Printing from engraved metal plates was a labor intensive process.
Engraved images or letters on paper are created using ink and engraved metal plates. According to the American Historical Print Collectors Society, "the two main classes of engravings are intaglio and relief." Intaglio involves cutting the graphic into the metal, then using pressure to extract the ink from the plate to the paper. In relief engraving, metal is cut away leaving the raised graphic on the surface, like printing from type.
Mezzotint
Two variations of engraving styles on vintage prints are "mezzotint" and "drypoint." Ludwig von Siegen of Germany invented the mezzotint method in the 1600s. To achieve a mezzotint, the engraver scores the entire metal plate with many small lines, creating a rough surface that holds more ink and allows for fine gradations in tone. Sections of the metal plate are scraped smooth to produce the desired image. Engravers often used mezzotint in portraits and landscapes in the mid-1700s and beyond.
Drypoint
Drypoint, practiced by famous artists like Rembrandt and German expressionist Max Beckmann, is an engraving style that uses a sharp point to cut into the metal rather than the V-shaped burin -- the traditional bevel-pointed tool of engravers. An unnamed 15th century German artist invented the drypoint method. Using a sharp point leaves burrs in the metal which produce a softened image when printed. The main disadvantage of this engraving style is the limited number of prints possible, since the burrs quickly wear down by printing.
Chalk Manner
Chalk manner is an engraving technique that results in a print resembling a chalk-drawn picture. Eighteenth-century engravers used special tools with teeth and grooves -- such as roulettes -- to carve dotted marks and patterns on copper plates to produce the chalk-imitating effect. They made prints from the engraved images using one or more ink colors, usually red, black or white.
a la Poup e
Adding color to engraved prints in the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries required a separate step. Artisans could apply hand coloring to each print using delicate watercolor brushes, but it was very time-consuming and costly. Printmakers developed other ways to apply color directly to the metal engraved plates. One such process was known as a la poup e -- French for "with the doll" -- where the printer applied the color just before the plate was run through the press. This method derives its name from the small, doll-like ball of fabric used to color the plate.
