The Journal · 3 min read
What is a digital print? Digital, block and hand-painted prints explained
How digital printing works, how it differs from block, screen and hand-painted prints, and how to choose and care for printed ethnic wear.
By the Suvastram Label studio, Surat ·
“Digital print” appears on more and more lehengas, suits and kurtis, often next to words like block print, screen print and hand painted. They all put colour onto fabric, but they do it very differently — and that changes how an outfit looks, feels and lasts. Here is what each one means.
How digital printing works
Digital textile printing works much like a very large, very precise inkjet printer. An artwork is prepared on a computer, the fabric is treated so it will hold the ink, and fine jets of ink print the design directly onto it. The colour is then fixed with heat or steam, so it lasts through washing and wear.
Because nothing has to be carved or cut for each colour, a digital print can use as many colours as the artist likes, with soft gradients and very fine detail — the petals of a flower, the shading in a jaal, the texture of a painted brushstroke. It also makes small batches practical, which means more designs, less waste and fewer people wearing the same print.
Block printing
Block printing is one of India's oldest crafts. A design is hand-carved into wooden blocks, one block for each colour; the printer dips a block in dye and stamps it onto the fabric by hand, again and again, lining each impression up by eye. Rajasthan's Sanganer and Bagru and Gujarat's Ajrakh traditions are famous for it.
The small irregularities — a slightly uneven edge, a colour that's a touch deeper in one motif — are the signature of the hand. Block prints have an earthy, artisanal feel and are usually done on cotton.
Screen printing
Screen printing pushes ink through a fine mesh stencil, one screen per colour. It's efficient for large runs of the same design, but each extra colour needs another screen, so designs tend to use fewer colours and simpler shapes than a digital print.
Hand-painted fabric
Hand painting is exactly what it sounds like: an artist paints the design directly onto the fabric with a brush. No two pieces are identical, and the work is slow, which makes hand-painted outfits the most individual — and usually the most expensive — of the four.
Which should you choose?
- For detailed, colourful artwork — florals, landscapes, painterly motifs — choose a digital print.
- For a handmade, earthy look in breathable cotton, choose block print.
- For something truly one of a kind, choose hand painted.
- For festive shine, look for any of these combined with zari, sequins or embroidery.
Prints also suit every occasion: a printed kurti for the office, a printed suit set for a puja, a digital print lehenga for a haldi or garba night.
Will a digital print fade?
Good digital prints use colour-fast inks that are fixed into the fabric, so they don't wash out with sensible care. Wash cold and gently, turn the garment inside out, dry it in the shade and iron on the reverse. Silk-based fabrics such as muslin silk and chanderi are best dry cleaned the first time. Our care guide covers every fabric.
How we print at Suvastram
Every Suvastram print starts as an original artwork in our studio in Surat, India's textile city — drawn or painted by hand before it is ever printed. We print in small batches on fabrics chosen for comfort, then finish and check every piece in Surat. Explore the results in Wear Art, the digital print edit.
