Handblock Printing: It is 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 beginnings of the art of ornamenting textile fabrics by the stamping or printing on of coloured designs are lost in antiquity. It is the essence of India and the crafts that make India stand out in the world. 

There are two types block printing famous in the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan namely- Sanganeri and Bagru. These two styles of block printing are almost same, the thing which primarily distinguish them from one another is the color of background on which they are printed. Bagru prints are done on black and red background whereas Sanganeri is done on white background. Lepakshi and Ajarakh prints are also examples of the type of block prints. The unique feature of this printing is the amount of printing variations that can be made in the same type of motifs.

Procedure of Hand Block Printing

 
At the beginning of the block printing process the fabric is first washed then bleached (if required). If the borders are to be made, then the cloth at the border area are tied then dyed. After that the fabric is spread on the printing table and fixed firmly with small pins on the table.
The process of block printing is done from left to right. The wooden block is dipped in color tray then applied by pressing it hardly on the cloth. The point on the block facilitate in sequenced repeat printing. 

Whereas Screen printing is sometimes known as silkscreen printing. One colour is printed at a time, so several screens can be used to produce a multicoloured image or design. Thus Screen Printing is considered to be simple, artistic & elegant. Time required to make one handblock sheet is more than that in screen printing as the former one is done manually & Good printing skill and practice is necessary to get uniform and clear block printing.  In Handblock printing ,two or more colors printing requires more time, hard work and colors. Therefore it is more expensive than screen printing

Different Techniques of Hand Block printing

1) Discharge Printing

Firstly the fabric on which printing is to be done is dyed. The dye is removed from the part of fabric on which designs are to be made by use of a chemical. Then those segments printed are treated so that they can be re-colored.

 

 

Bagru Discharge Print on cotton suit

2) Direct Block printing

The fabric used here is either cotton or silk. The cloth is first bleached, and then dyed with the desired color. After that block printing is done on borders with carved wooden blocks then inside the borders.

 

 

 Direct Blockprint

 

3) Resist Printing

In this technique the part of the cloth which is not to be dyed is covered with the paste of resin and clay. Then the fabric is dyed with the desirable color, at this stage the dye penetrates through the cracks which create wavy effect of colors on the cloth. After this the fabric is finally block printed.

On the other side, screen printing is a technique that involves using a woven mesh screen to support an ink-blocking stencil to receive a desired image.

 

Dabu- Mud Resist printing

 

Source: https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/545/the-art-of-hand-block-printing?utm_source=f2f&utm_medium=content&utm_campaign=interlinking