Intaglio Explained

Intaglio, with a silent “g”, meaning “to incise” or “to carve”, originated in Italy and is one of the four major classes of printmaking. The prints are made from plates, most often made of copper, but other materials such as brass, zinc and even plexiglass are used. In Intaglio printing, the lines, or areas that hold the ink are incised below the surface of the plate using one of five techniques: etching, drypoint, engraving, aquatint or mezzotint. The printing process then relies on the pressure or a press where damp paper his used to force these incised lines or areas to pick up the ink.

“The look of the final print is affected by numerous factors, including the choice of ink, the method of wiping the ink from the plate and the choice of paper — in addition to the choice of printmaking process and the artist’s treatment of the image. The contours of the plate leave an embossment on the paper called the platemark, and the residual ink on the surface is called plate tone.

Prints are usually worked through an evolution called states, with the artist printing a sample impression, then working the plate further until it is completed, when the final proof is taken. At that point the plate is ready for editioning — the creation of multiple impressions, which the artist signs and numbers.”

https://www.artistsnetwork.com/art-mediums/drawing/intaglio-explained/