Fine engravings were cut by hand into soft copper. The engraved surface consisted of channels of sunken areas. 1505- Invention of Chemical etching. Acid would penetrate the exposed copper dissolve it. Intalio refers to a method of printing whose image carrier consists of lines or dots recessed below the surface.
Intaglio reproduces original design by pressing paper into the recesses.
The first intaglio plate was used for printing in Germany in 1446 about the same time as Gutenberg. Unfortunately, intaglio was not compatible with Guttenberg s letterpress, so it was not adopted by early printers. The modern gravure printing press resulted from the invention of photography and the adoption of rotary printing from cylinders. 1838- principles of photography tested and proven. Dichromated gelatin as the sensitive coating on copper or steel plate Fox Talbot placed leaves, laces on the coating and exposed it to daylight.