At the end of the 14th century, the first sheets were produced using this printing technique. The motifs were used for leaflets, playing cards or for images of saints. Since the invention of letterpress printing, woodblock printing had become the most suitable method for illustrating books. In one operation, the printing block could be inserted into the typographic typesetting and printed together with it.
Woodcutting requires a wooden plate, the so-called printing block (linden or pear wood, for instance) and hollow irons as well as special knives with different profiles. These can be used to cut out the areas that are not to be covered in printing ink later. Once the wood block is finished, it is evenly covered with ink and a sheet of wood printing paper is placed on it. The print is made by rubbing against it using a burnishing bone or a printing press.
