The process of incising a design beneath the surface
of a hard metal or stone surface.
The plates are inked only in the etched depressions
on the plates and the surface is wiped clean. The ink is then transferred
onto the paper with an etching press.
The printing is done with a plate bearing an image "in
itaglio"" and includes all metal-plate etching and engraving
processes. The opposite of this process is known as a "relief
print."