The term intaglio encompasses several printmaking techniques including etching, drypoint, aquatint, and engraving. In all forms of intaglio, ink is pressed into an incised area on a flat surface. The traditional material for an intaglio plate is copper, but zinc, aluminum, or plastic can also be used. The earliest form of intaglio printing is engraving, in which a sharp tool called a burin, is used to create lines. The burin’s v-shaped tip allows clean removal of the plate material, leaving behind a sharp line. A particularly successful practitioner of engraving in the sixteenth century was German artist Albrecht Durer, whose prints were sold at markets and distributed across Europe, increasing his fame across the continent.

Many forms of intaglio use the corrosive property of acid to bite into the metal plate and leave an incised line behind. In etching, the artist coats the plate with an acid-resistant ground, then uses an etching needle to scratch lines in the ground, revealing the surface below. The plate is then immersed in an acid solution, which bites only into the exposed lines. The depth of the line, and thickness in the eventual print, varies depending on the amount of time it is left in the acid. Intaglio prints are printed by covering the entire plate with a thin coat of ink, then using a piece of stiff fabric called tarlatan to push the ink into the lines while simultaneously removing it from the plate’s surface.