community of dyers

There is no such thing as a black Procion MX dye; what we buy as black Procion MX dye is actually a mixture of different colors, navies, reds, oranges, and yellows. It is exciting and fun to try premixed neutral Procion MX colors in LWI, because the different dyes in the mixture have slightly different properties, so the blacks dye mixtures spread out into their constituent colors. Here's an example, done with the mixture black MX-CWNA (from an old jar):

Different black dye mixtures give different results, but all spread out into different colors, rather than shades of grey. This can be frustrating if it's not what you're looking for.

What do you do if you don't want all the different colors? What if you want shades of grey in your black LWI? I bought some Dylon Permanent black dye, on a whim. Unlike the other colors in the Dylon Permanent line, which are Drimarene K type dyes, Dylon Permanent Black contains a vinyl sulfone dye (also known as a Remazol dye), which is Color Index reactive black 5. Look at what a different result it gives!

It's a true black, and the different paler shades are all shades of grey, not brown or navy, where the tightness of the fabric in the dyebath prevented full color from reaching the fabric.

Like Rit all-purpose dye, Dylon Permanent dye is extraordinarily expensive, at $2.49 (plus tax) for enough dye for only half a pound of fabric, or a single adult-sized t-shirt. (Unlike all-purpose dye, it works very well on cotton!) It comes with the soda ash equivalent (in this case, trisodium phosphate) already mixed in. I used it at room temperature, around 80°F (27°C), although the temperature optimum for Remazol dyes is 60°C (140°F). (We Americans are taught Fahrenheit for everyday use and Celsius for scientific work, so I keep going back and forth; sorry if that is confusing!) As you can see, it worked very well. I followed the package instructions saying to use a total of four cups of water, and four tablespoons of salt, but poured the salt over after adding the dissolved dye, and did not stir since I was not intending to do solid shade dyeing.

I am not certain that there is no other dye in the Dylon Permanent Black besides C.I. reactive black 5; it's the only one mentioned on the warning label, but there might be others which do not have to be specified. If so, the reactive black 5 is certainly still the main component of the dye mixture, as the results are so close to single-hue. Next time I want to use PRO Chemical & Dye's Liquid Reactive Black, which costs only $2.95 for probably 12 times as much dye. I'll post here whenever I manage to do that experiment. Remazol dyes are usually steamed after painting, or used at higher temperatures than room temperature, anyway, but it seems likely that it can be used just like Procion MX dye, with the sole exception being that it should probably be 'batched' at a minimum temperature of 80°F instead of 70°F.

It's worth noting that Remazol Black is said to be the best black dye for discharging. Most black dyes discharge to a beige color, or even dark brown, but Remazol Black is supposed to discharge nearly to white.