Drypoint is a type of intaglio printmaking in which lines are made by taking a sharp stylus and incising into a sheet of metal—typically copper or zinc. Drypoints are made without acid, which other intaglio methods, such as etching and aquatint, use to bite into the surface of a plate. The printmaker can control the thickness and depth of the line by altering the force used to press the stylus into the plate. This method produces a curl of metal, called a burr, that absorbs ink during the printing process. This creates a soft, dense line that distinguishes drypoints from other forms of intaglio printing. In contrast, etchings and engravings have much sharper lines. Throughout the history of printmaking, artists such as Rembrandt and Picasso, and, more recently, William Kentridge and Louise Bourgeois, have taken advantage of the expressive potential of drypoint lines.

Like other intaglio methods, drypoints are printed by covering the entire plate with a thin sheet of ink, then using a piece of tarlatan – a rough fabric – to push the ink into the incised lines while also removing it from the plate’s surface. The inked plate is then run through a printing press with a piece of paper made slightly damp so that the fibers may be forced into the plate’s inky lines. It is difficult to print a large edition from a single drypoint plate because of the fragility of the burr. As a result, drypoint prints tend to have limited runs in the single or low double digits.