RE: Cyanotype 'n Inko Dye on Fabric

Sam Wang (stwang@CLEMSON.EDU)
Fri, 19 Jun 1998 22:08:31 -0400

>I've had mixed success wiht Inko Dyes in terms of brightness of color and
>getting white whites. Could be that I didn't wash hard enough (I'm used to
>prining cyanotpye on fabric). But I plan to try again. Lack of popularity
>among photographers? Dunno, but I notice from being on this list a few
>years that more folks are interested in printing on paper rather than on
>fabric. And Inko Dyes do not work very well on paper, at least not in my
>experience.
>
>I've lost track of who originally asked about cyanotype on fabiorc -- it's
>easy, you can use any natural fiber that has a tight weave (cotton,
>silk...) and you keep it flat as you would for paper, using a piece of
>glass (in my case for large pieces, a storm window).
>
>
>Karen Molloy
>
>kmolloy@tiac.net

IMHO, cyanotype on fabrics is fine if you want to use it for decorations -
I have a beautiful hanging quilt by Melanie Walker with clouds printed in
cyanotype. For wearables, Inko Dye works so much better because it stands
repeated washing without danger of fading.

Inko Dye does not work well on paper mainly because it is almost impossible
to get the unused dye out by soaking alone, and I doubt that any paper can
be survive a washer without turning into pulp.

In my experience, some Inko Dye colors remain usable for decades when kept
in their original bottles, while others can't be used for photographic
printing even when fresh. The way to tell is by the color - good ones
should be colorless before it's coated and exposed. Of course for the folks
who produce the stuff there are no bad ones - they market it as a heat/
light setting dye, not a photo printing emulsion.

Sam