the.com/woodblock print

Carve the shadows away, ink what's left, and the wood remembers forever.

means A picture or pattern printed by carving away everything but the image on a block of wood, inking the raised surface, and pressing it onto paper or fabric.

from One of the oldest printing technologies, developed independently in East Asia — China had woodblock-printed texts and images well over a thousand years ago, and the technique later flourished in Japan, most famously in ukiyo-e prints. The method also spread into medieval Europe for printing images and later playing cards and text, before movable type took over for words. The word itself is simply descriptive: a block of wood, carved in relief, used to print.

process
image carved in relief, raised lines hold ink
origin
china, roughly 1,400 years before social media
ukiyo-e
japan's version made celebrity gossip look divine
durability
one block can print thousands before wearing out
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