Printing Techniques, Registration, and Repeat
What the exam tests
Printing technique questions test direct printing, resist and discharge work, colour pickup, pressure, registration, and repeat control. You should be able to diagnose misfit and uneven impression.
Core rules
- Direct printing applies paste directly with the block; resist printing prints a resist before dyeing; discharge printing prints a discharging agent onto a dyed ground.
- The printer loads the block evenly on the tray, taps off excess, aligns to the registration mark, and strikes with firm, consistent pressure.
- Registration uses corner marks, pins, or table lines; each colour block must key to the same marks.
- Repeat distance must be measured, not guessed; the block is advanced by the repeat plus gap.
- Overprinting requires the first colour to be dry enough to avoid pickup but not so hard that the second colour sits poorly.
- Pressure, paste viscosity, and blanket resilience all affect sharpness.
Worked example
A two-colour floral print shows the second colour drifting 2 mm to the left after every third repeat. Reasoning: the error accumulates because the repeat is being stepped by eye. The fix is to mark the table at the exact repeat interval and register each impression to the mark, then re-proof.
Traps
Do not correct misfit by adding paste. Do not print the next colour on a tacky ground. Do not assume a block that prints well on paper will print identically on fabric.