Liquid dye vs. dye chips vs. dye blocks...

[MissMori]

I've been using dye chips, but am thinking of switching to liquid dyes. What are your thoughts?

1. Cost? Do you find liquid more cost efficient?

2. Versatility.... liquid has to be easier to use for mixing your own colors.

3. Ease of use... having only used dye chips, I can't comment of ease of use, but how much easier than drop drop drop from a bottle can it be.

Are there any other considerations?

Lastly... who has the best?

[Bella Rose]

I love liquid...never used anything else and I won't ever!

[EricofAZ]

Liquid is cheaper. Blocks have some colors that are hard to duplicate, but they are oily. Chips are easiest to use, but at $0.10 each, I can't justify them even on a special occasion.

I set up 7 liquid bottles. CMYK and RGB. The Cyan is hard to make, everything else is storebought. EVO's are fine for the most part. You can mix any color with those. The problem with mixing is that you need to mix enough to make a good blend and then that's way too much for a small production.

So I bought some other liquid colors. They do have a smell which is not so nice, but a few drops in a pound of wax is fine.

[Stella1952]

I've used EVO liquid for years. I have also used the Reddig-glo dye chips and other various brands of liquid dyes. I avoid dyes with petro odor. When I am simply making a stock color, the Reddig-glo are fine but I like to mix custom colors, so I keep the full complement of all the EVO dye colors offered. I mix colors using the traditional color wheel (primary colors, secondary colors, tertiary colors) and color theory (hues and tints). I don't make batches less than 1 pound - way too labor intensive and cost inefficient. The number of drops to obtain certain colors is easy to regulate.

As for ease of use, I think the liquid dyes I use are easier to dissolve and incorporate into wax than the chips.

The cost isn't significant to me at my level of production. What matters to me is the colors I am able to obtain and reproduce accurately. For certain production products, the dye chips are more efficient. For custom projects, liquid dyes can't be beat. It depends on what you are doing and the goals you are trying to achieve. I don't think one colorant is necessarily "better" than another - it simply depends on what you're doing and how much of it. Folks who are cranking out thousands of candles per day have an even different point of view. Some of it is simply preference. People who are not accustomed to mixing color often feel more comfortable using dye chips. People who feel comfortable mixing color often prefer liquid dyes.

Buy a few samples of what interests you and learn for yourself what suits you best.

Edited March 15, 2011 by Stella1952

[MissMori]

What is CMYK and RGB, oh and EVO? I know there is a sticky with supplier abbreviations, but for the life of me, I can't find it.

I'm trying to reproduce the orchid dye chip I got from Genwax using liquid dyes. The color isn't dark enough using 1 entire chip in less than 8 ounces of wax.

[Stella1952]

CMYK and RGB are internet & graphics color charts. EVO is a brand of liquid dyes available from Candlewic. HTH

[MissMori]

CMYK and RGB are internet & graphics color charts. EVO is a brand of liquid dyes available from Candlewic. HTH

Thank you, makes sense now.

[Dana]

Remember, liquid dyes are MESSY! At first it is ok, but then after a while the dye gets dried and sticky then leaks out of the little spout or the dropper starts to get eaten up by the chemicals in the dye. It gets on your fingers and hands and doesn't just wash off. Just a thought...

[marcuset]

Um, yeah, learned that first hand...had red dye on my face from touching it ...w/o knowing it was there. Was a major pain to get off...but I do prefer liquid dyes. Can be very messy:lipsrseal

[Pam W]

Remember, liquid dyes are MESSY! At first it is ok, but then after a while the dye gets dried and sticky then leaks out of the little spout or the dropper starts to get eaten up by the chemicals in the dye. It gets on your fingers and hands and doesn't just wash off. Just a thought...

I have no problem getting the liquid dyes off my hands ...simple washing with M&P always works for me. Now the floor - that's a different story

[coffeebean]

I'm slowly switching over to using liquid drops in my soy & I do like the results. Wondering though is 5 drops of color too much for 1 pound of wax? I read on here to not exceed 4, but sometimes I need a bit extra to get that darker color.

[Stella1952]

I read on here to not exceed 4, but sometimes I need a bit extra to get that darker color.

