Re: A question about inks
Many black inks are carbon black inks. India ink uses shellac as the binder. Japanese sumi is another example of carbon black but in hide glue as the binder. In terms of binder, sumi will mix easily with gelatin because hide glue and gelatin are very similar chemically. There are different kinds of sumi, varying from blue black to warm black. The difference is in the side distribution of the carbon particles. If you are seeking dye based black ink, check out Noodler's Ink made for fountain pens. It's more expensive than above inks, but they are dyes. (Otherwise the ink will clog the ink feeder mechanism in most fountain pens.) There are a few approaches to waterproof inks. Waterproof inks that uses water as the solvent uses the binder that becomes insoluble upon drying, or uses the dye that becomes chemically bound to the cellulose fiber upon drying. Usually, pigment inks use the former approach and dye inks the latter. I know Noodler's waterproof inks are dye based and they chemically bind with paper fibers. Noodler's waterproof inks drawn on non-paper substrates can be washed away easily by plain cold water. Examples of carbon black ink that is waterproof is Platinum Carbon Ink made for their special fountain pen. This is carbon ink but the binder becomes insoluble in water upon drying. The ink dissolves easily in less polar solvents such as 2-propanol. http://wiki.silvergrain.org/wiki/index.php/Pens_and_Inks On Tue, 12 Dec 2006 13:07:28 -0500, "Sandy King" <sanking@clemson.edu> said: > Can someone tell me if the India Ink used by lithographers is a > pigmented ink or a dye ink? And if they are pigmented, would anyone > know of a source for inks of other colors that disperse as easily in > water and gelatin solutions as India ink? > > Also, what is the difference between a waterproof and non-waterprooof > ink? > > Sandy >
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