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Woodcuts, as printed illustrations, went well with type, which is why this form of printing was the only method used to print pictures together with moveable type until late in the 16th century. Woodblocks and type are both relief surfaces - that is, raised from the flat surface of the block - and areroughly the same height on the bed of the printing press; furthermore, the same oil-based ink can be used on both surfaces so that they can be printed simultaneously. As with cutting the woodblocks and setting the type, the ink was applied by hand, using what was called an "ink ball" - a pad made of leather stuffed with wool or hair and tied around a wooden handle. The ink was like a thick black oil paint and it usually consisted of a mixture of linseed oil that had been boiled until it was free of fats, and various pigments. Varnishes were then added to get the ink to the right consistency or thickness, and also as an aid to drying. Book illustration, then, was to be one of the major factors in the development of the woodcut, and its influence lasted until the 19th century. The aesthetic side of book making - the arrangement of the text, ornamentation and pictures together on the page - required an inventive and subtle approach to the problems of pictorial composition.
