Copperplate refers to the use of inscribed sheets of copper in printing. The etched sheets of copper are inked and then have paper rolled over them to produce a copy.

In Southeast Asia, the use of copperplate for important documents was a stage in the writing system; they served as durable documentation in a climate which destroyed other documents. In Java, for example, the copperplates were heated until they were soft, and then inscribed with an implement. Skill in metalwork in Southeast Asia apparently spanned multiple metals during the epoch of copperplate inscriptions. Location of Southeast Asia // Prehistory Early Agricultural Societies Agriculture was a natural development based on necessity. ... A writing system, also called a script, is a type of symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language. ... Map of Java Java (Indonesian, Javanese, and Sundanese: Jawa) is an island of Indonesia, and the site of its capital city, Jakarta. ...

A famous example is the Laguna Copperplate Inscription. The Laguna Copperplate inscription, found 1989 in Laguna de Bay, in the metroplex of Manila, Philippines, has inscribed on it a date of Saka era 822, corresponding to April 21st, 900CE according to Vedic astronomy, containing words from Sanskrit, old Javanese, old Malay and old Tagalog, releasing its bearer, Namwaran...

A sample of computer-generated copperplate writing.

Copperplate, or English round hand, is also the name of a style of calligraphic writing, using a sharp pointed nib instead of the flat nib used in most calligraphic writing. Its name comes from the sharp lines of the writing style resembling the etches of engraved copper. Copperplate script was especially prevalent in the 18th century. Image File history File links MS_Copperplate_Sample. ... Image File history File links MS_Copperplate_Sample. ... Calligraphy in a Latin Bible of AD 1407 on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. ...

This style of calligraphy is different from angled nibs, or italic, in that the thickness of the stroke is determined by the pressure applied when writing. Formal copperplate script is written at a 70-degree angle.

A slang use of the term has recently appeared in Australia. In the 1980s, the state of Victoria prescribed a new form of handwriting to be taught to children in government schools, which lacked the loops and curious capital letter forms that appear in standard cursive. As a result, the term "copperplate" is sometimes disparagingly used to refer to standard cursive. Cursive is a style of handwriting in which all the letters in a word are connected, making a word one single (complicated) stroke. ...

See also

• Calligraphy