Batik - Industrialization of Technique

The application of wax with a tjanting tool is done with great care and therefore is very time-consuming. As the population increased and commercial demand rose, time-saving methods evolved. Other methods of applying the wax to the fabric include pouring the liquid wax, painting the wax with a brush, and putting hot wax onto pre-carved wooden or copper block (called a cap or tjap) and stamping the fabric. The tjanting is used like a pen on the cloth.

The invention of the copper block (cap) developed by the Javanese in the 20th century revolutionized batik production. By block printing the wax onto the fabric, it became possible to mass-produce designs and intricate patterns much faster than one could possibly do by using a tjanting.

Batik print is the common name given to fabric that incorporates batik pattern without actually using the wax-resist dyeing technique. It represents a further step in the process of industrialization, reducing the cost of batik by mass-producing the pattern repetitively, as a standard practice employed in the worldwide textile industry.

At the end of 2012, PT. Pelindo IV Makassar, a batik printing company, made a batik which extends 3046 meters. They needed 600 people to stretch it along the Soekarno-Hatta Harbor. It breaks the Indonesian Museum Record (Muri) and as well became the longest batik.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batik