The spectrum of colors and the variety of finishing techniques have not only helped to fuel and capture the imagination of textile designers and paying customers respectively, the quality of end product remains unsurpassed anywhere in the world.

In formative years, this was directly attributable to the abilities of the highly skilled workforce and this remains critical even to this day.

Presently however, those same skills are then further enhanced by the utilization of computer assisted technologies at virtually every stage of the production process.

As in any other modern industry, quality control has assumed paramount importance, and within the Dyeing and Finishing trades accuracy and precision are achieved via computerized color matching systems and micro - processor driven jet dyeing equipment.

The desire to operate at maximum efficiency also provides beneficial implications for the environment, as increasing numbers of factories employ waste conscious machinery which reduce water usage by as much as two thirds.

What began as a craft in the 1700's has evolved into a modern day science, which is assisting our workshop to meet the challenges of the future?

Hand screen-printing is a slower method of flatbed screen printing, which is done commercially on long tables up to 100 yards. Printers move the screen one frame at a time manually with great care until the entire length of the cloth is printed.

This is the modern version of hand screen-printing and incorporates a flat bed, which moves with the fabric on top. Stationary screens automatically print the moving fabric.

A rotary screen is a cylinder of thin flexible metal or plastic. The circumference of the roll determines the size of design repeat. Rotary screen-printing is the fastest method of printing and gives the finest of designs, which at times may be difficult to print by any other method.

Pinching up and tying the areas before dyeing can produce a variety of designs and lines. An intensively labor oriented art, it is very slow and gets even slower depending upon the fineness of the designs to be tied. However the vivid colors and pinched motifs have an exotic and oriental mystique attached to them.

The motif is printed on white or light colored ground with a variety of pigment colors. To date it remains the most popular color printing method mainly because of the relative ease of process. However fabrics prints by this process are seldom fast to rubbing test.

In this process the ground color and the color in the design are printed on white and/or light-colored grounds in one step. Though less cumbersome than the Discharge process, there are immense possibilities to play with the hues of dyes.

Medium to dark grounds is dyed on fabric with specially prepared dyestuff. The printing colors then used on the fabric contain a chemical that interacts with the dye. This interaction simultaneously bleaches the color from the dyed ground and prints the desired color on its place. Areas can also be discharged and left white. The primary advantage of this process is that vivid and bright colors along with white can be printed on top of medium and dark grounds. Mostly hand silk screen or flatbed screen-printing is used for this process. At times Rotary is also used if the design to be printed is of one or two colors.