Cochineal Red Artisan Ink

Cochineal Red Natural Dye Pigment Inks is  an example of how I am always seeking to improve my inks. It is a complex ink with two dyes in it removing the need to add stannous chloride to give red, making this an eco ink.

All inks are 50ml  and come with aluminium cap and  with the dropper separate. After using the ink, wash the dropper in clean water and replace cap on bottle. This prevents the dropper blocking up. Tea Tree Oil has been added to reduce any chance of moulding.

Did you know that most of the natural dye inks can be used as fabric paints ? Simply paint with them onto a clean scoured prepared fabric such as cotton or silk. Either allow to air set over 6 weeks or steam well wrapped in  or in several layers of greaseproof paper  from 20-30 minutes depending on weight of fabric.

Lightfastness of 1 (see below).  Mixed with the 18th Century black it gives a purple and with yellow, bright orange.

Inks are made in batches of ten and colours may vary slightly from batch to batch.

Lightfastness is measured by placing painted samples in a southwest facing skylight for one month and are graded as follows:

• No fading – lightfastness of 1
• Slight fading – lightfastness of 2
• Loss of colour – lightfastness of 3