Before parchment is ready for coping, the final step it undergoes is ruling and pricking. Scribes would first prick the leaf by making evenly spaced holes up and down the sides near the edge. These holes allowed the scribe to then rule the page. Using a straightedge they would rule the page. This give them the lines to write on. Ruling could be done in leadpoint or drypoint. Leadpoint ruling required each leaf to be ruled individually because it was done using color. Drypoint on the other hand was done by pressing into pages with a knife. With drypoint, scribes could rule both sides of a sheet at once as well as multiple pages.