Engraving means to carve a surface with a design for decoration or printing Engraving was invented thousands of years ago. It was used in antique art, jewellry and armour. Amazing, affordable computer driven machines are revitalising this ancient art.
Engraving was invented thousands of years ago when people started to engrave gold jewelry and ornaments.
In antiques, engraving usually means a printing method. The engraver cut a design into a wooden or metal plate, spread ink on it and pressed it against paper to print the image.
Engraving was the most popular way of reproducing art until about 1900. Engraving was also used for making original art by artists such as Albert Durer, William Blake and Pietro Santi Bartoli.
Art engraving was hugely time consuming. After about 1900 it was superceded by lithography and photogravure, as these are more economical.
Nowadays, engraving is undergoing a revival thanks to amazing computer controlled laser graving machines even small businesses can afford. These can engrave many materials, such as rock, glass, wood, plastic and metal. There are even water jet cutting machines capable of engraving metal. Gone are the days when making single engraving took weeks and weeks !