How to make fountain pen ink. Start in science. Why does the study need materials from other participants?

There is no clear answer to this question, but some conclusions can be drawn from history, rules and other points. In printed books, the ink color is black for utilitarian reasons (as in books published before 1444, when dear Gutenberg invented the printing press, this is if you do not take into account the history of printing from Asia): the paper was and remains about white in color, accordingly the most readable text will be black. Here it should be noted that the beginnings of paragraphs were highlighted in red for ease of reading (hence the expression “from the red line”). The ink in fountain pens has also been predominantly black for almost the entire history of their existence. For the same reasons as in the books. And now a few stories about why people now prefer blue, which have little to do with each other:

The quality of the ink and the poor quality of the manufacturers. The composition of the ink varies, but in addition to the solvent and modifier, there is always the dye itself. They are different, for example magenta (violet, close to black at high concentrations) and indigo (blue, respectively). Aniline, by the way, obtained by distilling indigo with lime, although toxic, was used in ink for some time because, paradoxically, it quickly oxidized and dried out. If you dilute the ink with water, the color fades, and there is more ink for sale, so you get a dark (for example) blue.

Or dilution with water or modifying substances that affect viscosity, density and uniformity was done for other reasons: to improve the properties of the ink and the ease of writing. The color also changed accordingly. So, at the end of the 19th century, Prussian ink appeared of blue color, which had quite an impressive success all over the world, becoming the main type of ink used in Japan for non-calligraphic writing.

People preferred ink other than book color to make notes easier to recognize. For example, left in the fields. This makes them easier to notice.

With the advent of ballpoint and automatic pens, people began to worry much less about the ease of writing, so it also became easier to play with composition and color. The ink's viscosity and density increased significantly and it was possible to add all sorts of other dyes without much increase in cost.

In many institutions, official documents were allowed to be signed only in blue ink, because this made it easier to distinguish the original from a photocopy. And not green or red, because blue is still the most unpretentious color and does not make the document tacky.

Russian schools probably tried to create uniformity and some canonicity in writing, and for some reason they settled on blue ink.

And then there are only human preferences, based on all this as a kind of cultural ink heritage. Most people prefer blue ink, which is why manufacturers make more of it. Where there is demand, there is supply.

And it is not true in general that blue ink is preferred everywhere. Mexico, for example, requires only blacks in schools and government agencies. And in schools in the USA, in general, many things are allowed to be written only in pencil, so that later you can erase a mistake, for example.

I don’t know of any specific books that study the history of modern writing and ink colors in particular, but you can pick up a little from everywhere: from Jan Tschichold in “The Shape of a Book”, and from the classic “History of Writing” by Johann Friedrich, and even from McLuen in “ Gutenberg Galaxy", although there is not much there at all.

Several years ago, when I became interested in CISS, I downloaded (for personal use) like a vacuum cleaner from the Internet everything related to CISS, without noting the original source and authors.
Now I regret it.
It turned out to be a large archive, so I decided to post some articles and photographs on the forum.
I think it will be interesting for beginners.

I found an article in my archive about experiments with ink and recipes.
I doubt that there will be anyone willing to conduct such experiments, but for reference, I think it will be useful.

First, I’ll list the recipes that I found on the Internet (you’ve probably already come across them)

1) Recipe from the Institute of Microelectronics and Informatics of the Russian Academy of Sciences
The recipe was developed at the Institute of Microelectronics and Informatics of the Russian Academy of Sciences for the Canon BJ 300 printer, where it was widely used. The main component is black chrome dye, used in the production of felt boots and tarpaulin boots. Of course, it’s not the most accessible chemical, but you can get it if you want. The dye is dissolved in distilled water until completely saturated (i.e., dissolved in water heated to 60-70 degrees “all the way” and allowed to cool). After this, glycerin is added. Unfortunately, the proportion of glycerin can only be specified for Canon BJ 300 printers with a resolution of 300 dpi - 40%. Glycerin is added to increase the viscosity of the ink. Obviously, its proportion will have to be selected experimentally. Before use, it is recommended to carefully filter the composition.

