In printing pictures, Đông Hồ craftsmen use a special type of paper named giấy điệp. The paper is obtained in almost the same way as dó paper. The bark of dó tree is soaked in water for months, then mixed with powders of seashells (sò điệp)and glutinous rice to make sheets of paper.[6] Due to the elements of seashell and glutinous rice, điệp paper possesses an exotic sparkling hard background and is able to conserve the durability of colours.[2][4] The colours of paint using in printing are refined from various kinds of natural materials which are easily found in Vietnam. For instance, the red colour is taken from red gravel in Thiên Thai Mountain, while the black comes from charcoal of burned bamboo leaves. In that way, a Đông Hồ painting can keep its colours for a long time.[7]
The last stage of making a Đông Hồ painting is printing, the woodblock is applied with paint and pressed on a sheet of paper like a stamp. The process is repeated with different colours until the craftsman is satisfied with the painting.[7] One woodcut is for outline and several others are for each colour printed, and they are carefully engraved by hand so the woodcuts can be preserved through generations.[2] The finished picture is covered with a layer of rice paste (hồ nếp) to strengthen the durability of its illustration and colours and afterwards dried under the sun.[8] In the past, to prepare for Tết, craftsmen had to begin the process of making these paintings six or seven months ahead.[1]