Have you heard of aniline leather? It’s used in the construction of countless products, some of which include jackets, purses, belts, wallets and even furniture. Like all leather, aniline leather consists of animal hide. It’s made by tanning and processing animal hide. But aniline leather is a specific type of leather that’s distinguished from all other types.
Overview of Aniline Leather
Aniline leather is a type of real leather that receives its color from a particular type of soluble dye. Known as an aniline dye, it dictates the color of aniline leather. All aniline leather is exposed to aniline dye during production. After soaking up the aniline dye, its color will change.
Leather has a soft brown color by default. You can find leather, however, in other colors besides soft brown. Some of the alternative colors in which leather is made include black, red, white and even green. To achieve an alternative color, leather is dyed. Aniline leather is dyed using aniline dye.
The Aniline Dyeing Process
Different manufacturers use different dyeing aniline dyeing processes, but they all involve submerging real leather into a bath of water and aniline dye. Aniline dye is soluble. Soluble, of course, means that it dissolves in water. To produce aniline leather, manufacturers fill a container with water and aniline dye, after which they submerge the leather in this solution.
Real leather is porous. If you examine it under a microscope, you’ll notice that it has many small and shallow holes on the surface. These holes allow real leather to absorb moisture, including aniline dye. It will soak up the aniline dye so that it takes the color of the dye. If black aniline dye is used, the leather will turn black. If white aniline leather is used, it will turn white. Regardless, manufacturers can achieve different colors for real leather by dyeing it. Aniline leather is a type of real leather that’s been exposed to soluble, aniline dye.
Most leather products are dyed during production. Only those that feature a soft brown color typically aren’t dyed. This is because leather is naturally soft brown after being tanned. To achieve a different color, manufacturers must dye it. Manufacturers will initially tan the leather, after which they’ll expose the tanned leather to a dye. Some leather products are dyed using an insoluble dye. Others are dyed using a soluble dye like aniline dye.
Full vs Semi-Aniline: What’s the Difference?
There’s full aniline, and there’s semi-aniline. Full aniline is a dyeing process in which leather is exposed exclusively to aniline dye. Semi-aniline is a dyeing process in which leather is exposed to both aniline dye and a traditional insoluble dye.
Aniline dye is considered higher quality than insoluble dyes. It offers a stronger, deeper color when exposed to real leather. Manufacturers can still change the color of real leather by exposing it to an insoluble dye. But insoluble dyes produce a lighter and more inconsistent color than their soluble counterparts.
Aniline dyeing process can be classified as either full or semi depending on whether they involve the use of a soluble dye. Full aniline dyeing process only use aniline dye; they don’t use a soluble dye. Semi-aniline dyeing process, on the other hand, use both aniline dye and a soluble dye.
Advantages of Aniline Leather
While available in different types, most aniline leather falls under the category of full-grain leather. Full-grain leather features the entire grain. When manufacturers produce leather, they may remove some of the grain. But they don’t remove any of the grain when producing full-grain leather. Full-grain leather, such as aniline leather, has its entire original grain intact.
There are many different grades of leather. Full-grain leather is the highest grade. Below full-grain leather is corrected-grain leather, followed by split leather. Regardless, most aniline leather falls under the category of full-grain leather because the entire grain is left intact.
Aniline leather offers a more natural, distinct surface appearance than other types of leather. This is due to the fact that’s made with aniline dye, which is soluble. Imperfections on the surface of real leather will remain visible after being exposed to aniline dye. The end result is a more natural appearance that’s synonymous with real leather.
Most people will agree that aniline leather ages more gracefully than other types of leather. Real leather will, in fact, shows signs of aging. It won’t necessarily succumb to damage. Rather, leather will develop areas of fading and other subtle signs of aging over the years. All types of real leather will age, but aniline leather typically ages more gracefully than its counterparts.
Disadvantages of Aniline Leather
Aniline leather typically costs more than other types of leather. After all, most aniline leather is classified as full-grain leather, which is the highest quality type of leather on the market. If you’re on a budget, you may want to choose a different type of leather. Aniline leather costs more than other types of leather.
If you’re going to buy a garment made of aniline leather, you’ll need to maintain it. All types of leather can stain. But aniline leather is more susceptible to stains than other types of leather. Spilled drinks or liquids may result in stains that are difficult to remove. This is because aniline leather is more absorbent than other types of leather. It will absorb stain-causing drinks and liquids, and upon setting, you may struggle to remove them from the aniline leather.
Not all leather garments are available in aniline leather. Aniline leather is less common than other types of real leather, such as napa leather. Napa leather is another type of high-quality leather, and like aniline leather, it’s typically classified as full-grain leather. But napa leather is often dyed using different pigments.
In Conclusion
Not all leather is the same. Aniline leather is a specific type of leather that, as the name suggests, is dyed using aniline dye. Aniline is a soluble dye, allowing for a stronger color and more natural surface appearance than other types of leather.