The artist then draws his design through the ground with an etching needle, aware that in the print it will appear reversed. In a bath of diluted nitric acid, the lines traced by the needle are bitten into the plate, the rest of the plate being protected from the acid by the varnish. Lines can also be scratched onto the plate with a thin steel tipped needle if no varnish is applied, and the result is called a drypoint. However, drypoint lines wear out much faster than etching lines. Etching and drypoint are sometimes used in combination.
Aquatint is an etching process in which tonal areas are created instead of lines.
This is achieved by dusting powdered resin on the plate which when heated will cause the resin to contract and thus allow the acid to bite the plate in the small crevices of the grain. The finished plate is inked so that all furrows are filled, excess ink is wiped off, and a sheet of dampened paper is pressed against the plate in an etching press. The resulting impression, a sheet of paper which has absorbed the ink from the plate, is called a print. Generally, black ink is used, but some artists have preferred sepia or other colored inks.