Before carving a wood block for wood cut prints, you need to thoroughly sand it. If the wood block is in rough shape, this process can be quite lengthy, requiring you to sand it first with coarse grain sand paper, then medium, then fine. In addition; if you don't want the woodgrain to show on your finished print, you need to apply a primer coat to the wood. With linoleum, you can begin carving right away.
Linoleum is easier to carve for block printing because it does not have a grain. Carving curved lines or fine detail into a woodblock can be a challenge, especially for beginners. The grain can cause the blade to skip or chip the wood, thus damaging the image, unless you have a certain amount of experience. When carving linoleum, you simply need to have cutting tools with crisp, sharp blades.
Linoleum is softer than most woods, which makes it easier to carve. Moreover, linoleum blocks made for block printing consistently have the same softness. On the other hand; a wood block's softness or hardness depends on the type of wood. This requires a certain amount of expertise in woods.
Linoleum is less sensitive to climate. Wood, on the other hand, tends to contract and expand, depending on the ambient humidity. Wood can warp and crack, depending on the environmental conditions. This can change the image slightly. A greater concern is that a warped wood block can break when you run it through a printmaking press. Linoleum is more resilient in that respect. It does not expand and contract with humidity. A linoleum block does not crack in a press, even when it is warped.