TRADITIONAL BLOCK PRINTING OF INDIA

PRESENTED BYHEMA UPADHAYAY

M.SC FINAL DEPT. OF TAD

•India, since ancient times, is known for its unique arts and crafts. One of the earliest techniques used to colour fabric was printing with a simple wooden block

•Printing is the process of applying colour to fabric in definite patterns or designs. It is also known as known as localized application of dye or pigment in thickened form to a substrate to create an attractive design with well defined boundaries.

•There is also much diversity in design, normally varying from figures of animals and birds to traditional patterns of flowers, trees and also modern graphical patterns.

• These magnificent block prints and designs are best used in decorative wall hangings, garments like saris, skirts, tops, bed linens and dress materials.

INTRODUCTION

HISTORY

• The art of printing originated thousands of years before Christ. In India it existed from 500 B.C.

• Since the 12th century India has patronized the art of hand block printing on different fabrics.

• in the 15th century, Portugal traded with India and brought back highly decorated calico cloth. These designs were known as ‘Chintz’ and became very popular for home furnishings,

• Though the earliest records mention the printing centres in the south, the craft seems to have been prevalent all over India.

• Rajasthan and Surat became the important trading centres of printed textiles particular in block print art.

Preparation of blocks

Preparation of fabric

Preparation of printing paste

Printing process

After treatment (Drying & Steaming)

Dyes there are various classes of dyes depend upon kind of fabrics used. For instance- reactive and wet dye for cellulosic fiber or acid for wool & nylon, disperse for synthetic.

Pigment colors are extensively used by printers compare to dyes. Pigments are insoluble colorants with very little attractions or affinity for textile fibers so applied to fabric with resin or binder

COLOURANTS

1.Wetting agent: added to provide adequate water medium to dissolve the dye. e.g. TRO, urea, and glycerine

2. Thickeners: thickening agent are mixed in printing paste to hold the

dye particles in the design on the fabric until the fixation is take place. gives viscosity, stickiness and plasticity to print paste. should not turn into brittle flakes when cured by

steaming; easily washable. not react or get precipated by the action of chemicals,

dyes and pigments

PRINTING AUXILLARIES

a) Tragacanth• it is extracted from ligneous plant and is a natural

gum. • The gum when removed leaves the cloth soft. • For printing paste, 4-5% gum is required. • stable under mild alkaline but unstable in strong

alkaline condition

b) Gum Senegal or gum arabic •it is extracted from acacia plant. •For printing paste, 30- 50 % is required. • stable in strongly alkaline and strongly acidic conditions.

Modified starches as thickeners: Dextrin or British gum.degradation product of starch made by heating it with mineral acid or roasting at 160 degree temperature till it become soluble in water completely. For 100 parts of printing paste, 20-50 parts of dextrin is used.

Sodium alginate•extracted from seaweed.•sodium salt of aliginic acid. •solubilises in cold as well as hot water. • has good wet ability, so absorption of dyes by fibre is excellent. •washed easily from the fabric and leaves the fabric soft.

5) Oxidising and reducing agents: used to avoid facing or scumming of the ground. For wet dye, reducing agents are added.

6)Mild oxygen carriers: • to accelerate development of colours, catalyst, such as, acid or

alkalies are used• Acids are used for discharge style of printing • Alkalies are used for fixation of reactive colours7) Swelling agent: • these are used to swell the fibres so that the dye molecules diffuse

inside them to help in fixing the point. • For polyester fibres, however certain hydrocarbons and their

derivatives are used.

 

MAJOR BLOCK PRINTING CENTRES

• Andhra Pradesh: Hyderabad, Machilipatnam (Kalamkari)• Gujarat: Ahmadabad (Pethapur), Kutch,

Porbandar, Rajkot• Rajasthan: Bagru, Chittroli, Sanganer,

Jaipur, Jodhpur• Madhya Pradesh: Bagh, Indore, Mandsar,

Burhanpur• Uttar Pradesh: Benares (Block-makers),

Farrukabad, Pilakhuan (Blockmakers)• West Bengal: Calcutta, Serampur 

Ajrak of Gujrat

•The most specialised and finest kinds of block printing.•Is a popular traditional art form of kutch with its main centres in dhamadka, khavda and bhuj in gujarat.•The word ‘ajrakh’ means ‘keep it to day’ and perhaps served as resources of advertising. •It also means making beautiful  in arabia,•The print is in dark shades of blue and red with geometrical patterns on both sides of the fabric.•The technique is complicated include preparatory washing, application of mordant, resist printing, de-gumming, and dyeing.

