Dye vs.Ink

Anybody tried printing w.dye instead of ink? Was wondering if the result is more organic or distressed.

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It really just adds some splotchy areas of color in my experience. Ink is a balance between tacky and wet, and if you add too much liquid pigment then you sacrifice body, and vice versa.

I think it’s better to distress your matrix rather than the ink mixture.

I don’t know what dye you are thinking of using, but here is some background information which I hope you may find helpful.

Generally speaking, colorants in inks can be either pigments or dyes. Pigments remain as tiny solid particles and never actually dissolve in the ink vehicle. Dyes actually dissolve, like putting sugar in water.

Our inks contain all or mostly all pigments. Pigments are preferred because of their superior properties in many cases. They can have varying degrees of transparency or opacity. They can have good fade resistance (if you use the right ones). They can be resistant to alcohol (which is important for coctail napkins and coasters). They can also be resistant to other chemicals such as soaps, fats, oils, wax, household cleaners, etc.

Dyes often do not have the desireable properties of pigments. However, they do have advantages in some cases. Where they are used, it is because of their transparency, purity of color and color strength. They are often used as toners to alter the color of inks, and can be used in combination with pigments.

To make matters a little more complicated, there are “laked” pigments which are particles of pigment which have been combined with dyes to impart color to them.

Dyes, when used by the ink maker, do not mean that the ink will be thinner or thicker. Inks are formulated with components to maintain their consistency.

The foregoing is from the Printing Ink Handbook, Third Edition, by the Product and Technical Publications Committee of the National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers, Inc., as well as my own personal knowledge.

So, before deciding to use something other than inks formulated for letterpress or litho, it might be valuable to consider that you may be eliminating the properties which the commercial inks possess, and which your customers expect.