BLACK MANNER (OR HALFTONE)

The tool used for this technique is a steel half-moon equipped with fine teeth: this tool is used to trace a series of densely packed criss-cross marks onto the plate until a uniformly marked surface is obtained which, when printed, would produce a black background. At this point, a second tool is used: the burnisher, which is used to press down on the marks to varying degrees, obtaining a full range of grey tones, right up to white.

Maniera nera, Encyclopédie Diderot et d'Alembert.

Even with this technique, the number of copies that can be produced is very low. As mentioned above, the engraved mark can also be obtained indirectly with the help of a 'medium': this is how the most common engraving techniques are achieved, such as etching, aquatint and soft wax.