The Printing of the old colour-prints was done by a third person, neither
the engraver nor the designer.
The finished block must first be thoroughly washed and dried. The colour
is then applied with a brush, to the upper surface of the block, which
rests on a low stand _(Suridai)_ to which are affixed four small cushions
of wet cotton _(Yawara)_ to prevent slipping (fig. 6). This stand should
have a downward slope of about 2 inches in 1 foot. The paper is wetted,
about 6 hours before being used for printing, and hung up to drain. For
the actual printing, it is laid on the upper surface of the block,
register _(Kento)_ being secured by means of an angular cut at one corner
(Plate III.) called the “key” _(kaji)_; and a line cut at another, called
the “draw-close line” _(hikitsuki)._ No other means of adjustment is
used, but the skill of the old printers was so great that faults of
register can very seldom be observed. The impression is then rubbed off
with the _Baren,_ used with a circular or zig-zag movement (fig. 5); and
this operation is repeated in succession with each block, beginning with
the key-block, until the prints are complete.
It is the modern, and was probably the old practice, to take the required
number of proofs from each block in succession; and not to complete each
print separately. The writer has observed that a modern Japanese printer
takes an impression in from 15 to 25 seconds, without special effort.