India is the largest producers of Rajasthan’s Hand Block Print Textile products to the world. Here, in Jaipur, the industry is composed of many small and medium enterprises that are working in producing these goods. And as this art is rooted in-depth within these families here is a complete detail post on Indian Handblock Industry.
About the Art of Traditional Block Printing
As it is widely known fact – Rajasthan is one of the major historical centres of Block Printing in the world. The seeds of traditional woodblock print – i.e. Buti Print and Butta Print were laid here by our ancestors. And as the history could be traced to the Rangrez Community and Chippa Community were the first to industrialized the block printing art.
Also, to be noted that currently, we could find various textile products which are dated back to the 7th century that was crafted using the same traditional printing art. Hence, as one of the oldest art form, Handblock Printing is a true gift from our ancestors to the modern world.
Introduction to Hand Block Print
Now as we proceed to the introduction of Hand Block Print Art, we would like you to first understand the word “Chappai”. Chappai is the Hindi word for impression printing. As suggested this word indicate to print something using a pre-defined impression. So, in Hand Block Printing Art we impose a pre-carved wooden block over the fabric sheet which results in the creation of design over it.
This technique is centuries older than most of the global known parameters and was once only accessible to the royals or the nobles. But now as the production is scaled – the Block Printed products are available to all sections of people. Here, at Srishti Textile – we design and create 1000s of design and colour combination, every year, to meet the current market demands. Also, these demands come mostly from India, European and American markets.
History and General Information
Textile Industry in India is one of the major contributors to the pre-independence GDP of the country. As we were the part of Golden Silk Route – the items produced here were exported to many Asian and European landmasses. The famous Pashmina textile of Kashmir, Banarasi Silk Cloths and Printed Cotton Fabric of Rajputana were key merchandise of that era.
In Rajasthan, the art was supported by the Royal Family of Jaipur. Here, in Sanganer Town, you can still found 100s of families from Chippa and Rangreez Community that work in these professions from generations. They were settled here on orders of the Kings and throughout history, they were actively producing goods that helped our state to collect revenues and taxes from the export and trade.
Also, on may historical texts, evidence could be found of Rulers gifting dresses made using the Block Print Cotton and Silk Fabrics to other states. So it can be easily deduced that this art was considered “Noble”. On the other hand, just because of this, not all caste were allowed to wear the same products. We found extensive texts that suggest that people belonging to Upper Caste were only granted use of Block Printed Textile products. So, that could be the reason for most labours and farmers were dressed in White Cloths.
Also, many of these texts suggest that some of the castes have specified designs of Buti Designs that they were allowed to wear. Mostly to classify once caste.
Colours in Hand Block Print
Now if we talk about the colourful perspective of this art – significantly once can find the dominance of Red and Black colours. this was since these two colour materials were abundantly found throughout the state. Both of these colours are doped with various shades of transparency that helped in creating a wider range. Also, as these colours are obtained from an organic source (vegetable colours), they leave a peculiar smell after the dying process. The characteristics of both colours tend to not harm eyes through reflecting dense sunlight nor do they fade easily.
Current Status of Block Printing In Rajasthan
Since Independence, the block printing industry of Rajasthan Textile has flourished on a good scale. As the export of goods was in demand – so does the production. This helped the craftsmen from the sector to improve their lifestyle.
Now, products from Rajasthan are available to all National and International Markets. Even these products are available online through Sale on various e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, eBay, Snapdeal, Shopclues, Itokri and other online shops too.
Techniques & Art of Woodblock Printing
Here is a brief introduction to the Woodblock Printing Art and its working technique.
Various Forms of Wood Block Print
Generally, all the forms of Block Print the major cloth preparation and details remains the same. The only difference that comes in various forms in the style of printing. Here the main two branches are Dabu Print and Direct Block Print.
Direct Block Print
In this form of Block Printing, the colourful prints are impressed on the cloth. Also, to be noted for clarification that the cloth is first dyed and then printing is done.
- Sanganeri Hand Block Printing
- Bagu Hand Block Printing
Dabu Print
Unlike the Direct Method, in this form, the fabric is first to block printed using Mud or Cowdung (in some cases) then dried and later dyed into the requested colour. After a successful dying operation, the cloth is washed and Mud is removed so the blank space emerges in between dye.
Technique
The art of Hand Block Printing is as simpler as its name suggest. There are only a few steps between raw cloth piece to an export quality printed fabric. Here is a detailed procedure for Sanganeri Block Print method.
- First, the raw cloth, which is received from mills, is sent for washing. Here as per the thread count, various methods are used in this step.
