Taking the Plunge : Integrating Digital Textile Printing with Traditional Method Block Printing

Direct-to-fabric machine is a great addition to our existing set-up of hand block printing which enables us to scale our production to industrial level with high standards of quality, as well as reliability to our customers - Inka is a Delhi-based textile design studio with a passion for printing done by hand - a technique in Indian art that's been around for centuries.

INTRODUCTION TO TRADITIONAL PRINTING

Hand block printing is a centuries-old art form popular in India, China, and many other East Asian countries. It is also referred to simply as "block printing" or "woodblock printing." Block printing was first developed in China and is said to be over 2000 years old. Hand Block Printing on textiles refers to the technique by which carved wooden blocks covered with dye are repeatedly pressed along a length of cloth to create patterns.

The tiny variations in the block printing, the vibrant and meaningful motifs, and the handmade technique of Indian block print on fabric is what gives it such a unique charm.

INKA HISTORY

Inka is a textile design studio with a passion for Hand block printing. Taking inspiration from across the globe, we work closely with our artisans to create fresh collections each season and designs that bring refined luxury home - Inka.

Ms. Indu Kapahi - founder, shared "Inka was started because I had a passion for hand block printing and I wanted to uplift the craft and bring it to an industrial level. We have a lot of clients in Europe, Russia, Netherland and UK. So, it's like a brand made in India that is selling abroad that was the aim to set-up Inka.

NEED FOR CUSTOMIZATION

As customisation is increasing day by day, printing new designs regularly has become a necessity. Printing new designs with hand block technique is a long process and requires a lot of time and efforts. First, the block for the design must be created. First, the block for the design must be created. Creating these new blocks is mostly done by hand and takes a lot of time. Then, the artisan mixes together four or five basic, natural colours to create a multitude of dyes. The block is then dipped in dye and stamped firmly by hand onto the fabric creating a design."

"There was a need of certain different designs which was not practical to print on block or screen like if you have to print 12 color print designs so you have to make twelve blocks and there we need twelve people to print that particular design" adds Mr. Balram Jinda, Director at Inka.

INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL PRINTING

Mr. Balram talks about how he took the plunge and decided to go with digital printing machine to integrate with his existing set-up "I had an impression that digital printing is not that colourfast but when I got introduced to digital printing by ColorJet team and after performing some test prints, convinced me about the quality of print by digital printing technique. This helped us in deciding to go for a digital printing machine." Colour fastness means the characteristics of the material's colour resistance to fading or running or changing when washed, cleaned, exposed to light, heat or other influences.

ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL PRINTING

Digital printing gives the flexibility of printing customized designs at any time with minimum efforts. The process is very labour un-intensive and gives a rate of production speed. In addition, digital printing gives flexibility to print on any type of fabric like Cotton, Viscose, Polyester, Polyamide, Silk, Wool, etc. with various type of inks like Reactive, Pigment, Acid and Disperse.

"In digital what we can do is print one cushion in just 5 minutes. If the buyer doesn't like it we can change the design and even colour in the next 5 minutes" adds Mr. Balram.

COLORJET LIVING UP TO EXPECTATIONS

"Colour fastness is one of our main features. All our customers has vouched by the colour fastness that we provide. So, we wanted the same quality to transfer even for the digital printing so that it can complement our hand block printing technique and it is something that ColorJet has given us" Ms. Indu Kapahi explains her reasons to opt for ColorJet Vastrajet machine.