A technical dictionary of printmaking, André Béguin.
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Cutting overlays
When relief engravings are printed some parts will print too dark while others will print too light. The make ready* procedure consists in adjusting the plate so that the dark areas will be lightened and the light areas darkened. In order to achieve this the dark parts must be lowered a little and the light parts slightly raised. This is done by applying overlays or patches on the back side of the plate that is to be printed. The whole procedure is called "cutting the overlays". There is also another and more precise meaning to this expression. In the past, a relief engraving was sometimes worked on by the printer to increase the contrast. This was done by cutting the overlays from the picture itself and then putting such overlays on the back of the plate in. order to raise the appropriate areas. This "cutting of overlayst' used to be a very difficult and important step and some printers kept their techniques secret. Today it is not much done anymore except on typographical blocks.
[wood , packing , underlays , typography].
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