Search the Community

So, thinking back to inorganic chemistry remembered a lesson about how the discovery and synthesis of aniline salts revolutionized the textile and printing industries. Fast forward to my kitchen current day, my daughter wanted to practice her cursive writing (they don't teach that anymore in public and most private schools in the US anymore) with her fountain pen and red ink. Well went to the ink locker and as fate would have it we are fresh out of red ink, not a drop in the house! Well, necessity being the mother of invention, looked in the lab and found some kodak photoflow, glycerine, de-ionized water and a whole bunch of Procion fabric dye powders. Hmmm... might we be on to something? Using a 20cc glass sample bottle mixed 5 drops of photoflow, 5 drops of glycerine, 18cc de-ionized water with 0.5 tsp of Procion Fire Engine Red dye powder. Shook it up and allowed it to stand for about 10 minutes, there was no precipitate and well, it looked like deep red ink. Checked the pH with the pH meter from the reef tank and she registers 5.5, looking good so far. Inked up a Waterman Phileas with the brew and la di da! It flows great has excellent lubricity, does not bleed or feather, dries really fast and is colorfast/water resistant! Holy cow, could we be on to something here? It does not shade great but well this is a first batch fresh out of the kitchen and we only used one color, mixing may give different results? Here it is: