Dong Ho's famous prints are made from woodblocks which are then colored. The colors of these prints come from nature. Artisans burn bamboo leaves or straw to obtain black; verdigris gives green; and indigo, blue… The number of colors corresponds to that of the xylographic plates. These are made of persimmon, a flexible and resistant wood. The “do” paper used for printing prints must be of good quality and processed by artisans. They coat this paper with shell powder, which allows it to have changing reflections in the sunlight.

The village of Dong Ho is located just 40 km west of Hanoi, in Thuan Thanh, Bac Ninh province.
- The paper used is Do paper made in a village about fifty kilometers even further to the East. These light leaves, the color of the wood from which they come, are sometimes brushed with mother-of-pearl: Which gives them a shimmering white color. But most often the leaves are tinted orange, but also pink, yellow or mauve...
- The colors used are natural, which prevents the prints from quickly fading.
The “Ho nep” made from rice paste protects the finished work.
- The work on wooden plates in the region is the same as anywhere in the world. We use a plate for each color. But craftsmen do not hesitate to use the brush directly if necessary.
- But the most important thing is the symbolism of these lucky papers offered at the time of Tet. The iconography is rich and good-natured.
A very beautiful peasant art which is certainly not naive, like Vietnam in the Tonkin Basin which until recently had more than 80% peasants.