Jacquard SolarFast Dye - 4oz - Black - Create Remarkably Detailed Photographs, Photograms, and Shadow-Prints on Paper or Fabric - Made in USA

I was a little skeptical because the dye looked gray and soapy out the bottle. I have done cyanotypes before so I was expecting a more watery dye. It worked great. I dyed a pair of jeans shorts (cotton/elastane blend) and exposed it to sunlight for 10 mins. I did not use the recommended detergent to wash my clothes and the design held up.

I bought the purple, violet, black, blue, green, yellow, and red so far and i’m really enjoying them. I love cyanotype printing but being able to do it in multiple colors is so much fun, also it lasts through your regular wash cycle unlike traditional cyanotype. Still working on the best methods for printing negatives and having them come out extra crisp through trial and error, as well as exposure times. i’m finding green takes longer than other colors, and red becomes pink without extremely long exposure times. But overrall they are easy to use and creat really gorgeous colors and shades on clothing.

I was using solarfast in black without this wash and at first it seemed okay to not use it but then as I wore my prints were exposed to any direct sunlight they would go from black to blue tone and loose much of the detail of the print within minutes. So I bought the solarwash to make sure I was washing out all the chemicals so that it stopped being exposed after wash and it seems to have helped a lot. Its no longer turning my prints blue as long as I give the prints a good wash with hot water and the solarwash solution. Its smells very strongly like detergent and I highly recommend it if you don't want to risk messing up your prints. Regular washing soap won't work to rinse out all the chemicals in my experience

I previously have bought the red, blue, and violet. All had the same slightly thick consistency, came out their respective labeled colors, and did NOT dye my hands in the process. I wanted to expand my options and bought an 8 fl oz bottle of the color green. I opened the cap and peeled the seal to find a brownish yellow. I thought that this may just be the color it goes on and it lightens to a green in the sun so I tested it out. As I sponged it onto my fabric, the color got on my fingers but I wasn't concerned as I wasn't in the Sun, so there was no reason it should permanently dye my fingers. I was wrong, the dye did indeed dye my fingers and hands and will not come off. Well, I finished putting the dye on my fabric, placed my film prints on top, then a glass panel on top of that. I left it in the sun for about 40 minutes because it was cloudy. The dye did not lift to a green, but a brownish yellow. I rinsed the fabric and the dye kept bleeding not matter how much I let the water run through it. I put my fabric in the washing machine yet it is still not green! VERY dissatisfied and disappointed.

Can’t wait to do more art projects.

OK, here's the deal: do NOT just open this bottle up and dump it on your nice new T-shirt and expect an awesome result. I STRONGLY advise you to get an old piece of cloth (or some test paper if you are going that route) and cut it up and take a few test runs at this. It is NOT easy to work with. Here are a few things I learned:1.) It's really easy to use too much. Cloth really soaks this stuff up, so go light, spread it around, and wipe off as much excess as you possibly can before applying your image (or objects). I actually settled for putting a little in a cup, brushing it on, then wiping off the area. Get after it with a paper towel. Yes, it is a bit wasteful, but putting it right on the shirt is way too much.2.) Affix the image (or object) REALLY tightly to the cloth. I used transparency film (print two, double them up) and taped/clamped the whole thing together. Then I rubbed the film so it is sticking to the shirt as tightly as possible.3.) The detergent is absolutely REQUIRED. I saw some people say they just laundered the shirt. Nope. Don't cut corners, it won't work. Get the special detergent, it's not that expensive. You also do not need much because...4.) Hand launder the shirt. Don't leave this step to your machine, It won't do a good job. Put on some gloves, get a small tub, get the water as hot as possible, use a capful of detergent and scrub it for a good long while. The directions say 10 min, but that might be overkill. Do it at least 5, though. Your design may fade a bit. It's worth it to get the background down.5.) White is REALLY hard to do. Yes, the detergent WILL remove all of the excess un-activated solarfast dye, but there will be a slight darkening. This is MUCH worse if you use too much dye. It is impossible to remove when overdone.As an example of these things, look at my image. Shirt on left over done. Way too much dye. Not enough wash out, which was done in a machine. Dye doesn't even look black (it is reddish, a sure sign you over did it.) Shirt on right is very little dye, aggressive hand-washing. It is possible to do a design without a hard border, but it is very tricky. A lot of headache can be avoided by using a "frame" for you image. Especially on white. If you are going border free, I suggest a color shirt. Also, make the light blocking border very large. The dye will creep, you can see where it did on my test runs.This took me 4 or 5 tries to hit on a good method. Hopefully, I can knock you down to 2 tries! Took off one star because this stuff is just really, really hard to work with, and they really don't have good instructions. They need a troubleshooting/pitfalls section, but they want you to think this is easy to do. They make it seem easy in a video. It isn't. But I DO like it!

Works decent, not as well as the standard cyanotype blue chemicals but that could be expected. Am disappointed with the color, it appears more like the avocado than the green even with a good amount of chemical on the paper*the silver in the image is painted over with acrylic paint*

5stars