SET UP A FACTORY - 2

2. Tools, Equipments and Raw Materials

In the last posting I have stated the necessary requirements for you to establish a batik factory. You must have the land to build a factory.

Remember the Main Building? It must have a concrete wall and floor so that you can do the cleaning every weekend.

There are many tools and equipments for the purposes of creating a silk batik.

Photo 1 : the wooden frame or 'pemidang'

The first one is the "pemidang" a kind of rectangular wooden frame with a size of 5' x 16' fixed or screwed on 6 wooden poles sets upright from the floor to support the frame. The height of each frames are around 3' from the floor/ground. It looks like a long table frame without a board on it. This frame will be used to hang and hold the raw silk cloth in horizontal in accordance with the length of the frame. You may have to create at least 6 frames or more depending on the size of your Main Building.

pure raw silk from China

Now you have the frames for you to hold the cloth. It is the time to decide what is your first product. I suggest that you cut 4m length of raw silk cloth from its roll for preparation of a Malay's traditional ware called 'baju kurung'. Remember that a roll of pure raw silk is quite expensive. So, make sure your product is well created.

Use small hooks or pin to stretch the silk cloth to the frame (as in Photo 1 above). Pure raw silk cloth will not break even though under hard stretching. I will let you know later why one must stretch the cloth to the frame.

Let us see some other raw materials. For a start you must have 1kg of pure wax, 1kg of soaking powder, 5 liters of Sodium Silicate liquid and a bottle of vinegar.

Then you must have a small iron pot for heating and melting the wax...which means that you must have a small cooking apparatus powered by liquid gas.

canting, a  drawing pen

another look of canting

You must have a 'canting' or a drawing instrument specially handcrafted and made from iron  or copper which can keep the hot melted wax inside it and will produce the wax through small hole at the edge, just like a pen.

melted hot wag inside the boiling pot

This canting will be dipped into the pot containing hot melted wax. It will become a small container and at the same time will produce hot wax to stick on the stretched silk cloth in accordance with your design.

hot wax will flow from canting and stick to the cloth

The wax cannot stick and absorb to the cloth without the help of soaking powder. Just put 1/4kg of this powder into 1kg of melting wax. This hot mixture will stick and absorb well to the cloth.


Now, you may know why you need a stretched cloth on the frame. It is for the purpose of drawing with hot wax. If the cloth is set loose at the frame, you can't have a good drawing on it.

To be continued.

SET UP BATIK FACTORY

1. Site

You need the following assets:

a) a piece of land measuring approximately 1/2 acre or more;

b) a simple decorating building but enough to protect your products, tools and equipments from rain or any sort of water with a size of at least  40' x 40' (hereinafter called as the "Main Building");

c) a store house within the Main Building where you can keep all raw materials and chemicals;

d) a corner in the Main Building where you can do the soaking and evaporating process for you raw products;

e) an open roof site where you can do the rinsing and boiling process;

f) a Concrete Container or a pool to fill in the water waste or chemicals or toxic from the whole processing system;

g) an open roof site where you can dry up your products;

h) in house section for ironing and packaging;

i) a decorated showroom and guests corner for advertising and the sale of your products; and

j) an office for management, accounting, control and supervision of the factory.
 

Now I will let you know the most basic procedure for a simple batik product.

Firstly, get a plain white cloth with a size of about 2m x 3m. Get any color or a dyer you desire and mix it with about 2L of plain water in a bucket. Dip the cloth into the colored water for 5 minutes. Next, squeeze the cloth and dip it again for about 1/2 hour. Squeeze it again and you might have discovered its original design already created with cloth. Let the cloth dry under the sunlight.

Secondly, you must have about 3L of  Sodium Silicate Liquid. Pour it into a bucket and dip the colored cloth. Apply the chemical thoroughly to the cloth and let it be together for at least 6 hours. Make sure you use proper gloves and goggles because the chemical is dangerous to you skin and eyes. If get infected, wash the affected area immediately with plenty of fresh water until the sticky portion is dismissed.

Thirdly, after 6 hours, take out the cloth and hang it for evaporation at least for another 3 hours or more when the chemicals stop to drop. Make sure you have covered every single drop of the chemicals with the same bucket. This chemicals can be used again and again for next products subject to proper storage.

Fourthly, rinse the cloth with plenty of water until all those sticky chemicals are discharged from the cloth. You may see the color of the cloth is still there and remains intact. You may wash it as many times as you wish if you are not confident about the life span of the color.

Fifthly, dip the cloth into 5L boiled water for 5 minutes. Don't forget to add 5 big spoon of vinegar into the boiled water before dipping the cloth. This is to sparkle the color of the cloth. Then, take it out for rinsing again. The final rinsing may contain any sort or brand of perfume or odour as you wish.

Dry the cloth again and send for ironing.

Now you have the first product of simple batik without using wax or drawing!

I hope you are satisfied with my explanation and will consider my session above as being helpful to you!

In next and further postings, I will continue with the batik production systems with the use of wax, soaking chemicals, color powders, drawing tool called chanting, paintings and the boards for hanging plain clothes.

Till next posting, bye for now from me.