Block Printing is a process by which designs are made on a fabric by printing them on it with the help of a block made for that purpose. Believed to have its origin in China, block printing has been in use around the world for quite some time. Hand block printing is practised in India mainly for Sarees and dress materials. Hand block printing is popular on account of its simplicity and ease of execution since the prints on the Sarees are sharp, accurate and provide finely detailed results. It is still a popular way of printing in Gujarat and Rajasthan on account of the fine and intricate designs in use in those regions.
The blocks used for the printing are made of wood, well planed and smoothly flat. Made of Pear wood, plane wood or sycamore, they are two to three inches thick, of different sizes and re-inforced by two or more wood pieces of deal or pine. The different pieces or blocks are pieced together in grooves to fit snugly in each other and glued together. The fabric for the prints is laid out on flat tables and the hand block printing done. Earlier dyes used were natural and vegetable colours. But today with synthetic dyes easily available, much cheaper comparatively and easy in usage, they are widely preferred.
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