Perforated Steel Micron can be designed into a variety of shapes, percentage open-area, and in a variety of metals. Brittle metals and thin foils are much easier to etch than stamp, or machine in other traditional forms or manufacturing.

Etching is also used in the manufacturing of printed circuit boards and semiconductor devices (see Etching (microfabrication) ), on glass, and in the preparation of metallic specimens for microscopic observation.

Copper was always the traditional metal, and is still preferred, for etching, as it bites evenly, holds texture well, and does not distort the colour of the ink when wiped. Zinc is cheaper than copper, so preferable for beginners, but it does not bite as cleanly as copper, and it alters some colours of ink. Steel is growing in popularity as an etching substrate.

Prices of copper and zinc have steered steel to an acceptable alternative. Line quality of steel is less fine than copper but finer than zinc. Steel has a natural and rich aquatint. Steel is virtually impossible to reclaim though the price and availability make it still more cost effective.

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In pure etching, a metal (usually copper, zinc or steel) plate is covered with a waxy ground which is resistant to acid[2]. The artist then scratches off the ground with a pointed etching needle[3] where he/she wants a line to appear in the finished piece, so exposing the bare metal. The échoppe, a tool with a slanted oval section is also used for "swelling" lines.[4] The plate is then dipped in a bath of acid, technically called the mordant (French for "biting"), or has acid washed over it.[5] The acid "bites" into the metal, where it is exposed, leaving behind lines sunk into the plate. The remaining ground is then cleaned off the plate. The plate is inked all over, and then the ink wiped off the surface, leaving only the ink in the etched lines.

The plate is then put through a high-pressure printing press together with a sheet of paper (often moistened to soften it).[1] The paper picks up the ink from the etched lines, making a print. The process can be repeated many times; typically several hundred impressions (copies) could be printed before the plate shows much sign of wear. The work on the plate can also be added to by repeating the whole process; this creates an etching which exists in more than one state.

Etching has often been combined with other intaglio techniques such as engraving (e.g. Rembrandt) or aquatint (e.g. Goya).