Textile printing

The process of decorating fabrics by applying a thick paste of dye or pigment. Major methods of textile printing include: block printing (design raised in relief on a flat surface); stencil or screen printing (cutting the design through a flat sheet of paper or metal); roller printing (engraved printing rollers, one for each color, are pressed against the fabric). In each, the dye or pigment is first applied, and then fixed, usually by steaming or heating; at which point excess color is removed by washing.