Intaglio Printing

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A technique where the image is incised and etched into a metal plate and then transferred onto paper using a press.

What is intaglio?

"Intaglio is the family of printing and printmaking techniques in which the image is incised into a surface and the incised line or sunken area holds the ink."

How is intaglio different from relief print?

"It is the direct opposite of a relief print where the parts of the matrix that make the image stand above the main surface."

What materials are commonly used as surfaces or matrices in intaglio?

"Normally, copper or in recent times zinc sheets, called plates, are used as a surface or matrix."

How are the incisions created in intaglio?

"The incisions are created by etching, engraving, drypoint, aquatint, or mezzotint, often in combination."

What other technique, besides the traditional ones, can be printed as intaglio plates?

"Collagraphs may also be printed as intaglio plates."

Which technique dominated artistic printmaking and illustration during a certain period?

"The intaglio techniques dominated both artistic printmaking as well as most types of illustration and popular prints until the mid 19th century."

How would you pronounce "intaglio"?

"Intaglio (in-TAL-ee-oh, -⁠TAH-; Italian: [inˈtaʎʎo])..."

What holds the ink in intaglio?

"...the incised line or sunken area holds the ink."

When did woodcut decline as the main relief technique?

"After the decline of the main relief technique of woodcut around 1550..."

What are the two main types of metals used for intaglio plates in recent times?

"...copper or in recent times zinc sheets..."

What are some techniques used to create incisions in intaglio?

"The incisions are created by etching, engraving, drypoint, aquatint, or mezzotint..."

How are collagraphs printed in intaglio?

"Collagraphs may also be printed as intaglio plates."

What types of prints did intaglio dominate during a specific historical period?

"...the intaglio techniques dominated both artistic printmaking as well as most types of illustration and popular prints until the mid 19th century."

What does intaglio mean in Italian?

"Italian: [inˈtaʎʎo]"

How are the parts that create the image positioned in relation to the surface in intaglio?

"...the parts of the matrix that make the image stand above the main surface."

What did intaglio techniques replace as the dominant forms of printmaking?

"After the decline of the main relief technique of woodcut around 1550, the intaglio techniques dominated both artistic printmaking..."

How are the incised lines or sunken areas filled with ink in intaglio?

"...the incised line or sunken area holds the ink."

What is the opposite of intaglio?

"It is the direct opposite of a relief print..."

What were some of the techniques used before woodcut declined?

"The incisions are created by etching, engraving, drypoint, aquatint, or mezzotint..."

Which materials have been more recently used as plates in intaglio?

"Normally, copper or in recent times zinc sheets..."