In the ancient style the outer boundaries of letters or pictures were cut away deeply before they were properly engraved. At present the stages are reversed. The latter method takes less labor and time, and it is probably one of the causes of the shallow cutting at present in vogue. Formerly the paper bearing the original design, after it had been pasted down on the plank, was oiled, so as to make it transparent, and to enable the wood-cutter to see the design quite distinctly. This is not necessary now, as it is easy to get paper sufficiently thin and transparent in itself.
Semicircular chisels are now in use for removing some of the parts between the lines of the design.
There were no such chisels formerly, and hence much more time and labor was spent on this part of the work than at present. The papers used, whatever their quality, should be sized with a thin animal size. The sheets are moistened with water before the printing begins, the degree of moisture differing according to the quality of the paper, the proper degree being determined by the judgment of the printer. Experiment has shown the amount of moisture in this case to be 13.86 per cent. A single wet sheet is put between every three or four dry sheets, until a suitable layer is formed, which is pressed between two wooden press-boards.