Now, the leuco dye in the Frixion pens essentially needs to be activated to actually show up on your paper, fabric, wood or other type of surface and this is where the other two ingredients come into play. Upon initial usage as well as while kept at below 60°C, the leuco dye in the Frixion ink will interact with the color developer and be visible and remain that way provided that it does not go above 60°C. Thank you for your research. The information provided, and the comments / replies prove that this is a “hot button” (pun intended) for quilters! As the popularity of the Pilot Frixion range continues to grow with each passing month while showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon, we have constantly seen more and more questions being asked. Due to the unique properties of the Frixion range, we have noticed more and more people reaching out just to ask how do Frixion pens work? We also saw that some ink pens or markers, over time, could actually cause the fabric fibers to weaken and break down. Remember the reports of the mordants used in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s to set natural dyes for longer-lasting colors or to create the “rustle” in silks. Over time those very silk fabrics are now disintegrating, crumbling away from the clothing or crazy quilts? For an in-depth look at chemical dyes and mordants, the history of fabric dyeing and printing is covered thoroughly by researchers. Here are links to two noteworthy articles:

As to the ghost marks, I did not find a pattern as to which fabrics would show the marks. Some say that if you pre-wash your fabrics you won’t get those marks. That was not the case for me. So I had to test on any fabric I wanted to use them on to make sure I would not be left with ghost marks after steaming the ink marks away.

The marks will reappear if the quilt gets cold (anything below freezing I think-I did not confirm the specific temperature) unless the mark is completely removed with an ink remover. Even after a thorough steam of the marks, they will reappear in the cold. This is part of the inherent chemistry of the ink combination. If you’re not familiar with Frixion pens, they are a line of pens and highlighters made by Pilot that are heat erasable. Frixion pens make a crisp, clear mark which goes on smoothly and easily with no skipping. After quilting, you simply steam the ink lines away and poof, they are gone! This seems like the Holy Grail of marking methods for us quilters. It is important to note that Pilot did not design the pens for fabric and did not test them on fabric while developing the concept. If you do need to write on wood with your Frixion pen then the regular pens will almost always be the better option. If you are just using paper then all three variants of the pen should be good enough to use without issue. How Does The Frixion Pen Ink Work?

As a side note, the quilts I make are not for competition, they are for snuggling under, the clothing I make is for wearing, and as such are laundered just as anyone would regularly launder an item (I doubt most people would even know where to by Quilt Soap). That said though, we have noticed more and more people wanting to use their Frixion pen on fabric with a few wanting to use it on wood and this is where it becomes important to know how the pen works. Although the regular pens do work with fabric, the Fineliner or the Highlighters tend to be a better option for getting the Frixion ink onto any fabric with decent detail while retaining the erasable properties of the ink. Sometimes they left what I call a “ghost” mark after steaming the initial mark away. It was faint, but certainly not something you would want to see on your quilt. Well.. Thanks Tonya’s MOM.. you just saved my 9″ x40″ cotton quilt banner that I made for a little boys quilt.. I embroidered a Barn, Semi. and the John Deere tractor with the hay wagons pulling all the letters of the little boys name. This is what the majority of people actually want to know when they ask how a Frixion pen works due to the unique thermo-sensitive ink that the Frixion range use. Keep in mind that the competing erasable pens on the market that use a friction erasable ink also use a very similar system to the Frixion range but at the time of writing, the vast majority are no where near as effective as what Pilot use.

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Frixion pens sometimes leave a ghost mark after steaming. This is the thermo ink showing on the quilt, not the gel. The Pilot rep said to rid the piece of ghost marks you would need to treat it with the ink removers listed above. Quilters wrote articles noting that if the marks reappeared in the cold, it was because the quilter did not thoroughly steam the marks. This simply is not the case. The ink combination used in the pens has two parts-one part makes the mark and one part makes the mark disappear. There is still ink left on your quilt after steaming, you just can’t see it. The ink is still there and will reappear in the cold.

Thank you, all, for your thoughts and sharing your experiences. Many quilts take a significant amount of time, the cost of the materials can also be significant. Each of us must decide whether the risk is worth the use of the Frixion pen or other chemically-based products. With a 0.7mm medium tip, Frixion Ball erasable ink pens offer precise lines and smooth, fluid writing. Boasting a grip, the ergonomic pen offers a comfortable hold. The cap has a handy clip allowing you to clip it to papers and notebooks and bring it everywhere with you.

Frixion & me

They are fantastic for school. Like regular gel pens, the ink easily flows & does not pool or dry in the tip. Unlike regular gel pens, they form a very thin line & can actually be erased. Students who use Frixion pens tend to have neater papers than those using ballpoint pens (which can also sometimes be erased) or other gel pens (which cannot be erased at all) and I’ve yet to see a single instance where a student ended up with ink all over his/her hands from a Frixion pen. I’m 100% in favor of them on paper. I personally don’t allow them anywhere near my sewing studio.

I do not know whether anyone else mentioned this, but we also have “other chemicals” that could be interacting with the inks – these would be waxes and any treatment used on batiks to easily lift the wax after the dye is applied, the chemicals in the dyes, the chemistry of our water in the area where we live – perhaps this water element is THE key contributing factor that affects the ability of some quilters to remove the ink when laundering and others who saw no difference after laundering. Although the majority of people tend to want to know about the thermo-sensitive ink technology, the actual ink delivery system is also important when it comes to how your pen works. The highlighter and fineliner variants of the pens use the standard felt transfer system where the ink in the pens ink cylinder is drawn to the felt nib and in turn transfered to your paper when pressure is applied. Whether you're sketching, writing heartfelt stories, or creating playful doodles, this pen's remarkable erasability gently guides you to effortlessly refine and modify your creations as you please. The smooth and seamless writing experience it offers turns every stroke into a delightful adventure, fostering joy and creativity. Another source of chemicals would are the brand of spray starch or fabric finishes used during the pressing process. This is my fourth and hopefully my final post on Frixion pens. A recent discussion on FaceBook prompted me to explore this one last time. Some prominent quilters and artists have said things about the Frixion pens that I have not found to be true in my own experience, so I needed to get the facts. I ended up talking directly with a rep at Pilot to get the facts. Frixion penI know of a person who filled out some paperwork with a Frixion pen, and gave the papers to someone else. Of course she left them in a hot car, not knowing what could happen. Oh no! It’s blank! So the author re-wrote the paper, not knowing that the freezer would solve this issue. I do think we need to continue to pass the word about the “hazards” of using these pens. I work in a quilt shop. I was first introduced to Frixion pens because they are an amazing tool for drafting patterns. I also learned the hard way that steaming Frixion ink set it. Which makes sense as we are told never to use heat on stains such as grass or blood or it will cause them to set. The last thing I want to do is stream (temperatures in excess of 220 degrees) pigment onto fabric. For this reason I have never told a customer to steam the ink. I tell customers to use a cool iron – nothing hotter than the silk/rayon setting on an iron (120 degrees). This will cause the ink to disappear without setting it. The ink will then wash out with regular laundry detergent on warm wash – just like most ink does. When you need to erase the ink of your Pilot Frixion, you simply apply friction with the eraser that is included on the end of your pen to warm your ink up. Although most people do tend to be surprised by this, it really does not take much to raise the temperature of the ink above 60°C to activate the temperature regulator in the ink. At this stage, the regulator activates and stops the interaction between the leuco dye and color developer making the ink from your Frixion disappear.