Lines in relief: woodcut and block printing

Shows how a fine woodcut is made, explaining the selection of tools and materials, the transfer of the design, and the techniques used in cutting the block. Illustrates the step by step process of printing a woodcut in several colors. Includes a brief review of the history of woodcuts and block printing from the Middle Ages to the present.

Content notification

Our collection comprises over 40,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued between the 1940s and early 2000s. As a result, some items may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.

Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.

How to watch

This work has not been digitised and is currently unavailable to view online. It may be possible for approved reseachers to view onsite at ACMI.

Learn more about accessing our collection

Collection

In ACMI's collection

Credits

producer

Bert Van Bork

production company

Encyclopaedia Britannica Films

Duration

00:10:30:00

Production places

United States

Production dates

1964

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

322166

Language

English

Subject categories

Crafts & Visual Arts → Arts - Study and teaching

Crafts & Visual Arts → Block printing

Crafts & Visual Arts → Printing - History

Crafts & Visual Arts → Wood-carving

Documentary

Documentary → Documentary films - United States

Education, Instruction, Teaching & Schools → Arts - Study and teaching

Educational & Instructional

Educational & Instructional → Educational films

Educational & Instructional → Instructional

History → Printing - History

Literature → Printing - History

Short films

Short films → Short films - United States

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Holdings

16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

Cite this work on Wikipedia

If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/69754--lines-in-relief-woodcut-and-block-printing/ |title=Lines in relief: woodcut and block printing |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=7 May 2025 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}

United States, 1964

Please note