Mezzotint

Using a Mezzotint rocker, which is a flat steel blade with a fine serrated edge, thousands of tiny indented holes are evenly made over the entire surface of a copper plate. This will print as an even, rich, velvety black.

Working from dark to light, a tonal design is produced by scraping and polishing the surface of the indented plate with a scraper and burnisher.

The deeper the indented areas remain, the darker it will print. Where the plate is polished smooth, no ink will adhere and so will appear as high lights.