chemical to change ink color

hi everyone

i dont know if this the right place to ask so a big sorry up front if its in the wrong place :lol:

but i thought some of the older photography guys who used chemicals mite know

i need to change the ink color on a old u.s map thats come from a book from red to black,the reason is im going to frame it and the red is hard to see,

i should say the maps worthless so im not bothered about changing the color of it but it would look so much better in black

iv tried so many things using the pages but no luck...
does anyone know if there a chemical out there that will do it for me
any help would be great

thanks
den 8)

Why not rephotograph it in b&w, or in colour with a blue filter.

If you want to do it chemically, yikes, that's going to be hard. The inks are deliberately designed not to colour shift....

i want to keep it on the same original paper, there must be some chemical or way of doing it, i know it wont be easy but there must be a way

stalkerdenx said:

but i thought some of the older photography guys who used chemicals mite know

i need to change the ink color on a old u.s map thats come from a book from red to black,the reason is im going to frame it and the red is hard to see,


den 8)

Click to expand...

"older photography guys". Excuse me, but prefacing your question by insulting those from you you are requesting assistance isn't very suave.

Whether there is a chemical solutions depends entirely on the nature of the ink used to print the book.

Us 'older photography guys who used chemicals' probably can't help you because the photographic printing process is based on the light-sensitive properties of silver haloids, whereas conventional printing uses inks that could be either petroleum or water based and that used colored using pigments that could be either organic or inorganic. Without knowing the actual chemical properties of the ink, there is no way to definitively answer your question.

Generically, however, I suspect that the answer is that there is no chemical process that will change the color of the ink. The only solutions would be to either photograph the map using black and white film so that everything is reduced to shades of gray, or else scan the map to produce a file that can be manipulated using Photoshop or The Gimp.

And one more thing - there are a lot of us who still use (present tense) chemicals in photography.

dont get upset man...lol
i only ment older as in the younger people are using digital now days and wont have the experience as the older guys with chemicals..lol

but thanks for your help anyway

i believe the ink used is "red lead pigment mixed with linseed oil"
this there no chemicals that could turn the red lead pigment black

thanks

stalkerdenx said:

i believe the ink used is "red lead pigment mixed with linseed oil"
this there no chemicals that could turn the red lead pigment black

thanks

Click to expand...

As mentioned, this is really not a question for "older photography guys", but for chemists. If it's really a lead pigment, those were made for the fact that they were hardy and didn't change color easily (including resistance to fading). They can be altered with acids, but that will not leave the rest of the map intact (and might not darken the red, but lighten it). Supposedly, exposing it to hydrogen sulfide can darken it, but it could harm the rest of the map (and you).
It's very difficult to change one color of ink on a document without changing others or destroying the whole thing. The whole basis of forensic document exams is to look at an item with varying wavelengths of light to emphasize different colors and photograph each step for further exam. This way, the document will still exist and each ink can be looked at separately. You might be able to find a filter to view it with that will make the red pop out a bit better, but that's all I'd suggest.
If you try to use chemicals on this one document, you are most likely to damage it, wash out the ink, or (if you're extremely lucky) change nothing.