Most oldest printing method, which was invented in 1450. Before offset printing invented this method was widely used for the Newspapers and other printing requirements. The process of the letterpress printing is a very slow and manual method, so it is not used commonly. We will discuss about this method in this article in-depth.
Known as a relief printing technique. First of all, worker has to prepare a block of movable types or wooden engravings. Photo/Image will be prepared as a metal block, which is mounted on the wood. The Mechanical Inked roller moved on the block to inked the block and then it will be impressed on the paper with pressure and relief with the image of the block.
However this technology is old but it is used in various supported process in the printing like Creasing and Numbering.
Silk screen cloth fitted with tensed on wooden or metal frame has to photo exposed with the design stencil. The process was called screen printing or silkscreen printing because the material is being used silk in this process.
Special-use mesh materials of nylon and stainless steel available in the market for the screen-printing process. Also, different types of mesh size which will determine the outcome and look of the finished design on the material. In this technique, mesh is used to transfer ink to the object, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil.Squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh apertures with ink. Printer can print a single color at a time, i.e. for multiple color printing, the printer has to use several screens to finish the image or design.
To understand in a simple language, the block printing is basically a stamping technique in which the designs are carved into blocks of wood. The artisans was wet these block with ink (color) and then stamp on the surface, which was needed to be printed.
Chinese people were the inventor of this technique over 4000 years ago. Design was carving by hand on a thick wood piece and the handle was also be created on the opposite side to make work easy. This method was used to print pattern in the textile industry and as a support line art in hand embroidery. It was also used to print the Text and Images gradually. After digital revolution and modernize the printing industry, this technique is now extinct, today. This method was also used to reproduce the ‘Buddhist Text’ in the China between 7th to 10th century.
As per the ancient record of the block printing, it was not be printed on the fabric, but printed on a paper for the book well known as ‘Diamond Sutra’, which was printed 300 years before the bible printed by Gutenberg.
In India, Jaipur, other than its beauty and traditional culture is also famous for Block Printing Art.
(Refer the best images available here)
Started our journey in 1986 with Screen Printing, and continue developing with innovations like four color CMYK Printing in this type of manual/hand print process. Also print on any material and surface like Metal, Plastic, Acrylic, Glass and much more. We were also famous for the stickers gumming those decades.
