Name: Mimi

Message: I have read your site a hundred times over and keep coming back here looking for the answer. I would like to use my fiber reactive/ procion mx dyes that I got a dharma trading company for screen printing but I can't seem to get a straight answer from anywhere. I saw that you mentioned guar gum as a thickener, well I have that and wanted to know if I could use it instead of the sodium alginate or is it absolutely mandatory to use the sodium alginate? If I was to use the guar gum would I follow the same recipe and steps that I have seen for the regular sodium alginate? Thanks for your time and consideration.

It's likely that you will have more difficulty in getting deep colors with guar gum than with alginate, when printing with MX dyes.

It was not in the FAQ, but here's a relevant post from this Hand Dyeing Q&A blog on April 29, 2005: "Is it possible to thicken dye?":

"Guar gum is not ideal, because it reacts with fiber reactive dyes, reducing the amount of dye that actually reaches your fabric. Most people who thicken their Procion MX dyes use either sodium alginate or Superclear. There are two types of alginate, F and SH. Alginate F is used for silk, and alginate SH is used for cotton....You can use guar gum for thickening acid dyes, when dyeing animal fibers (wool or silk) or nylon. Acid dyes cannot be used on cotton."

Also see my page entitled "Sodium alginate, Superclear, and other dye thickeners ", from the auxilliary chemicals section of my FAQ. (I've just added a couple of clarifying sentences to the section on guar gum; it was only a single sentence before, which did not mention fiber reactive dyes.)

If you are just getting started with using dye for screen printing, I would recommend that you use a published recipe and follow it carefully. After you have mastered it, then try substitutions and variations on the recipe, such as by substituting guar gum for alginate. If you are already experienced with screen printing, you will find it pretty easy to adapt to using dye instead of ink.

You will need to use soda ash at some point in the process, unless you are going to let your dye dry and then paint on sodium silicate (AfterFix). You can soak your cotton garments in soda ash solution and let them dry, then screen on your thickened dyes. Use a recipe that contains urea so that the dyes will remain moist on the fabric long enough to react with it, and be sure that you allow enough time in a warm enough room (at least 70°F overnight, or warmer temperatures for shorter periods of time).

There is a book on painting and printing with Procion MX dyes that I recommend, by Ann Johnston, Color by Design: Paint and Print with Dye. You might want to take a look at it. Also, look at this "silkscreening with dye" discussion in the Dye Forum on my site. Jane Dunnewold has a book and a DVD that are both entitled Improvisational Screen Printing; see the store section of her website at Art Cloth Studios. Both Ann Johnston and Jane Dunnewold's instructions are highly recommended by both beginning and experienced dyers.

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