Textile Printing Block

The Blum collection

Since the early Middle Ages, fabrics have been printed using carved wooden blocks. These printing blocks were primarily made from soft pearwood, as it was easy to work with.

The collection shown here offered a fascinating overview of the diversity of printing blocks and hinted at the complexity of their production. Patterns were either carved or burned into the surface. There were blocks entirely carved from wood, others with added metal parts or full metal plates, and some that combined these different techniques.

Their applications were just as varied. In blue printing, metal-covered blocks were coated with wax, pressed onto the fabric, and then dyed. This process created white patterns on a blue background. Wooden blocks were more commonly used for positive printing, where white fabric was decorated with colorful patterns.

In the manufactories, printers were assisted by ink boys, who were responsible for refilling the ink pad—similar to stamp printing. The printer would press the block onto the pad so that the raised areas absorbed the ink, then press it onto the fabric and tap it with a hammer to ensure even color transfer. Printing was done entirely by hand, and each color in a pattern required its own block.

Over time, wooden block printing could not keep up. By the mid-19th century, hand printing was increasingly replaced by mechanical roller printing. Meanwhile, weaving technology had also advanced to the point where colorful and patterned fabrics could be produced directly, pushing calico printing further into the background.

The first calico printing workshop in Chemnitz was established in 1770, and by the early 19th century, calico printing had become the city’s most important industry. The term calico (from Arabic katon, meaning “cotton”) refers to a smooth, fairly dense cotton fabric in plain weave. As it became possible to produce it not only in solid colors or stripes, calico grew in popularity. The fabric came to life through printed floral patterns, vines, stars, or crosses.

Presentation of the collection with over 40 textile printing blocks