching, engraving, and drypoint.

When an artist etches a piece, he/she draws the image or design on a surface, which has been coated with a thin layer of acid. The artist is still essentially drawing when he/she creates an etch, however the end result, media, and tools is quite different.

Mezzotint’s tone is created using a special tool, like with drypoint. As the tool moves along the metal surface, it roughs the surface and creates different levels of grooves. When ink is applied to the surface, the varying levels of grooves provide the illusion of various tones and half-tones, while still using the same color of ink. This method is one of the best representation of monochromatic art.

A type of etching that uses powdered resin that stops the acid from eating away at the surface, creating a tonal effect. Picture 1 is an example of aquatint.

Relief: Sculptured artwork on a flat surface where some parts are raised parts have been carved away. Ground: A waxy material used in engraving. Etch: The product made by using a metal plate and special tools to scratch an image into a waxy surface, and is then dipped into an acid bath.

Engraving is a process of incising an image onto a hard surface such as wood, stone, or a copper plate. Etching is a printmaking process in which an impression is taken from a metal plate on which an image has been etched (or eaten away by acid).

Relief printing is done by outlining an image on a surface, and then carving along the outline. The artist then applies the raised areas with ink, to be pressed on to a surface. Intaglio is sort of the opposite of relief printing, in that the ink is pushed into the lines and pits and wiped off the surface of the plate. The resulting image comes from the ink in the engraved or etched lines. The resulting image is reversed.

In engraving, artist typically would use a metal sheet as the surface for their piece. Etching is difficult because of the amount of scraping required, the strength and control the artist must use, the sound of the scraping, and the inability to make corrections.

To create a drypoint, the artist draws onto a metal plate using a hard tipped needle known as a burr. The pressure and burr with influence how the final piece appears.

Intaglio come for the Latin verb, itagliare. In Latin, intagliare means “to cut”. Intaglio can be dated back to the Sumerian society, around the year 3000 BCE.