Batik design can be created via a large variety of dyes.

In the early days of batik, colors were made from natural plant sources.

The oldest color used in traditional batik making was blue. The blue color was made by mixing leaves of the Indigo plant with syrups of sugar and lime. It was possible to obtain lighter or darker blue by leaving the cloth in the dye bath for shorter or longer periods of time, up to several days.
The second color usually applied was a brown color called soga, which could vary from a light yellow to a dark brown. The dye came from the bark of the Soga tree.
Another color traditionally used was a dark red called mengkuda. The red dye was created from the leaves of the Morinda Citrifolia.
To enlarge the set of colors, batik designers tested and created their own recipes mixing substances of all kinds like fruit pulp or animal blood.
Men were usually responsible of executing the dying process, and dances or ceremonies were performed to ensure a successful result.

Today, batik dying is a process completely realized with chemical dyes.

While there are several ways of applying the dye, part or the totality of the cloth may be dipped in the dye bath.
When the fabric is dry, some parts can be waxed. This way, those parts will keep the color of the first dye. This process will be repeated until all the desired colors have been dyed. When the dying part is finished, the cloth is boiled to remove all of the wax. Usually some wax remains and that gives batik its characteristic stiffness and nice smell of beeswax.