Nature printing is a printing process, developed in the 18th century, that uses the plants, animals, rocks and other natural subjects to produce an image. The subject undergoes several stages to give a direct impression onto materials such as lead, gum, and photographic plates, which are then used in the printing process.

Alois Auer was an Austrian printer, inventor and botanical illustrator, most active during the 1840s and 1850s. He produced a number of works in German and other languages, including the first regarding the nature printing process. He was the director of the Austrian state's official printing house, which created illustrated volumes of scientific interest and produced many advances in printing technology. His full name in later life, incorporating the Austrian hereditary knighthood that he was given in 1860, was Alois Ritter Auer von Welsbach.