The image is formed by making grooves or scratching into the surface of a copper or zinc plate. Ink is applied to the plate and then its surface is cleaned, leaving only the ink in the grooves and crevices. When the plate and dampened paper are run through a press under great pressure, the image or design is transferred from the plate onto the paper. Normally the plate is smaller than the paper and its impression, called the platemark, leaves its trace on the paper surface.

Mezzotint

The entire surface of a copper plate is roughened over with a rocker - a thin rounded metal tool whose edges are serrated with fine teeth. If a print were made from the plate at this stage, it would appear uniformly black. Using a scraper and burnisher to flatten and press the copper, the artist makes areas of the surface smooth again, so that they do not hold ink and therefore print white. The mezzotint technique creates images with soft and subtle gradations of tones from dark to light.