à la poupée

The term "à la poupée" refers to a specific technique within intaglio printing, a method where ink is held in recessed areas of a printing plate. This technique is used to create multicolor prints from a single plate.1

In the "à la poupée" method, separate cloth pads, often described as "dolls," are used to apply different ink colors to distinct areas of the intaglio plate. Once inked, the plate is printed in the usual manner, resulting in a single impression with multiple colors. This contrasts with other methods of multicolor printing, such as using separate plates for each color or applying ink with a roller. The term originates from French and literally means "in the doll manner".12