Intaglio (printmaking)

Intaglio (/ɪnˈtæli.oʊ/ in-tal-ee-oh) is the family of printing and printmaking techniques in which the image is incised into a surface, and the incised line or sunken area holds the ink.

Intaglio is the direct opposite of a relief print.

Normally, copper or zinc plates are used as a surface or matrix, and the incisions are created by etching, engraving, drypoint, aquatint or mezzotint.