What is Mezzotint?

Mezzotint  is an engraving technique developed in the seventeenth-century. The mezzotint process has changed little since its inception. A copper plate is first roughened by means of a serrated tool called a mezzotint rocker. The plate is then selectively scraped and burnished to produce the highlights and median tones of an image. Once the image is rendered in this way, the plate is inked and run through an etching press, transferring the image to paper. Color is introduced to the process in a number of ways, perhaps the most common being multiple-plate technique. Chine Collé utilizes color paper, which is glued to the larger printing paper during the printing process. Another technique, a la Poupée, involves inking one plate with two or more color inks. Any of these techniques may be combined to excellent effect.