Photo-printed Hair Ribbon
Robin over at inkodye.com just sent over this fantastic tutorial to showcase their fantastic photo-sensitive permanent dye. This product really ticks all of the boxes for me, because it works on so many different materials (including wood and leather), and it connects to my love of all things photographic. Here is Robin’s tutorial:
Only with Inkodye can you create this incredibly easy and rewarding DIY project! Because Inkodyes are truly photographic you can use them with black & white negatives to create your very own photo-printed silk ribbon.
Use your ribbon in your hair, around your waist on a summer dress or cut it into sections and give them away as adorable bookmarks!
Total tutorial time: 15 minutes
Used in this project: Inkodye Violet
Materials. Violet Inkodye, foam brush, pins, silk ribbon, b&w negatives and a work surface board
Making your own negatives. You can buy a B&W disposable camera and take your own shots! Important Note: High contrast negatives are needed for this project to work so try to overexpose the pics you take! You can also request “push processing” at your local film development lab to ensure higher contrast negatives.
Prepare. Cut your ribbon to the size of the negatives you’d like to print
Position. Lay your ribbon down onto a board that you’ll be able to move out into the sun
Pour. Apply your Inkodye straight from the bottle, we recommend not diluting for this project
Brush. Using a regular ol’ foam brush make sure your Inkodye is evenly applied
Place. Get your negative placed properly, make sure you put it SHINY side down so as not to smear it
Pin. Using push pins, pin your project to the board to keep the negative in contact and so it can’t blow away!
Smooth. Using the slight stickyness of the wet ribbon rub the negative down until it is smooth
Take into the sun. This is where the magic happens, watch your photos develop right before your eyes!
Wait. Leave your project in the sun for at least 5 minutes, up to 12 minutes in cloudy weather
Uncover. In a shady indoor area uncover your masterpiece!
Wash. Wash vigorously in HOT soapy water, preferably use a strong textile soap like synthrapol. If you do not wash enough your project may continue to develop after it is dry.
Dry. Dry your project without heat, just lay it out indoors (not in the sun) and let it dry completely
Enjoy! Use your beautiful custom ribbon however you want – be creative!
Just a question….does this ruin your negatives?
As it says in the article – it’s best to push the negatives for high contrast, so using a normally shot roll of your favorite memories probably isn’t the best idea. That said, I don’t think it will cause any significant damage to the negatives as long as you keep them emulsion side up, so the dye can’t touch the emulsion. It’s possible that you might get some minor staining, and dust contamination is always a consideration with negatives, so it’s worth scanning them before you use them if you want to be safe.
this is a really really cool idea!! My sister collects hair ribbons and I can’t wait to make her one of these!!
hey, this is such a cool technique,
But do the negatives have to be developed before hand??
hey, this is such a cool technique,
But do the negatives have to be developed before hand??
Yes, the negatives need to be developed first.
this would be really cool to do with x-rays! you should be able to get your x-rays from your doctor, especially if it’s from an older injury that’s already healed.
also, it is possible to have negatives duplicated with reversal film. a little bit of the image definition is lost, but it wouldn’t really be noticeable in this usage (since it’s not being blown up like a regular photo print). it’s also a little bit expensive, but might be worth it if you want to work with sentimental negatives that you don’t want to risk damaging.
Very cool! Could make good ribbons for gifts, too! Has anyone noticed if the dye leaves a residue on the negatives that would show up when printing them later in your darkroom?
Cat! I love your xray idea… so neat! Hmmm… who could I give an xray too…? haha
Could this be done with a regular photo enlarger, or it needs to be exposed to the sun?
I asked the same question – Any light source will work, so an enlarger should be fine
Hi Julie and Andrew, I have worked with Inkodye myself for several years and I would say an enlarger would not be powerful enough to develop the dye. It is true that you can use artificial light to develop it but it has to be REALLY REALLY strong. So I always use the sun because it’s easiest.
Can the negatives be used more than once?
The negatives should be reusable, yes
If an enlarger isn’t bright enough, then a slide projector might make a suitable alternative.
this looks amazing. can you do it with old brown/sepia negatives?
I would take reasonable precautions to make sure the negatives aren’t damaged, like adding an extra sheet between the negatives and the dye to make sure that the moisture/dye doesn’t get transferred to the negatives. Any form of negative should work, provided that they are relatively high contrast.
This kind of project would be great with lace, leaves, stencils or small opaque items too, I’ll bet. I’ve gone completely digital with my photography so I no longer have any negatives.
Where do I buy inkodye?
You could use printable transparency sheets for the digital photographer
Wow, I do believe this is my favorite blog by far. I have 4 cats and a love for all things girly and to be able to add pictures of my kitties onto my hair accessories sounds amazing! These would make great gifts too with different images. They add such a personal touch to an ordinary item. Thanks for sharing this great idea!
I’m almost certain that if you don’t put something transparent between your negatives and the ribbon that they could be easily ruined. It doesn’t take a whole lot to ruin negatives. You would still probably be able to print them, but the image might not be the same. And if you have to get the photoemulsion off of them then that might also hurt them.
Hey there! Just wanted to let you know we featured you in our Favorite Find Fridays post over at Whimsically Homemade. We used one of your pictures. If that’s a problem let us know and we’ll remove it immediately. Thanks for your great inspiration!
Could you do it with something other than ribbon? Say, perchance, a belt, so long as it’s made out of material and not leather?
Wow! Love this idea! Very unique and open to all sorts of adaptations