Changes

The earliest printed works, such as the ''hyakumantô darani'', were printed on a paper made from hemp (J: ''asa''); however, in the Tokugawa period, paper made from ''[[kozo|kôzô]]'', that is, fibers from a plant called the "paper mulberry," became the most commonly used, along with paper made from similar plants known as ''[[mitsumata]]'' and ''[[gampi]]''. Each of these differ somewhat in their qualities, with ''gampi'' being a little darker, browner, in color; sometimes paper was recycled, with the ink residue from its previous usage turning the paper grey. Bamboo paper (J: ''tôshi'', ''gasenshi'') was also sometimes used.<ref>Keyes, 23.</ref> ''Kôzô'', however, overall, tends to be quite resilient, and soft and flexible, bending rather than creasing or breaking, and yellowing & growing brittle to a far lesser extent than modern/Western forms of wood pulp paper.

The earliest printed works, such as the ''hyakumantô darani'', were printed on a paper made from hemp (J: ''asa''); however, in the Tokugawa period, paper made from ''[[kozo|kôzô]]'', that is, fibers from a plant called the "paper mulberry," became the most commonly used, along with paper made from similar plants known as ''[[mitsumata]]'' and ''[[gampi]]''. Each of these differ somewhat in their qualities, with ''gampi'' being a little darker, browner, in color; sometimes paper was recycled, with the ink residue from its previous usage turning the paper grey. Bamboo paper (J: ''tôshi'', ''gasenshi'') was also sometimes used.<ref>Keyes, 23.</ref> ''Kôzô'', however, overall, tends to be quite resilient, and soft and flexible, bending rather than creasing or breaking, and yellowing & growing brittle to a far lesser extent than modern/Western forms of wood pulp paper.

Illustrators or authors would submit their designs to the publisher, who would then take over the remainder of the process. A highly skilled professional ''hangiya'' (板木屋, block-carver) would lay the design over the block - sometimes using a reproduction of the design created for this purpose by a copyist or ''hanshitagaki'' (版下書) - and use that as a guideline for carving out the blocks. ''Hangiya'' were professional artisans, and highly organized as such in craft guilds, working most often with publishers in a manner akin to independent contractors; some of the largest publishing houses had their own in-house blockcarvers, however.

Publishers would often initiate projects, deciding on themes and hiring illustrators or print designers. The illustrators would then submit their designs to the publisher, who would then take over much of the remainder of the process. A highly skilled professional ''hangiya'' (板木屋, block-carver) would lay the design over the block - sometimes using a reproduction of the design created for this purpose by a copyist or ''hanshitagaki'' (版下書) - and use that as a guideline for carving out key blocks, showing just the monochrome outlines. ''Hangiya'' were professional artisans, and highly organized as such in craft guilds, working most often with publishers in a manner akin to independent contractors; some of the largest publishing houses had their own in-house blockcarvers, however. Once these initial blocks were cut, a printer (also a professional skilled artisan) would produce a number of impressions from the key block, and send them to the illustrator, or the publisher, who then indicated which colors should be applied and where. These drafts were sent to the blockcarver once more, who now carved separate blocks for each color, sending those to the printer, to produce the actual final commercial copies to be sold.<ref>Gallery labels, "Making Woodblock Prints," Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, December 2012.</ref>

Originally, cheaper and softer woods were used, and designs were cut more deeply, but the use of more expensive woods such as cherry, carved more shallowly into much thinner woodblocks was spurred by the popularity of prints by [[Suzuki Harunobu]] in the late 1760s in the new multicolor ''[[nishiki-e]]'' mode that he pioneered; by 1800 or so, materials and techniques previously used only for ''[[surimono]]'' and other much more expensive and exclusive publications came to be used more widely, and the costs of producing and buying works produced in this manner dropped dramatically.

Originally, cheaper and softer woods were used, and designs were cut more deeply, but the use of more expensive woods such as cherry, carved more shallowly into much thinner woodblocks was spurred by the popularity of prints by [[Suzuki Harunobu]] in the late 1760s in the new multicolor ''[[nishiki-e]]'' mode that he pioneered; by 1800 or so, materials and techniques previously used only for ''[[surimono]]'' and other much more expensive and exclusive publications came to be used more widely, and the costs of producing and buying works produced in this manner dropped dramatically.