Processing
Block Carving
Block carving is the first step in the block printing process. A pattern is first hand-drawn or computer/tablet drawn, then printed on a paper after which it is transferred to the tracing paper. A piece of Sheesham (North Indian Rosewood) is painted with white chalk, so when the pattern is traced on the wood piece, The block-carving artisans make use of tools such as small hammers, chisels and drills to be able to carve elaborate patterns into wooden blocks.
After the carving process, these blocks are dipped in mustard oil and allowed to rest for at least a week. This helps prevent cracking of the blocks upon exposure to dry conditions. The carvers also drill miniature holes into the wooden blocks to allow the wood to breathe. This also extends the life of a wooden block by upto a few decades.
Preparing the Table
A 10 meters long table is used to fabric printing. The table has at least 10 layers of jute fabric, above which there is a layer of a blanket, topping it off with a thick cotton sheet that is usually white in color. The sheet is tightly tucked in from all sides
Color Mixing and Preparing the Dyes
Colour is one of the fundamentals which design is built on. A colour specialist mixes various pigment in different proportions to achieve a kaleidoscope of hues, tints and tone, all of which instil life to the design
Preparing the Printing Tray
The printing tray is a multi-story tray made of wood. Block Printing table also has wheels on it for easy movement and carrying it from one side of the long table to the other. The first tray is to keep the color paste which is spread on a fabric made with marino wool. Marino wool basket weave fabric is the best suited for spreading the color paste on it. The second tray is for keeping the wooden blocks as block printers use multiple blocks in cycles when making a pattern on a fabric. The third and the lowest tray is used for keeping the rags and brushes to clean the spills etc from time to time.
Printing
Depending on the number of colors, more than one block is required for printing. These blocks have names. The outline blocks are called Rekh and the filler blocks are called Dutta. The fabric which has more filler color and less outlines is called a Gadd print fabric. Printing always begins from left to right. A plank of wood is used to even out the colour on the tray. The craftsman dips the block into a dark outline colour and applies it to the fabric. This is done repeatedly along the length and breadth of the fabric. Once the hand block-printing process is complete, the craftsman scatters some fine saw dust onto the wet dye to prevent smudging of the design. The fabric is then left to dry out in the Sun. Different dyes may be used for block printing on cotton and silk fabrics. Some of the common cotton dyes include indigo sol, pigment dyes and rapid dyes. The wooden block is gently pressed onto the palette of dye before being applied against the fabric. First the outlines are printed and then the filling is done. More than one printer works parallelly on the fabric to achieve multi-color printing
Washing and Processing the Fabric
Once the fabric is printed, it is dried in shade. It’s not sent for washing until it is completely dry. Once dried, it is sent to the washers, who exclusively engage in post processing of printed fabrics. The washing is multi-stage process. During which the fabric loses the extra colour. Washing makes them softer and ready to use for making garments and other products.