Real hand block print has small, repeating imperfections; screen print is perfect. That is the whole test. Here is how to see it.
1. Look at the repeat
A wooden block is about 6 to 10 inches wide. The printer lifts it, re-inks it and places it again by eye. So every 6 to 10 inches the motif shifts a millimetre or two, and the ink is slightly heavier on one side. Screen printing uses one screen the width of the fabric, so the pattern repeats with machine precision for metres.
2. Look at the edges of a motif
Block-printed edges have a tiny halo where the dye bled into the fibre, and the corners of a leaf or petal are softly rounded. Screen print edges are crisp and uniform.
3. Turn it over
Block print on cotton voile or mulmul shows through to the back almost as strongly as the front because the block presses dye into the cloth. Screen print sits on the surface, so the back is paler.
4. Find the registration marks
Many blocks have small pin marks at the corners that the printer uses to line up the next impression. Look along the border; tiny dots or a faint line every block width are the printer's guide.
Why it matters
Hand block printing in Sanganer and Bagru near Jaipur takes a team of four or five people a day to print a bedsheet. The dyes are mostly natural or azo-free pigments. The price reflects those hours. If a "hand block printed" bedsheet is priced like a factory print, it is screen printed.
Care that keeps the print
Cold wash, mild detergent, no bleach, dry in shade. The first two washes release a little dye; wash separately. Iron on the reverse.
Everything in The Linen Room is hand block printed in Sanganer. We photograph the actual cloth, so the irregularities you see are the ones you will get.