Ajrak of Gujrat

•The resist substances used are gach (a mud resist) and kariyana, which is a mixture of gum of the babul tree and chuna or lime.

•The lime provides a smooth texture and prevents the resist from cracking.

•After the final dyeing the cloth is sun-dried.

•It is dipped every night in a cow-dung solution and kept under a stone all night.

• Washing is done the next morning and the drying is done on the sand.

•When half-dry, water is sprinkled on the cloth continuously.

•On the third day, the cloth is finally washed and dried.

DABU

SANGANERI

BAGRU

Hand Block

Printing of

Sanganer

• Is famous for its fine hand block printing in subdued colours .

• Famous for dyeing and printing of colourful dresses, bed sheets, curtains, dress material and variety of other textiles

• Was known as a centre of plain and dyed clothes.

• Wooden blocks used, are made of teak wood and vegetable dyes made of madder, pomegranate rind, indigo, and turmeric are used.

• Now days replaced by chemical dyes. • Sanganer has become a export hub for

hand block print export.

Motifs of SanganerMotifs of Sanganer

Fi

•Finesse in flowers-petal designs, curves and delicacy are the prime specialties of Sanganer prints. •Different types of flowers and plants are displayed in the form of bel (a border) and boota very naturally and in a really attractive manner. •Some of the flowers used in the prints are roses, rosettes, lotuses, lotus bud, sunflower, lily, champa ,canna ,nergis, marigold,  sosan, gainda, gulmehendi, javakusum, guldaudi, kachnar, jatadari lily, kaner, kanna, gullalla, etc.

•Doo Rookhi Printing is also famous here. In this technique, artists print on both sides of the cloth.

• Motifs are simple and include floral and linear patterns.

• Shades of blue at the centre using indigo blue dyeing processes is its characteristic.

• Main colors used are black, blue, red and maroon.

• Extracted from naturally occurring sources

Hand Block Printing of Bagru

• Black from worn-out iron horse or camel shoes soaked in water,

• Red from gum paste and phitkari, • Maroon by mixing the above two.• For picking a particular color, there is a

traditional reason such as indigo for lord krishna, saffron for a saint or yogi, yellow for spring season, etc.

• The Sanganer and Bagru prints employ a narrower range of colours.

• the Sanganer prints are always on a white or off-white background, the prints of Bagru are mostly red , black and blue.

• In both the Sanganer and Bagru prints, the colors are picked carefully.

• Each has a separate significance. • For instance, red is the color of love, yellow of

spring, indigo of Lord Krishna, and saffron of the yogi (seer).

Resist/Dabu Printing of Kala Dera

•The resist process , Dabu , use wax , gum or clay mixed with resin. •With the help of brush, block or hand it is applied to the portions of the cloth. •The colour is then applied to it. •The wax is then washed off in hot or flowing water and colour moves into the area to give a diffused effect. •Then block printing is done on the portion of the cloth.•The fabric is highlighted by printing specific outlines and patterns. •The designs get a broken appearance due to the use of wax.•The small Chaubundi print in indigo is famous in Bagru.

Kalamkari of

Andhra

KALAMKARI OF

ANDHRA-PRADESH

• Earliest and more complex techniques of block-printing, using vegetable dyes

• Flourished at machilipatnam, andhra pradesh.

• Origin of the word is from kalam or pen and kari or work.

•Cloth used generally is cotton , first bleached with cow dung and placed in the sun.

•Then soaking the cloth in a mixture of myrobalan and milk.

•The myrobalan contains tannic acid ,helping the dye stuffs to bond with the fibre.• The buffalo milk helps prevent the dye from running.

•Then the black outline is printed using a solution made with rusty iron soaked in sugar water and bran for several weeks.

•When the solution comes in contact with the myrobalan it turns black.

• The next step is printing on another mordant, alum.

•This bonds the red dye, madder root, after boiling, to the areas that receive the alum.

•Continue until all colours have been printed or brushed on.

•Good water supply is necessary for washing after printing. Takes weeks to complete all the steps

•Uttar Pradesh is an important centre for hand-block printing with the classical butis, paisley

•Tree of life used as the main traditional motifs used in a range of shapes and has floral designs and bouquets in panels in many colours

•Paisley motifs can be seen in the hand block printed fabrics of Lucknow, while the chikan embroidery motifs are more popular.

• Jehangirabad, another printing centre, is known toned down colours and bold lines in the Indo-Persian tradition.

•Tanda in Uttar Pradesh is famous for its detailed printing. The main colours used are red and a dark blue blended with red against an indigo background.

UTTAR PRADESH

Thank you