Tag: frixion

Frixion card

On By CarynIn art, Life Hack

I ran an experiment with my sister. I decorated a card with Frixion pens, markers, and highlighters, then “erased” it by ironing. The way Frixion ink erases is by heat; when you use the little eraser it creates friction with the paper and generates enough heat to deactivate the ink color. Neat. The super cool science geeky part is that if you freeze the paper, the ink reactivates. I tested the card in my own freezer, then heated it again. I’m not sure how many times the ink can be cycled, but I know it is over four (that is how many times I’ve tested it previously before getting distracted). The colors fade slightly in the first cycle, but not much in subsequent activations.

Photo description: white card with floral designs, half erased, on an ironing board with the edge of the iron in view.
Photo description: Blank white card, with the erased design barely visible.
Photo description: Back of card, with “Put in freezer” written in regular ink.

Since the markings don’t erase completely (there are shadows and indents), I did a little misdirection and wrote the instructions on the back of the card. I put it in an envelope and mailed it to my sister. She reported back that it worked! I will have to wait until next summer to send another one; having the card sit in a freezing cold mail box would defeat the trick.

I probably get a bigger kick out of this than is normal for an adult.

Dissapearing reappearing ink

On By CarynIn Craft

We’ve had Pilot Frixion pens in our house for a few years because they were recommended for my youngest as something that makes an easy dark mark, but is erasable. (We keep a stock of #1 pencils as well.) I recently found out that it is the friction heat from the eraser that “erases” the ink, and microwaves can make the ink disappear as well. Time for an experiment!

Test paper, with marks from a standard Pilot G-2 pen, and six different colors of Pilot Frixion pens
Test paper, with “Pilot” erased with the attached Frixion eraser
Test paper after 1 minute on high in the microwave (the red and orange were positioned in the center of the microwave turntable)
Test paper after a night in the freezer (I forgot about it!)

The regular pen ink behaved as expected, with no change after exposure to heat or cold. The Frixion ink does disappear when “erased” with the attached eraser, but also when subjected to 1 minute on high in the microwave. We found 1 minute to be the minimum time required. The best part is that when the paper is placed in the freezer, all the ink reappears! There is some fading, but it is all quite readable. I have cycled the paper four times through the heat/cold process, and the writing is still visible after a couple hours in the freezer.

I have been using these pens to write on greeting cards because I can erase. Hm. If mailed a card to the north during the winter, I guess those mistakes come back. Good to know.