Engraving by de Bry

An engraving is a type of intaglio which is an Italian word that means incising. This method of print making is the exact opposite of a relief print where the ink that is printed lays on the top surface, it's the ink in the groves that is printed. This method of printing started around 1440. 

Engraving is a very physical process that takes a great deal of skill. The artist uses an instrument called a burin to cut lines into a metal plate. This instrument has a sharp v-shaped section that actually scoops out a sliver of metal as the artist pushes it across the surface. This kicks up a little curlicue of displace metal called the burr, which is removed with a scraping tool.  Because the artist has to push and lift the burin into the metal, the lines tend to be pointed at the ends. The design is created by using many curving parallel lines that can differ in thickness. From the mid 15th Century to early 16th Century, many painters in Germany & Italy also created engravings which are highly prized, but gradually this medium was used more by craftsmen to reproduce paintings.

An engraving is printed the same way that an etching is. The artist applies a very thick ink over the metal plate and then forces the ink into the lines. The surface ink is wiped off and a damp piece of paper which has been soaking in water is laid onto the plate. The plate is surrounded by thick felt blankets. All of this is rolled through a special press that looks like an antique washing machine with the two rollers. The pressure is so intense in order to transfer the ink to the paper that the paper actually indents around the metal and this is known as the plate mark. This is one of the reasons that the paper has to be wet, to help to prevent it from tearing under pressure. The other is that it helps to attract the ink from the plate. When the paper is removed from the plate, an original engraving can be seen. Another one can be created, but the artist must ink the plate each time. Color can be added by water coloring each piece after it is printed.  This medium is rarely used by artists of today.

Illustrated is "Lope de Olana Rebuilds His Ship, Making a Ship in the New World", a watercolored engraving by Theodore de Bry, circa 1594.