Woodblockprinted

Woodblock printing is a relief printmaking technique in which an image or text is carved in relief on a wooden block. Ink is applied to the raised surfaces and transferred to paper, fabric, or other media. Because each color or tonal area typically requires a separate block, multi-color prints require careful registration.

Origins are in East Asia, with woodblock printing developed in China around the 7th to 9th centuries; the Diamond Sutra (c. 868) is among the earliest surviving dated printed works. The method spread to Korea and Japan, where it fueled rich traditions of illustrated books and especially the ukiyo-e genre from the 17th through the 19th centuries. In Europe, woodcuts were used for illustrated books and standalone prints from the 15th century, contributing to the graphic language of early modern printing.

Technique involves selecting a suitable wood, sketching a design, transferring it to the block, and carving away the negative areas so that ink remains on the raised surfaces. The block is then inked, and paper or fabric is pressed onto it. For color images, printers use a separate block for each color and align them with registration marks. Tools include knives and gouges; common materials include boxwood or pear wood and washi or other papers. In East Asia, printing is often done with brushes and hand presses; in Europe, printing presses later aided production.

Woodblock printing has been used for religious texts, books and pamphlets, maps, and art prints. It played a crucial role in the distribution of texts and images before the advent of movable type and continued to evolve into modern relief printing and contemporary art practice.