Artist’s proof (A/P) A print that is pulled by the artist for his or her own use; not part of the regular edition.
Baren A disk-shaped Japanese burnishing tool.
Belly The two bottom sides of the graver in wood engraving, or the underside of the shank of a woodcut tool or engraving tool.
Bleed Printed area that exceeds the boundaries of the paper, or the quality of an ink to spread on an absorbent paper.
Bon à tirer Means “good to pull” and indicates that the print was used as the standard of the edition. All other prints in the edition were compared to it for quality and consistency.
Brayer A small hand roller used for inking blocks.
Burin See Graver.
Burnishing Providing pressure for printing to the back of the paper by rubbing it with a smooth instrument such as a baren or spoon.
Burr The rough edge or particle ridge found on tools, blocks and plates that occurs when sharpening or cutting.
Cancellation proof A proof pulled from a block that has been defaced to prove that the block can no longer be used to make impressions.
Cape boxwood A boxwood from South Africa that is also known as Kamassihout, Knysna boxwood or Kamassi boxwood. It is a good substitute for the more expensive English boxwood.
Chase A frame used to lock up blocks and type forms for printing.
Clearing Removing material that you do not want to print.
Cylinder press A press with a flat metal bed, which holds the block, and a roller that passes over the block, pressing paper and block together.
Deckle edge The irregular edge of a sheet of handmade paper.
Dotted print A print made entirely of white dots.
Driers Additives used to speed the drying of ink.
Durometer A unit, usually expressed as a number between 10 and 100, measuring the hardness or softness of a brayer.
Edition A series of prints that are all printed at the same time using the same blocks.
Elliptic tint tool See Spitsticker.
End-grain block A block cut from a cross section of a log, with the growth rings clearly visible.
Engraving See Wood engraving.
Estisol is a vegetable cleaning agent (VCA) that replaces solvents such as mineral spirits.
Extenders Ink additives used to improve the body of the ink and increase the volume of ink without lowering its viscosity.
Frisket A thin sheet of paper, cut out to expose the block, that is stretched over the tympan as a mask to keep the printing paper
free of accidental smudges of ink.
Furniture The metal or wood blocks used to lock a block or lead type into a printing form so that it doesn’t move or shift.
Gouge A woodcut tool with a concave cutting edge, used to carve
white lines in wood blocks.
Grain The direction of fibers in wood that follow a single axis.
Graver The basic engraving tool, a fine steel rod with a square or
diamond-shaped end blade; called a burin by metal engravers.
Hot pressed (HP) Describes a very smooth sheet of paper made by pressing the sheets between hot plates or rollers during its
manufacture.
Impression The mark made by a block into the surface of a sheet of paper.
Kento marks Registration marks carved on the block for Japanese-style woodcuts.
Key block In multiple-block color printing, the master block that
carries the black outline of the image and is used to register all
subsequent blocks.
Laid paper Paper with parallel lines running across the sheet that are visible when the sheet is held to the light.
Letterpress The equipment and relief printing method for printing lead type and type-high blocks and plates.
Limited edition A series of prints in which a limit is placed on the number of impressions pulled, establishing the scarcity of the print. They are usually numbered and signed. Limited editions are a recent development, dating from the late 19th century.
Lining tool See Multiple tool.
Lino block A block made of linoleum.
Linocut An impression made from a lino block.
Make-ready The process of adjusting the printing pressure over specific areas of the block or leveling the block on the press.
Multiple tool A tool used to create multiple parallel lines with a single stroke; also called a lining tool.
Parting tool Also called a V gouge, this tool has two flat blades that meet at an apex. The tool blades resemble a letter V; hence, the alternate name.
Plank Wood cut along the length of the log, parallel to the grain.
Platen press A press with two cast metal plates that squeeze the block and paper together to make an impression.
Proofing The act of taking impressions from a block to see how the image is progressing and determine whether more cutting is necessary.
PVA Polyvinyl acetate; also known as white glue or carpenter’s glue.
Quoin A mechanical device used to lock up and secure type or blocks in a chase or press bed.
Registration system The method used to align blocks so that they print in exactly the same place on the sheet for each impression.
Relief printing Any printing done from a raised surface.
Round graver See Scorper.
Sandbag A small leather cushion used to hold the block while it is being engraved. Also called an engraver’s cushion or engraver’s pad.
Scorper A tool used for clearing open areas and for making broad lines; also called a round graver.
Shank The long metal piece between the handle and the cutting edge of a woodcut tool.
Spitsticker A tool with convex sides used for cutting fine and curved lines; also called an elliptic tint tool.
Tack The sticky quality of an ink that makes it adhere to the paper.
Tear bar A straight edge used to tear paper to give it the effect of a deckle edge.
Tint tools Tools used for engraving parallel lines of equal width to
create tones or tints.
Trial proof A print taken before the art on the block is finished, to determine what further cutting needs to be done to the block.
Tympan The packing used on a press to adjust the pressure.
Type high The standard height for blocks and type to be printed on a letterpress; in the United States and Canada it is 0.918 inch.
Viscosity The degree to which an ink resists flowing and its resistance to spreading when under printing pressure.
U gouge See Gouge.
V gouge See Parting tool.
Watermark A mark (usually a logo or image) made in the paper during its manufacture.
White line Refers to the carved lines on a block that do not print.
Wood block A plank (side-grain) block used for woodcut.
Wood engraving A print that is made by carving on the end grain of the wood, using engravers’ tools.
Wood engraving block An end-grain block used for wood engraving.
Woodcut An image carved on the flat side of a board, with the grain running the length of the plank.