Immediately before the appearance of Nishikie, an extremely low-chromatic multicolor printing called Mizue emerged, in which profile lines are drawn by "Tsuyukusa" (blue Asiatic Dayflower) rather than India ink.
錦絵登場の直前、輪郭線すらも墨を用いず「ツユクサ」の青色としたみずえ（みずえ）と呼ばれる、極端に彩度の低い多色刷りも生まれている。