That depends on the concentration of the particular dye you are using and whether it is affecting the burn or frosting of your candles. Just because someone here says something doesn't mean that information will be right for YOUR application and materials. If you are happy with the results, don't lose any sleep over a few extra drops. Edited March 20, 2011 by Stella1952

[cedar_lea]

I set up 7 liquid bottles. CMYK and RGB. The Cyan is hard to make, everything else is storebought. EVO's are fine for the most part. You can mix any color with those. The problem with mixing is that you need to mix enough to make a good blend and then that's way too much for a small production

Sorry this confused me at first. It looked like you were trying to mix colors the way your computer does wich won't give you alot of results. RGB is based on the light spectrum where colors combine strangely. If I'm remembering right the colors mix and become white not black.

Now once I stopped thinking of the seperate color systems and thought of them as just one you've got the same set up as most professional artists. They would typically say warm red (typically cadnium) and cool red (I'm forgetting the name for this one but it's slighty magenta) have warm blue (ultramarine, which is a little bit cyanish) and cobalt. Some would use two yellows too, but it's not as necessary as the two reds. You can mix most colors with just your base primaries, but by using the cool/warm versions you can get brighter oranges and purples. Green is another one that is not essential but it's really nice to not have to mix up a green any time you want to mute you red. Black is of course essential.

So now that I'm trough being confused I see that you have a really good setup and it all makes sense. I've just never thought of it as CMYK & RGB.

Edited March 20, 2011 by cedar_lea
Needed to fix broken quote

[Candybee]

I started out using liquid dyes. Got mine at Lonestar and was lucky I did because they have the hot pink liquid dye thats awesome.

The liquid dyes I think are the cheapest to use because you only need a drop or just a few drops per lb to color your paraffin. Soy may need a little more but its still cheaper. The liquid dyes last a long time.

I started to use redig glo dye chips when I was working with soy and parasoy. I like the intensity of the dye chips with with these waxes but still use the liquid sometimes.

When I switched to GG palm I noticed that the liquid dyes weren't holding up as well in the palm wax. My candles started smelling like the dyes and the scent would morph after a while. Also, I do a lot of outdoor shows every weekend starting in May and going thru October until they switch to indoors. So I have to deal a lot with sun exposure. I found that the dye chips were holding up much better in both these conditions (sun exposure and scent lock) so for GG I primarily use the reddig glo dye chips.

Just haven't found a lime green dye chip yet! Was making coconut lime candles yesterday and really needed some lime color without having to mix colors. This is the downside to dye chips. It can be hard to mix colors using chips especially if you only use 1/2 or 1/4 chip per lb. The upside is I only need 1/2 to 1/4 chip per lb of gg palm so it saves me money. I rarely need a full chip the colors are so intense and deep.

[coffeebean]

Just haven't found a lime green dye chip yet! Was making coconut lime candles yesterday and really needed some lime color without having to mix colors. This is the downside to dye chips. It can be hard to mix colors using chips especially if you only use 1/2 or 1/4 chip per lb. The upside is I only need 1/2 to 1/4 chip per lb of gg palm so it saves me money. I rarely need a full chip the colors are so intense and deep.

I got my lime green color from Keystone Candle Supply, & it makes a bright lime green color in my soy wax. I use it for green apple, & lime cooler.

[coffeebean]

Well I just poured a 26 oz apothecary jar (tester) last night & I put 15 drops of color in 1 1/2 pounds of wax just to see how it would burn. It came out a beautiful dark color but like I said I did an extreme color on it to see how it goes. My only thought to switching from chip to liquid is I'm reading people stating the liquid doesn't hold up over time as well as the chips so maybe I should stick with the chips.

[Stella1952]

liquid doesn't hold up over time as well as the chips

In the candle, liquid holds up as well as do chips, but on the shelf, liquids can get messy, especially if supplied in plastic bottles. The EVO I used to order from JBN bled through the plastic bottles somehow, obliterated the label and made a mess. I did like the twisty dropper top, however. Ones that are packaged differently don't make so much of a mess. Dyes in glass with rubber bulb droppers tend to eat up the bulbs over time. One can remove the bulbs each time, but that wastes a LOT of dye. I order small sizes so that I use them up fairly quickly. It may cost a little more, but it's worth not having the mess or losing dyes to spoilage. I make a lot of custom colored candles, as well as techniques where liquid is the dye of choice, so the chips just don't get it for me.