An assortment of hand engraving tools
Engraving was the first form of intaglio printing, invented in the early 1400s. In engraving, the engraver carves a design into a steel or copper plate. The carving tool is called a burin and has a sharp V-shaped section. The engraver holds the burin almost parallel with the plate, pressing the point into the surface and scooping out a sliver of metal. This is difficult work and the result is a conservative, steady line with crisp edges. Engraving is usually made up of many parallel lines and curves. There are different ways to give an appearance of tone. One way is to lessen or increase the pressure of the burin when carving the line. This makes the line thinner in some areas and wider in others. Engraving can also have cross-hatched lines, sometimes with dots or flicked spots added to the middles of the resulting diamonds. This is called the dot and lozenge technique. There is also stipple engraving which is discussed later.