- In the next step, the washed cloth piece is dyed in the base colour. Here, vessels are used to keep the cloth submerged in a colour bath for a few hours (sometimes overnight). Then this cloth is dried and if required it is washed to remove impurities.
- Now we proceed to the Printing Step. The dried cloth piece is now allowed to rest on printing benches. These benches are masked with Natural Wax to keep the cloth stick with it. After successful placing, the artisan now starts marking the colour impression using Wooden or Metal blocks. An Artisan uses two or three variations of blocks – First a Liner, a filler and last a Highlighter.
- When the printing is completed, the cloth is dried in sunlight and then it is sent for a Steam Wash. Until this step the true colours of product is unknown to both artisans and designers. After the washing, the final product is received.
- Now as per the utilization of product – it is either sent for ironing or “Charak” process.
Colour Preparation for Hand Block Print
In this section, we are like to answer a relevant question – “How to prepare the colour for Block Printing?”. For your assistance, we have tried to put the data in a tabular form. This data is only for Natural or Vegetable colours. The composition must be scaled as per utilization.
| Colour | Method |
| Red | To prepare Red Color and its variants we need 1 kg of Gum (Natural), 100 gm of Alum and 100 gm of Ochre (Indian name – Geru) to be mixed in 3 lt of water. |
| Black | In this preparation, Iron Khartal and Jaggery (Gur) is mixed in a 5:1 compound and placed in an earthen pot for the next 15 days. During this time fermentation of this compound occurs naturally and later on Gum is added as per suitability. |
| Green | For a perfect green colour one needs 200 gm of Indigo, 1 kg of turmeric and 2 kg of pomegranate skin powder – mixed. |
| Yellow | For a bright yellow colour, one needs to mix Turmeric powder with Pomegranate skin powder. |
| Dabu Base Paste | In Dabu Print, an artisan uses a mixture of Moth-eaten Wheate, lime, gum, molasses and oil. |
Also to note, here are few other key ingredients that are used in making different colours by the artisans:
- Ratanjot
- Kasis-Vitriol
- Madder
- Babul Tree (Acacia)
- Kesula Flowers
- and more
Blocks for Printing
Now, as we have gained knowledge about the artform and colour preparations – now its time to go forward with understanding the Blocks.
In general, a Block is simply like a modern Stamp (One that uses Ink and which you can find in offices). This block is engraved with designs over one side that is used to make the impression over the cloth. These engravings are made using either manual or mechanical jobs.
Historically, artisans from Rajasthan uses only manual labour while making blocks. This work is only done by skilled artisans that are trained in woodcarving and it uses a huge skillset to create the engraving with perfection.
Once the block is made – it is then sent to the printer for approval and later uses. Here, at Srishti Textile we use two variety of blocks – mentioned as follows:
Wooden Blocks
In this type of blocks, the complete set is made using wood base and engravings are also done on the same base. No additional material is used. Traditionally, only wooden carved tools were only used.
Metal Blocks
The major problem with the wooden carved blocks is with its thickness. If an artisan wants to create fine designs using wooden blocks – he/she might feel limited. This problem is now answered with a modern technique of Metal Carved Blocks.
The Metal Blocks uses metal lined machine carved designs which are fixated over the wooden base. This combination allows a fine line of prints to be drawn using the simple blocks.
Famous Block Designs from Jaipur, Rajasthan
- Line
- Zig-zag
- Tribal
- Wave
- Fruits – like Mango(Keri), Apple, Grapes and more
- Animals – like Elephant, Camel, and more
- Geometric Shapes – like Diamond, Prism, Rhombus, Square, and more
- Insects – Bugs, Lizards, Ants, Crickets and more
- Buta and Buti
Other Notable Information
Major Printing Centers in Rajasthan
- Sanganer
- Bagru
- Chippon ka Akola
Most Widely Used Fabrics for Block Print Textile Products
- Cotton
- Silk
- Chanderi
- Kota Doria
Various Celebrated Printed Textile Products
- Unstitched Products
- Block Print Fabric
- Jaipur Print Bedsheets and Bedcovers
- Hand Block Printed Dress Material
- Women Suit Materia
- Hand Printed Dupattas
- Jaipur Printed Sarees and more
- Stitched Goods
- Women Kurtis and Plazzos
- Jaipur Gudris
- Gents Shirts and more
- Other Products
- Quilts
- Dohars
- Jaipuri Razai
- and more
Products Offered by Srishti Textile in Hand Block Print Catagory
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