steel engraving: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples

For most commercial art, it has been superseded by photographic and digital processes. However, it is still used for some high-security printing like banknotes and passports, and practiced by specialist printmaking artists.

The primary tool is a burin or graver, a sharp, hardened steel tool with a square or lozenge-shaped tip, which is pushed across the plate to cut fine lines.

Engraving is a mechanical process of cutting lines directly into the plate with a tool. Etching is a chemical process where lines are bitten into the plate by acid after drawing through a protective ground.

Yes, the plate itself is a flat piece of polished steel. The engraved lines are shallow grooves. After inking, the surface is wiped clean, leaving ink only in the grooves, which is then transferred to paper under high pressure.

A printmaking technique where an image is cut into a steel plate, producing fine, detailed prints, often used for currency, stamps and illustrations in the 19th century.

Steel engraving is usually technical/formal in register.

Steel engraving: in British English it is pronounced /ˌstiːl ɪnˈɡreɪvɪŋ/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌstil ɪnˈɡreɪvɪŋ/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.