Dhamadka is the art of printing fabrics with wooden blocks. This is a major foreign exchange earner of the region, along with the modern screen printing art. The technique uses wooden blocks of around 1 ½ " to 3" thickness. The design to be printed on the fabric is first pin pricked on the wooden surface and later chiseled. After this, the blocks are dipped in different colors and stamped across the fabric. This leaves an imprint of the design of the block on the fabric. After printing, the fabric is fixed in river Gondali and spread to dry.
Dhamadka is widely practiced along the riverside town of Jetpur, midway Gondal and Junagadh. Its block prints are well known for the river water which brightens the colors of the fabric. Dhamadka block printing is available in a range of contrasting colors like maroons, yellows, blues and reds with patterns generated through tiny dots. Another popular area of printing is Kutch. Apart from block printing, artisans here also use vegetable dyes, paraffin wax resist and patricate-printing material. Though synthetic dyes and modern techniques have come up, bright Ajrakh prints are still in vogue.