Two years ago, all hand printing activities had almost come to a stop with the screen printers taking up all the business. The Calico Printer Cooperative Society, a 55-year-old organisation, had lost contact with most of its members and the membership had shrunk to 26. ``So much so that individual printers had become mere subcontractors for exporters and middlemen,'' says K B Udaiwal, president of the forum.

Also, the Rajasthan government clubbed both screen printers and hand block printers under one category. ``While hand block printers use mainly vegetable dyes and are cottage industries, the screen printers use azo dyes and are small industries,'' explains Brij Udaiwal, of Shilpi Handicrafts,Sanganer.

With modern technology, the screen printers can reproduce the traditional designs and motifs using more stable dyes and brighter colours. In the time a hand block printer produces one piece, a screen printer can produce many more copies of one piece. This rapid production met the customers' demands and with little difference in the production qualities, the hand block printers soon ran out of business. Till a revival plan was worked out by UNIDO and other institutions like the Rajasthan branch of the PHDCCI, NABARD, Development Commissioner (handicrafts) and SIDBI. The revival plans included eliminating middlemen by selling directly to customers, micro credit facilities and technology and design upgradation.

``Today 126 artisans have joined up and are working in unison to sell genuine hand prints that Sanganer is famous for,'' says Udaiwal. The sales of the hand block printers have more than doubled at Rs 75 crore, this year, following three successful exhibitions, two in Jaipur and one inDelhi.

Spurred by this successful comeback, the Calico Printers are planning to hold more exhibitions in other cities too. ``We plan to have these exhibitions in cities like Mumbai, Chandigarh and Calcutta. We have also reopened our showroom in Sanganer after 12 years and we plan to open showrooms in Delhi and Mumbai soon,'' says Udaiwal. The Calico Printers have smartened up in terms of design and products too. A new clothesline has been introduced by them, following help from the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad. NID students worked with some of the artisans on designing kurtas. They have also introduced file folders, handbag, purses, wall hangings and furnishings, instead of sticking to the traditional products of bedsheets, tableware and dress material.

``We have also incorporated new colours which are brighter and new motifs. Some of the fabric also has little bits of embroidery,'' says R D Saadh, of Moji Handicrafts.

It has also become easier for the printers to hold exhibitions withthe help of the development commissioner (handicraft) supporting the cause. ``Without the cooperative, individual printers could not afford to hold their own exhibitions in other cities. Now they are able to get discounted facilities through government support,'' says Dayal Prakash Jaiswal, programme officer of an NGO, Udyogini, which helped the Calico Printers hold their Delhi exhibition.

The printers' association is also working out a loan scheme through the Rajasthan government so that the printers can upgrade their technology and increase their production.

``We are happy to have regained the self-determination to carry forward this traditional art and woo customers to buy the traditional hand printed fabric that Sanganer is famous for,'' says Udaiwal.