#India ink ingredients free#

Delivery Ī range of different coloured Pilot Iroshizuku inks for sale in Tokyo, 2019

Mixing inks may also alter the solubility of some dye components for example, an alcohol-based ink may contain components that are insoluble in water, and these will precipitate or coagulate if the alcohol-based ink is mixed with a water-based ink. The colour of many dyes depends on pH, and some lose their colour entirely outside a certain pH range. This is a result of chemical reactions between the different components. Some combinations of inks may cause unexpected colour changes, even if the inks are from the same manufacturer. Some users mix inks to create their own colours. If the ink's surface tension were too high, then it would not flow through the pen if it were too low, then the ink would run out of the pen with less control.

Surfactants reduce the surface tension of the ink distilled water has a surface tension of 72 dyn/cm (72 × 10 −3 N/m), but the desirable value for ink is between 38 and 45 dyn/cm (38 to 45 × 10 −3 N/m). In addition to water, the non-dye components (collectively referred to as the vehicle) might include polymeric resins, humectants to retard premature drying, pH modifiers, anti-foaming agents, biocides to prevent fungal and bacterial growth, and wetting agents ( surfactants). Blue inks often contain triarylmethane dye. Modern formulations of iron gall ink are somewhat less corrosive and are still occasionally used in applications that require permanence. Iron gall ink was used in fountain pens when they were invented but has the disadvantage of causing corrosion to metal parts. Stark's ink was one iron gall ink recipe, named after the Scottish chemist who devised it after spending several decades experimenting with hundreds of formulations. Prior to the ready availability of manufactured ink, iron gall ink was often homemade. This blue-black ink is made from iron salts and tannic acid from vegetable sources. Ī form of ink that predates fountain pens by centuries is iron gall ink. These qualities may be compromised in the interests of permanence, manufacturability and in order to use some widely available dyes.

#India ink ingredients free#

The ideal fountain pen ink is free-flowing, free of sediment, and non-corrosive. They have the advantage of being waterproof and are used by artists who want to draw lines that won't be affected by a watercolour wash. Some pigmented inks do exist for fountain pens, but these nanoparticle inks use pigments that are very finely ground to reduce the chance of clogging. India ink, a carbon pigment-based ink, also contains a binder, gum arabic, which can quickly clog such pens. Pigment-based inks (which contain solid pigment particles in a liquid suspension) tend to clog the narrow passages of the pen. Blot of Quink ink on damp paper – the blue dye has separated from the other components, which are peach-colouredįountain pen ink is almost exclusively dye-based because fountain pens operate on the principle of capillary action.