Block Printed Textiles of India: Imprints of Culture, authored by Eiluned Edwards and published by Niyogi Books, Delhi, has been selected to receive the RL Shep Ethnic Textiles Book Award for 2016. The award will be formally presented at the award banquet, which will be held at the next TSA Biennial Symposium, 19-23 October 2018 in Vancouver, Canada. At that time, a certificate will be presented to the RL Shep Award winners for 2016 and 2017.
This award is aimed at encouraging the study and understanding of textile traditions by recognizing and rewarding exceptional scholarship that clearly communicates its subject, fostering appreciation for the field of textiles. Although not a first from the Asian continent, Block Printed Textiles of India: Imprints of Culture is the first ever book from India which has won this award. It describes how one of the subcontinent’s foremost crafts has played a key role in the creation of visual identity in India and has also been a significant source of revenue through centuries of international trade.
The book reveals how block prints are integral to both caste dress and modern urban style. It also explains contemporary production and use of block prints as well as the social and historical roots of the craft. It reflects the author’s extensive field research over the past twenty-four years—working with block printers, block makers, dye producers, entrepreneurs, designers, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations, in museums and private collections all over India. The book is lavishly illustrated and presents a vibrant account of the development and recent regeneration of the craft, confirming that block prints are stamped with the imprints of an ancient, diverse and ever-evolving culture.
In the year 2000, the Textile Society of America established the RL Shep Ethnic Textiles Book Award, through a generous donation from RL Shep. This prestigious award, presented yearly, recognizes a book on ethnographic textiles for its outstanding scholarship and communication about textiles. The shortlisted books are reviewed by the RL Shep Award Committee, an independent committee appointed by TSA. Given annually, the award consists of a cash prize of $1,000 funded by an endowment established by RL Shep in 2000.
2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India
Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and
multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.
The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry.
While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately
their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book
printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.
The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.
Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.
Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.
Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.
