This is the time most unfavourable for printing, for the heat of summer will tend to spoil the work. It is best to leave the block cut with the outline drawing for a fortnight or a month, exposing it to the air in order to restore it to its natural state. When the outline drawing is cut, a fresh surface of the block will be exposed, and shrinkage is the natural result. After giving it enough time to shrink, the printing may be proceeded with and the kyogo made. April and May may not be very good seasons, nor June, especially during the rainy season which comes about this time in Japan.
Winter is the best time for printing.
Not only for printing, but for all kinds of work. The best drying season in Japan is the autumn. Therefore, boards should be dried in the autumn of the previous year. These conditions obtain in Japan, but the countries south of the equator may have the rainy season in a different period of the year and conditions will naturally differ. The boards should be well selected.