Intaglio is a way of making prints for repeated use. The process involves “drawing” an image on a metal plate (also known as the matrix), usually made of copper or zinc, through such techniques as engraving or etching. The plate is then covered in thick ink (similar in texture to paint) and then wiped off with a tarlatan cloth, with hand-wiping removing any last traces of ink from the unmarked surface of the plate.
As a result, you end up with ink left only in the incisions, after which a piece of damp paper is placed on top of the plate; the combination is run through a printing press, and voila! The design is printed on the paper. The term intaglio also refers to similar engraving of objects like perfume bottles, with no intent to actually print.
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While mostly used nowadays for banknotes, passports and other everyday printing, intaglio was once a high art form, with artists like Rembrandt and Albrecht Dürer using the technique often. Many intaglio items date back to the Roman and Medieval eras, where seals and stamps of officials were made using the intaglio process. The process of intaglio engraving was also used extensively by metalworkers and goldsmiths, both to decorate work and to record designs for future use.
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