Invented in 17th century Germany, an artist using this technique roughens the surface of the metal plate until it can print a rich, velvety black. Then the artist works lighter values into the plate by smoothing the rough areas with scrapers and burnishers. The rough areas retain the ink, which is then transferred to the paper by using pressure.

A method of engraving in which the artist works from dark to light. The whole plate is first covered with a fine, regular dot pattern made by using a rocking tool called a cradle. This patter holds the ink and prints as a black background. The image is created by burnishing (smoothing) the dot pattern. The smooth surface does not take the ink and therefore appears in the white.

An intaglio process. The plate is prepared by completely roughening (grounding) the plate with a spiked tool (rocker) that produces an overall burr. The artist develops the image by scraping and burnishing to produce gradations of dark through light. This technique was used widely in 18th century England for the reproduction of portraits.

A type of intaglio engraving in which the plate is roughened with a tool called a cradle and those areas which are not to take ink are smoothed. This method is capable of producing prints of exceptionally rich tone.

The process of engraving copper or steel to reproduce tones by roughening the surface of the plate with a toothed instrument, scraping the burr thus raised and burnishing to secure variations of light.

The copper plate is systematically worked over with a spiked tool called a rocker until it is thoroughly roughened. If inked in this state it will print a solid black. The engraver then works from dark to light smoothing out graduated highlights with a scraper. The smoother the area is the less ink it will hold, creating an image in a range of tones.

A form of INTAGLIO printing whereby the whole PLATE is roughened to produce a burr which will carry INK. The artist then scrapes down the burr in proportion to the degree of lightness required. Very few IMPRESSIONS can be taken from this type of delicate PLATE before it becomes damaged. Popular process during the 18th century in England.

An intaglio process invented around 1650 that allows the printing of rich tonal areas of black and grey. The mezzotint process begins by texturing a metal plate in such a way that it will hold a great deal of ink and print a solid black field. This is done with a tool called a "rocker." A rocker is essentially a large curved blade with very fine teeth along its edge. This blade is rocked back and forth, putting courses of fine dots into the metal plate. After this has been done repeatedly the plate will be covered with fine stipples that can hold ink. The next step is to scrape away the stippled texture where lighter passages are needed. The more vigorously the plate is scraped the less ink it will hold and the whiter it will print. Mezzotint differs conceptually from other intaglio methods because the artist works from black to white rather than white to black. For this reason mezzotint lends itself to scenes with many dark passages.

An intaglio process in which the surface of the plate is scored by a spur like"rocker" so that it is completely roughened. The plate is then smoothed in areas to produce modulated tones of light and dark values.

An intaglio method in which the artist works from dark to light. The plate is systematically roughened with a spurlike tool called a rocker. If inked in this state, it will print a velvety black. Graduated highlights are then smoothed out by scraping and burnishing the plate. Mezzotint is often combined with other intaglio methods.

Intaglio printing process which works from dark to light: the whole surface is roughened with spiked rockers whose action pits the metal from all angles and provides a stubbled background that prints as a rich and velvety black. Stage two of the process involves bringing forth an image using a burnisher and scraper, which now flattens different areas of the rough burr background. When printed this creates dramatic areas of highlight and half ton, which defines the image.

An engraving that can be thought of as inverse to the other intaglio processes, working from black to white rather than white to black. A copper or steel plate is worked to raise burs on the entire surface which hold ink and mark dark tones. Lighter tones are created by burnishing smooth these areas of roughened plate; which hold less ink.

Meaning "half-tint" or "half-tone", it is the mechanical intaglio technique in which an entire metal plate is roughened to create a burr that holds ink, producing a dark background. The artist works from dark to light, using a rocker to burnish or smooth the surface to create areas that hold less ink. In this way, a full range of tones is produced. Because this method is so labor-intensive, mezzotints are usually small. This printing process, though relatively uncommon today, was widely used for portraiture in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

An early technique in copperplate engraving, invented in the 17th century by Ludwig von Siegen, that involves etching a copper or steel printing plate with a pattern of crosshatched lines or dots to provide the illusion of continuous tone images and gray values.

an intaglio process in which a metal plate is roughened with a roulette or rocker to produce a rich, dense black printing surface. The plate is worked from dark tones to light by burnishing areas of the plate to produce a variety of tones.

