A printing technique with the use of a printing plate on which the printing elements are recessed with respect to blanks. This feature of the technology provides the relief of image elements that protrude above the surface of the paper.
Automated production:- Rotational multisection roll and sheet printing machines.
Manual production:Etching and its varieties:- Etched bar — the main way of etching. Creating an etched stroke includes the following steps: preparing the board; engraving (drawing with an etching needle on acid-resistant soil); etching; proof print and plate correction; print.
- Aquatint — the print of the engraving in this manner resembles a drawing with watercolors; this similarity determined the origin of the name.
- Резерваж — drawing (with special or ordinary ink, as well as gouache or ink with sugar added), applied with a pen or brush directly on a smooth surface of the metal, is coated with acid-resistant soil. The printing plate is dipped in water. Swollen, ink lifts the soil particles lying above them, which are easily removed and expose the metal. As a result of etching, an engraving resembling a sketch with a pen or drawing with a brush is obtained.
- Lavis – invented by a French artist of the XVIII century. Jean-Baptiste Le Prince. The image is applied directly to the board with a brush moistened with acid; when printing, ink is printed into etched recesses. Engravings using the Lavis technique resemble a brush painting with a wash.
- Soft varnish – ordinary etching soil is mixed with fat, which makes it soft and easily lags behind; the primed printing plate is coated with grainy paper, which is applied with a hard pencil. From the pressure of the pencil, soil particles, adhering to the paper in accordance with the lines of the picture, after which the printing form is etched. An engraving made using the soft varnish technique is characterized by a picturesque, grainy stroke that conveys the specifics of the drawing with a pencil or charcoal.
- Dry needling – a kind of in-depth engraving on metal, based on scratching strokes with a needle. Engravings made using the “dry needle” technique are characterized by velvety strokes (somewhat bringing the “dry needle” closer to the drawing), which arises due to burrs left by the needle — the so-called barbs.
- Mezzoting – type of engraving on metal. The main fundamental difference from other etching styles is not the creation of a system of recesses - strokes and dots, but the smoothing of bright spots on a grained board. The effects achieved by mezzo-tinto cannot be obtained by other “tone” manners. In other words, the image required in the print is created due to the different gradation of light areas on a black background. The pre-polished surface of the metal board is subjected to granulation - it is coated with the help of a lapidary with many tiny recesses, acquiring a characteristic roughness. The graining is a long and laborious process. When printing, such a board gives a solid black tone. There are other methods of granulation of the board including due to etching.
- Pencil Manner – a kind of dashed manner of in-depth engraving on metal, imitating a drawing with a pencil, charcoal, sanguine or pastel. The effects of the pencil manner are achieved by applying fine-grained strokes and spots on the primed board (using roulettes or embossing), followed by etching.
- Dotter Manner – type of engraving on metal. Images are created using shallow recesses in the form of various depths and sizes of dots applied by punches, needles, etc. on the surface of a metal plate coated with acid-resistant varnish. Engravings created in a dotted manner are distinguished by the softness of black and white gradations.
- Engraving – recessed elements of the printing form are created (cut) with the help of a burin. It came from the ornaments carving of the various metal products. In the Middle Ages, there was a widespread method of filling lines incised into the metal with a colored composition, mainly niello.
