It is known as engraving to the printing or art technique that involves a previous work on a surface which is then covered with ink and from which different copies of the same model are obtained by pressing. Engraving is one of the oldest ways in which human beings could make works of art, as well as serving as a method from which many copies of the same design can be obtained. The name of the technique, engraving, comes from the idea of engraving the modifications or alterations that are made to a surface, marking, leaving a trace that that surface was worked on.
Engraving can be used both as an art form as well as a method of printing different types of pamphlets, brochures or stationery. Throughout history, human beings have used various supports to create their engravings, ranging from metal, stone, wood and even today artificial materials such as Styrofoam or synthetic materials.
All these surfaces are worked in relief with different techniques, the most common being the manual removal of material. Thus, a design is made on the support from excavating material to generate relief layers, etc. In some cases, such as metal, etching can be done from the use of acids as working on metal may not be easy. In this case, the design will be applied and those parts exposed to the acid work will slowly corrode, also generating relief.
The next step in the engraving technique, once the model or matrix has been obtained, is the application of ink on it. At this time, the ink will be inserted in greater quantity in those spaces with relief, so the final design will be very visible once printed. When the ink has been applied, the design is printed on paper or on the desired material from pressing and a careful printing job that makes the design reproduce on the paper.
