The origins of wood
engraving date back as early as the 17th and 18th-century.
Like Typesetting, wood engraving is a relief process, the lines to be
printed remain in the block after the areas in between the lines are cut
away. The raised uncut areas and lines of the block will hold the ink and
print, the wood that is cut away will not. The print is made when the raised
wood makes contact with the printing paper.
Wood Engraving differs from woodcut in both
tools and materials used.
The graver and the burin, tools associated with
intaglio engraving, are employed, and the carving is done on the end grain,
not the face of the plank grain. The tight end grain of the engraving block allows for finer lines
and a wider range of tonal effects.
Boards™ end grain
engraving blocks are made from carefully selected Maple Hardwood.
hard mapleis jointed perfectly strait then
cut and glued together using water proof glue to form the sections of the
end grain printing blocks. The wood engraving block is
dimensioned to .918 inches thick.
The wood block is then finely
sanded for wood engraving and
printing. The engraving block can be printed in a letterpress or by hand.