The process originated in the 1500's. Though it is usually referred to as
etching in order to mark the fact that it is an intaglio process,
it is technically an engraving. The grooves are incised directly into the plate with a needle sharp instrument. The displaced metal is forced up on either side of the scratched line forming a ridge or burr, giving the medium its particular beauty, a velvety richness in the proof. The plates wear down quickly, yielding fewer prints than other intaglio methods, usually ten or twenty at the most.
