A question about print paste. When I make my order it will be from Dharma. They have a thickener there, would that be better, worse or no different than Pro Print Paste?

[From Facebook wall posts, to & from me, 2/21 and 2/22/2012]

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Alginate

Carol: A question about print paste. When I make my order it will be from Dharma. They have a thickener there, would that be better, worse or no different than Pro Print Paste?

Dharma's sodium alginate is fine [they've had some supply problems, but apparently so has everyone], but you should be sure to also order sodium hexametaphosphate to use with it. Alginate can form a problematic gel when it combines with the calcium ions in water that's even a little bit hard, but hexametaphosphate prevents this from happening. Dharma does sell it; look for "water softener", and be sure to check the description to be sure it's sodium hexametaphosphate.

Look at my page on sodium alginate and other thickeners. At the end, it says what's in print paste mix.

Carol: Thank you again for answering my questions. I really appreciate it.

Carol: I just got done reading your page that you linked and now I have a couple more questions (sorry!). First, if I use distilled water, does that mean I don't need to use water softener? Second, if I'm using Print Paste, does that mean I don't need to use urea or water softener with the mixture? Also, is it necessary to have a blender to mix all this with?

You don't need to add water softener to distilled water. It can still be a good idea to use water softener in the tap water you use for washing out the excess dye afterwards, because the calcium in hard water can make complexes with the unattached dye molecules, making them more difficult to wash out. This is less important than using water softener or distilled water with alginate.

ProChem's recipe for using their print paste mix with Procion MX dyes for direct application [PDF] calls for additional urea and metaphos (their name for sodium hexametaphosphate). Check the instructions for using whatever brand of print paste mix you're looking at.

I don't use a blender for mixing alginate. For me it works to use a small stainless steel whisk and sprinkle the alginate powder over the water while whisking constantly. I've had no problems with mixing it up. Mix the alginate up a day in advance, just in case (not always necessary, but convenient if it turns out lumpy). To avoid the problem of lumps altogether, mix the alginate with alcohol or vegetable oil first, as explained in the recipe on my alginate page.

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Posted: Tuesday - February 21, 2012 at 04:10 PM

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A question about print paste. When I make my order it will be from Dharma. They have a thickener there, would that be better, worse or no different than Pro Print Paste?

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