The printing process in which the image is manually incised or chemically etched into a metal plate, usually copper or zinc, using a variety of techniques and tools. Intaglio is pronounced with a silent “g” in ta (soft a) leo. Intaglio is from the Latin “intagliare” meaning to cut in or incise. Ink is wiped into the incised marks created by the artist, then the excess ink is wiped from the flat surfaces of the plate. In intaglio printmaking the paper is dampened so that it will be squeezed under printing pressure into the inked recesses of the plate. One of the distinguishing characteristics of this type of print is that the dried ink impression stands up from the paper in very slight relief. Another characteristic of intaglio is there will usually be an embossment where the paper was pressed around and over the edges of the plate as it was run through the press. Aquatint, engraving, etching, mezzotint and drypoint are all intaglio techniques.