A technical dictionary of printmaking, André Béguin.
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hatch
Hatching is usually made up of parallel lines which create gray or black tones in line drawing. The tones achieved with hatching are different from those achieved in brush etching both in terms of solid tones and shaded off tones.
Hatching is rigorously parallel and follows the direction of the relief in traditional engraving, the type of engraving the French call burin rangé (whose spirit and rigour can be transposed to etching). Hatching can also be diagonally overlayed (known as cross-hatching) either with perpendicular or oblique lines. Overlying may even be multiple hatchings (surcroisé) in order to accentuate the intensity of a given area. Hatching may also be varied by widening or thickening the lines. In fact, it is by means of widening a simple line, without having recourse to crossing lines, that one can bring about relief in a print. Finally, one may also use wider spacing in hatching to lighten the resulting tone.
In burin rangé work [engraving : gravure rangée] one can find a succession of little lines or dots between two lines of hatching. This technique allows engravers to model grays subtly. The hatching itself peters out in little dots to bring about a transition towards the light areas.
In technical engraving, hatching is rigorously parallel and is used to do shading work. In technical drawing, hatching is used to symbolize various materials or technical details. In any type of drawing or printed image hatching may also be called, more simply, parallel lines.
[wood , line engraving , cut , putting on of flesh , granulated plate surface, line engraving].
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