Introduction
Textile industry, one of the oldest industries to design andmanufacture fabric, serves the fundamental human need of protection and desirefor decoration (Chloe 2007). Decoration on the fabric can be created right fromthe yarn production stage to fabric formation. Printing contributes animportant role in decoration of fabric.
The art of printing colour onto fabrics originated thousandsof years before Christ. Primitive people used to paint their body, later theystarted painting garments. In India printed fabrics existed from 500 B.C. (M.Joseph, 1977).
Printing is the process of applying colour to fabric indefinite patterns or designs (A.Wynne 1997). It is also known as localizedapplication of dye or pigment in thickened form to a substrate to create anattractive design with well defined boundaries. (Shenai 1997). According toRuchi Kholiya, Shanaz Jahan and Reta Raghuvanshi (2008) printing is definedsimply as localized dyeing.
Printing not only makes a fabric look attractive, it alsohelps hide manufacturing defects to enhance sales appeal. Today, textileprinting combines tradition and technology. The skills of artisans anddesigners are made easy by using technology, which, in turn, produces newaesthetics and makes the final product highly sophisticated (Jenny Udale 2008).However, Chloe (2007) is of the opinion that development in textile can neverbe solely attributed to technology but also to art, religion, culture andcommerce.
The development of textile printing has forced todaysartists, designers and craftsmen to rethink about how they will move forward inthe field of textile designing. Not only are they using latest technologicalinnovations but also new or unusual material for printing on various fabricsubstrates. This has led to creations of new-age cloth, which is, traditionalcrafts, such as, hand painting, resist dyeing, discharge and burn outtechniques applied on a broad range of fabric substrate with new mediums ofprinting. This has resulted in fabrics which has both aesthetic and functionalvalue. (Chloe 2007)
For instance, silicone was originally used as a coating toprovide protection against the environment. It was simply applied as a uniformcovering in required thickness and was usually colourless. Today, the textiledesigner adds colour to it for both visual appeal and fabric texture.Aesthetic quality was thus added to functionality. (Thames & Hudson 2007).
Currently there is a revolution in small scale unitproduction. In the last 5 years several innovations have taken the market bystorm. For instance, bead printing, rubber printing, foil printing. The marketis now wide open for fresh innovations.
Dr.Ela Dedhia is Associate Professor ,Dept. of Textile & Fashion Technology,NirmalaNiketan,College of Home Science, Mumbai and
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