Horizontal Prayer Flags On Rope

For centuries traditional Tibetan prayer flags were printed using woodblocks; the same method used for printing Buddhist texts on paper. For this method the designs are meticulously carved in reverse on flat slabs of wood, usually tight grained hardwoods. Ink is applied with a roller or ink soaked pad to the block and a blank piece of cloth is laid over the block. A clean roller or padded weight is pressed on the back of the cloth, transferring the ink from the woodblock to the cloth. The new flag is carefully peeled from the woodblock and hung up to dry. The ink used these days is usually kerosene based. It is fairly non-toxic and waterproof. The major disadvantage of these inks is that light colored inks cannot be printed on dark backgrounds. Essentially, everything gets printed with black ink. Woodblock carving is becoming a lost art. There are few artisans that can accurately carve Tibetan script in reverse, and it is difficult to obtain as fine a detail as can be obtained with more modern printing techniques. We searched for several years for the collection of woodblocks we use to print our prayer flags. We feel that these are probably the best woodblock printed flags available in the world today.

Whereas wood block printing requires printing with a dark ink over a lighter color cloth, silk screening allows for light ink on dark cloth. Because the screens are created photographically, any line drawing can be turned into a design and clear detail is possible. Although the printing techniques are modern, we are careful to only print traditional designs. With the exception of the "World Peace Prayer Flag" and the "Prayer to Avert Nuclear War," all the designs are hundreds of years old.

We prefer to use a high quality 100% cotton cloth for our prayer flags rather than polyester or nylon. We have found that high quality cotton holds up just as well or better than polyester and it doesn’t degrade or fade as much in the sun, but poor quality cotton doesn't hold up well to the elements. We prefer cotton because when the flags shred and disintegrate, the threads and cloth will biodegrade without the non-organic residue associated with nylon and polyester. Cotton is safer for the little animals that use the bits of cloth for their nests. Also, the traditional way of disposing of old prayer flags is to burn them. Burning polyester or nylon cloth produces toxic smoke and a gooey mess. That’s why we prefer cotton.

Unfortunately, 100% cotton colored cloth is almost impossible to find in Southeast Asia. When we're lucky, we can find cloth that's about 90% cotton and 10% polyester (the merchants usually insist that it's 100% cotton.)  Since the pandemic interrupted the supply chain, the best cloth we can find in Nepal has a higher polyester count.  We have some leads on some solid color fabric made in India, but we'll need to make sure the supplier is reliable, the price is affordable and the fabric is durable.  We're working on it.