In a relief print, the image is carved with gouges from a single block of wood or linoleum. The surface left standing “in relief” is inked and printed. In a reduction block, one block is carved and then printed in a series of stages, one for each color used in the print. After each color is printed, the block is carved away or “reduced” and the image area is altered and inked again. The final result is a complex multi-colored image.