Wood engraving and wood cuts are not the same thing. An engraving is cut on the end grain of the wood and cuts are done along the grain. Because an engraving is done on the end grain it can be extremely detailed. Marks can be made in any direction since there is no grain to deal with. Engravings are typically done on extremely hard woods. Traditionally boxwood was used, but today because of the scarcity of that particular wood, end grain maple is used. The hardness of the wood adds to the level of detail the block can hold. The difference between a wood cut and an engraving can be seen at first glance. A cut will often have broad thick lines, and is often very rough and stylized. An engraving is usually much more detailed, with finer, thinner lines, and intricate textures. Another distinction between engravings and cuts are the tools used. A wood cutting tool has a gauging point. It scoops under the wood and cuts it away. An engraving tool has a smooth flat surface and it scrapes away the surface of the wood instead of scooping.


Two distinct methods in wood engraving are white line and black line. Historically, reproduction of illustrations done in pen and ink were engraved using a black line technique. This simply means that the wood was cut away from two sides of a drawn line so the final mark that printed looked like a black line. Some engravers were so skilled that you would be fooled into thinking you were look at a pen and ink drawing, when in reality it was an engraving. White line engraving allows the cuts themselves to describe the picture. This is a more natural way of engraving. The engraving tool becomes the pen. Historically, wood engraving was the primary means of printing images, continuing well into the 19th and early 20th century. A wood engraver was a skilled technician, not necessarily an artist. For example, Gustave Doré's illustrations were reproduced using wood engraving. He would often do his drawing on the wood block, and then an engraver would translate the marks into engravings for printing. In fact, on most illustrations of that time you will often find two signatures, the artist's and the engraver's. At the turn of the century most publications, newspapers, and magazines used wood engraving in their printing. Think of the tables at "Wendy's" with all of the old newspaper and catalog images- they were all wood engravings. With the invention of photography, off-set printing, and halftone screens, wood engraving became a dead craft. During the 30's and 40's wood engraving had a resurgence within the art community. Many artists began to experiment with wood engraving as a medium for artistic expression. Wood engraving evolved from a purely mechanical and necessary step in printing to a medium for artistic exploration. A comparison will quickly show that the technical expertise and extremely detailed and precise work of the craftsman gave way to a much more experimental look. Because wood engraving wasn't being used as a means of reproducing an already existing piece of art, black line engraving was rarely seen. The wood engraving itself became the original art. White line engraving flourished. Most modern wood engravers continue to use a white line approach.