All About Art of Indian Hand Block Printing on Fabric
                     All About the Art of Indian Hand Block Printing 
on Fabrics 
 
The art of block printing fabrics is truly a painstaking procedure that has 
survived from the ancient days till the present date because of the beauty of 
these handcrafted stuff. Scraps of the cloth found in the remains of Mohenjo 
Daro, provide the evidence that block printing technique was practised in 
India for a long time. 
This Indian art form flourished in the 12th century under the aid of the rajas. 
The seventeenth century witnessed the revitalization of the art form. Still, 
here in the twenty-first century, block printing on the fabrics by hand is the 
artwork practised by the Indian artisans for several reasons. Even the hand 
block printed textile manufacturer are found to include the maximum 
percentage of block print fabrics in their printed fabric collection. 
The block printing process starts with wooden blocks. The wood carvers cut 
and carve designs into the blocks of diverse shapes and sizes. The upper part 
of the blocks are found to have a handle for helping the printer to print by 
holding the block properly. Each of the blocks has 2 or 3 cylindrical pores for 
permitting the air to pass through it and to allow the excess amount of dye to 
squeeze out. Every block is soaked in the oil for a certain period of time to 
soften the wood. 
The next step is to arrange the fabric. The craftsmen stretch several layers of 
jute taut on top of a rectangular table. The jute acts as the padded surface for 
offering resiliency to the surface for printing. Then they secure the textile to 
that same jute pad using pins for keeping it tight in place. 
When the printers get ready for printing, they mainly choose to do the task 
using three approaches. The first one is known as discharge printing in which 
the printers dye the textiles. In the second approach known as the direct 
block printing, the printers bleach the fabrics and then again dye it. The 
background shade remains the same and the printer begins to print the 
designs on the dyed fabrics using those wooden blocks. 
 
Finally, in the last step, known as the resist printing, the blocks are used for 
applying an impermeable resist that can be made out of resin, wax, or clay. 
After a certain time, the resist is removed from the place and the design is 
found to have been created on the reverse side of the cloth. 
Block printing is done from left to right. While printing, the craftsmen slam 
the backside of the blocks very hard with fist to create a clear impression of 
the design on the fabric. The printer then moves the block to the subsequent 
section to create the same impression. Custom designs and shades are used 
for printing different fabrics. The entire process needs the efforts of a team 
for bringing out the beautiful pattern and design on the cloth. 
Once the designing is done on the whole fabric, it is treated for drying and 
fixing the designs. The fabrics are generally dried under the sun. After drying 
them completely, they are rolled up in the newspapers and then steamed in 
the special boilers. After this, the fabrics are washed and then again dried 
under the sun and then finally they are ironed. Every step contributes to 
fixing the pigment and making the shades brighter and richer. These hand 
block printed fabric manufacturers from India are still in vogue and that is 
the reason why the hand block printing manufacturers are found to sell more 
of these prints as compared to the other printed fabrics. Block print fabrics 
bring more profit to their business. 
Source: 
https://handblockprintedmanufacturers.wordpress.com/2023/06/23/art-of-indian-hand-block-
printing-on-fabrics/