A pattern could also be made by the ‘lead plate process’. In this several layers of cloth were tightly clamped in a giant press between lead plates which had the design cut into them. A bleach liquor to which acid had been added was then forced through the cloth to destroy the colour where the pattern lay. This process was only used for very simple designs such as a spotted handkerchief. Often the design was overprinted with black.

Patterns could be produced by printing the cloth with a paste containing citric or tartaric acid. The fabric was then passed through a bleach batch where the acid and bleach combined to destroy the red colour where the pattern lay. Other colours could be produced by incorporating them in the discharge paste or by overprinting.

The colours used were very limited: yellow (chrome yellow or Persian berries), blue (Prussian blue), black (logwood), green (formed by printing blue on yellow). Again, this process was complicated, requiring highly skilled teams to make it work well.