<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drypoint</span>

Drypoint

<p><b>Drypoint</b> is a <a href="/en/Printmaking" title="Printmaking" class="wl">printmaking</a> technique of the <a href="/en/Intaglio_(printmaking)" title="Intaglio (printmaking)" class="wl">intaglio</a> family, in which an image is incised into a plate (or "matrix") with a hard-pointed "needle" of sharp metal or diamond point. In principle, the method is practically identical to <a href="/en/Engraving" title="Engraving" class="wl">engraving</a>. The difference is in the use of tools, and that the raised ridge along the furrow is not scraped or filed away as in engraving.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[1]</span></a></span> Traditionally the plate was <a href="/en/Copper" title="Copper" class="wl">copper</a>, but now <a href="/en/Cellulose_acetate" title="Cellulose acetate" class="wl">acetate</a>, <a href="/en/Zinc" title="Zinc" class="wl">zinc</a>, or <a href="/en/Plexiglas" title="Plexiglas" class="mw-redirect wl">plexiglas</a> are also commonly used.  Like <a href="/en/Etching" title="Etching" class="wl">etching</a>, drypoint is easier to master than <a href="/en/Engraving" title="Engraving" class="wl">engraving</a> for an artist trained in drawing because the technique of using the needle is closer to using a pencil than the <a href="/en/Burin_(engraving)" title="Burin (engraving)" class="wl">engraver's burin</a>.</p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Intaglio printmaking technique</div>
<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1096954695/mw-parser-output/.tmulti" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .tmulti .multiimageinner{display:flex;flex-direction:column}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .trow{display:flex;flex-direction:row;clear:left;flex-wrap:wrap;width:100%;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .tsingle{margin:1px;float:left}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .theader{clear:both;font-weight:bold;text-align:center;align-self:center;background-color:transparent;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .thumbcaption{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .text-align-left{text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .text-align-right{text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .text-align-center{text-align:center}@media all and (max-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .tmulti .thumbinner{width:100%!important;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:none!important;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .trow{justify-content:center}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .tsingle{float:none!important;max-width:100%!important;box-sizing:border-box;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .tsingle .thumbcaption{text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .trow>.thumbcaption{text-align:center}}</style><div class="thumb tmulti tright" about="#mwt2"><div class="thumbinner multiimageinner" style="width:392px;max-width:392px"><div class="trow"><div class="tsingle" style="width:134px;max-width:134px"><div class="thumbimage" style="height:187px;overflow:hidden"><span><a href="/en/File:Lesser_Ury_Dame_im_Kaffee.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Lesser_Ury_Dame_im_Kaffee.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Lesser_Ury_Dame_im_Kaffee.jpg/132px-Lesser_Ury_Dame_im_Kaffee.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="457" data-file-height="650" data-file-type="bitmap" height="188" width="132" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Lesser_Ury_Dame_im_Kaffee.jpg/198px-Lesser_Ury_Dame_im_Kaffee.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Lesser_Ury_Dame_im_Kaffee.jpg/264px-Lesser_Ury_Dame_im_Kaffee.jpg 2x" alt="Lesser_Ury_Dame_im_Kaffee.jpg"></a></span></div></div><div class="tsingle" style="width:254px;max-width:254px"><div class="thumbimage" style="height:187px;overflow:hidden"><span><a href="/en/File:E.T._Daniell_-_Surlingham_Ferry_-_looking_towards_Norwich.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:E.T._Daniell_-_Surlingham_Ferry_-_looking_towards_Norwich.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/E.T._Daniell_-_Surlingham_Ferry_-_looking_towards_Norwich.jpg/252px-E.T._Daniell_-_Surlingham_Ferry_-_looking_towards_Norwich.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="1280" data-file-height="949" data-file-type="bitmap" height="187" width="252" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/E.T._Daniell_-_Surlingham_Ferry_-_looking_towards_Norwich.jpg/378px-E.T._Daniell_-_Surlingham_Ferry_-_looking_towards_Norwich.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/E.T._Daniell_-_Surlingham_Ferry_-_looking_towards_Norwich.jpg/504px-E.T._Daniell_-_Surlingham_Ferry_-_looking_towards_Norwich.jpg 2x" alt="E.T._Daniell_-_Surlingham_Ferry_-_looking_towards_Norwich.jpg"></a></span></div></div></div><div class="trow" style="display:flex"><div class="thumbcaption"><i>Woman in Cafe</i> and <i>Surlingham Ferry - looking towards Norwich</i>, drypoint etchings by <a href="/en/Lesser_Ury" title="Lesser Ury" class="wl">Lesser Ury</a> and <a href="/en/Edward_Thomas_Daniell" title="Edward Thomas Daniell" class="wl">Edward Thomas Daniell</a>, showing the typical rich lines produced by <a href="/en/Burr_(edge)" title="Burr (edge)" class="wl">burring</a></div></div></div></div>
<p>The term is also used for inkless scratched inscriptions, such as glosses in manuscripts.</p>



Drypoint is a printmaking technique of the intaglio family, in which an image is incised into a plate with a hard-pointed "needle" of sharp metal or diamond point. In principle, the method is practically identical to engraving. The difference is in the use of tools, and that the raised ridge along the furrow is not scraped or filed away as in engraving. Traditionally the plate was copper, but now acetate, zinc, or plexiglas are also commonly used.  Like etching, drypoint is easier to master than engraving for an artist trained in drawing because the technique of using the needle is closer to using a pencil than the engraver's burin. The term is also used for inkless scratched inscriptions, such as glosses in manuscripts. 