An intaglio process producing a velvety black tone. The plate is methodically worked over with a rocking engraving device, covering the surface with a dense grid of dots which will hold ink to print unrelieved blackness. An image in shades of grey and white is created by burnishing the surface smooth.

In Mezzotint, the artist starts by roughening the metal plate creating what would be a solid black ground. He or she then burnishes or otherwise smooths the metal to create highlights.

An intaglio process. A copper plate is roughened to hold the maximum amount of ink. Areas which are burnished or made smoother will hold less ink and show up as lighter areas.

a very difficult and complicated printing process producing the most dramatic results.

a distinctive form of engraving, richly black and textured, in which the plate has been worked from dark to light. Used mainly for portraits.

An intaglio process in which the entire surface of a metal plate, usually copper, is rocked with a serrated tool to produce a roughened surface that, when inked, yields a rich black. Tone are produced with scrapers and burnishers. The areas to be white in the print are painstakingly rubbed with a burnisher and an engraver's scraper, which smooth and depress those areas so that they do not take the ink in relief printing.

a reverse engraving process used on a copper or steel plate to produce illustrations in relief with effects of light and shadow. The plate surface is roughened with a rocker tool so that when inked, it will print solid black. The light areas are rubbed down so they don't take ink.

A "dry" technique requiring extensive plate preparation using a tool called a rocker to uniformly mark the surface. Image generation comes from scraping and burnishing down the rough surface to control the range of printed tones.

Mezzotint uses rockers to cover the plate with minute indentations. This would print black. Scrapers and burnishers are used to smooth out these indentations. The smoother the area is, the lighter it prints. Very subtle gradations of tone are possible. This method is often used to reproduce paintings.

Random dot-pattern halftone screen or a method of engraving a plate to produce variations in tone.

An intaglio process in which the plate surface is roughened to the point where it prints black when inked. Then an image is created by smoothing and scraping the surface to hold less ink, creating tonal variations in the finished print.

Print produced by an engraving that has been scraped to represent light or shade

This term refers to an intaglio process which moves from dark to light by applying a grounding material to the entire plate and the scraping out the highlights. The main reason for the early (17th century) success of mezzotint was it's suitability for portraiture.

An intaglio process in which the plate surface is roughened and then an image is created by smoothing the areas to be printed.

an intaglio printing technique where the plate is first textured using a rocker, leaving a series of dotted lines and burrs, and then burnished to create tonal contrasts. this technique yields areas of smooth tone rather than clean lines.

An intaglio process in which the plate is pitted all over with a tool called a "rocker." By scraping or burnishing the raised burrs, gradations of light and shade may be produced in the printed image. Mezzotints are characterized by a rich, velvet overall appearance with numerous tonal ranges.

A intaglio process in which the plate is roughened with a toll called a rocker (see: rocker), producing a black background. The printmaker then works from black to white in establishing the design, scraping and burnishing the roughened surface to the desired degree of white. In this sense, true white will be unprinted paper.

A reverse-engraving procedure in which the entire surface of a copper or steel plate is heavily abraded with a tool called a "rocker" or "cradle." The resulting surface, called the "burr," prints as a dark, velvety black. White areas are made by burnishing and scraping the burr to create smooth, depressed areas which will not take the ink. Half-tones are created by partially burnishing and scraping the burr.

An intaglio process in which a texture is produced on a metal plate with a "rocker." By scraping or burnishing the surface, gradations of light and shade may then be produced. Mezzotints are characterized by a rich, velvet overall appearance with numerous tonal ranges.

(mezzo= half + tinta= tone), a reverse engraving process used on a copper or steel plate to produce illustrations in relief with effects of light and shadow. The surface of a master plate is roughened with a tool called a rocker so that if inked, it will print solid black. The areas to be white or gray in the print are rubbed down so as nor to take ink. It was widely used in the 18th and 19th centuries to reproduce portraits and other paintings, but became obsolete with the introduction of photo-engraving.

The surface of the plate is worked by rocking a serrated tool, which forces the metal to sit on the surface of the plate. When inked the surface prints a rich black. The mezzotint process is an intaglio printing process in negative, that is from black to white.

Mezzotint is a printmaking process of the intaglio family. It was the first tonal method to be used, enabling half-tones to be produced without using line or dot based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzotint achieves tonality by roughening the plate with thousands of little dots made by a metal tool with small teeth.