Comment: Could not try because... I couldn’t get this dye, but I can say that the print will most likely be grayish in color since the dye is water soluble.

| Message Posted 01 April 2006 - 11:32

Continuation

2) Composition, for Canon BJC-250 40% isopropyl alcohol, 40% medical glycerin and 20% dye. Any liquid, water- or alcohol-soluble dye, for example foreign-made ink, is suitable for the latter. You can also use domestic ones, but only after careful filtration. The cartridge can withstand at least 10 refills with this ink.
Comment: I haven’t tried it and don’t plan to, Isopropyl alcohol is a highly toxic substance! There are easier ways to ruin your health!

3) Recipes by Yachen P. A.) Found in the magazine "Radio Amateur" 8/96 page 9 a recipe for preparing ink for inkjet printer: "INK COMPOSITION. Take "Rainbow" ink, add 30% (by volume) to it. ethyl alcohol and 5% glycerin. Boil the resulting mixture for 10-15 minutes over low heat and filter through a layer of cotton wool. Domestic print heads can withstand 30...35 refills, while imported ones can withstand up to 80."

Comment: It was on the basis of this recipe that the first experiments were carried out, thanks, Yachen!
B.) (violet with smoothed dots) Take “Rainbow” ink, add 2-3% (by volume) ethyl alcohol to it. Boil the resulting mixture for 10-15 minutes over low heat and filter through a layer of cotton wool. Comment: The print is really blurry, but you can’t leave a cartridge filled with such ink in the printer - it will leak!

Quote: I tested homemade ink. 5% glycerin was not enough - the ink flowed, 20% glycerin - optimal solution. The color turned out not black, but gray towards dark green. Quite water resistant. Boil the ink for one minute, then wait until it cools down to room temperature, filtered and filled into the cartridge Read more about glycerin. From the letters I receive, the following conclusions can be drawn: for printers with a resolution of 300 dpi, 40-50% glycerin is needed to the total volume (that is, almost 1/1 - ink/glycerin, plus a little alcohol). for printers with a resolution of 600 dpi, 5-20% glycerin is required.

Comment: Let's start in order:
It is not at all necessary to boil the ink; in addition, during boiling, some of the alcohol and water will evaporate and, therefore, the viscosity will change!
I DO NOT recommend filtering through cotton wool, it is better to take paper filters of 0.9-0.5 (see below) 40-50...5-20 and how much exactly? For which model? (see below)

| Message Posted 01 April 2006 - 11:34

Continuation

And now I present my technology step by step and recipes:

You will need:
Necessary equipment: several flat-bottomed flasks, a graduated cylinder or beaker, glasses, a funnel, containers for ready-made ink, 20 ml syringes (if you don’t have something, any household utensils will do), paper filters with a pore size of 0.9 microns or less (ideally 0.3 microns, but you'll have trouble filtering like that) Preparing dishes: wash with soap, wipe dry, scald with boiling water.
Necessary reagents: GAMMA "rainbow" ink of any desired color (or other water-soluble ink for pens can be Parker, for example :-))), alcohol, glycerin, distilled water (if not, boiled water will do), it is also advisable to have a glass cleaner "Ajaks professional" is a transparent bottle with a spray bottle and the liquid itself is blue.
Attention DO NOT use stamp ink!!! It contains adhesive components that will instantly clog the head!
If you use ink not named in the recipes, you should boil it; if during boiling it coagulates (coagulates, forms a sediment), such ink cannot be used!
Ink preparation steps
a) prepare the components in the specified way
b) mix all the ingredients named in the recipe in exact proportions
c) filter the mixture through a filter by gravity or with a pump.
d) refill into the cartridge

| Message Posted 01 April 2006 - 11:38

Continuation

Recipes: (In order of experimentation and improvement)

"Black" ink

*placed in quotes because our domestic black ink RAINBOW
upon closer inspection they are somewhat green in color.

№1
1. 27% black ink "rainbow" evaporated to 50% by volume
2. 18% alcohol
3. 55% glycerin
4. Characteristics: Pale dark green print flows from the print head

№2
1. 44% black ink "rainbow" reduced to 35% by volume
2. 18% alcohol
3. 35% glycerin
4. 3% AJAKS remedy
Characteristics: rich dark green print, almost no flow.

№3
1. 47% black ink "rainbow" reduced to 25% by volume
2. 20% alcohol
3. 30% glycerin
4. 3% AJAKS remedy
Characteristics: almost black print with a tint of dark green, does not flow.

№4
1. 40% black ink "PARKER Quink" evaporated to 30% by volume
2. 30% alcohol
3. 30% glycerin

Characteristics: rich dark gray with a hint of green print, almost no flow
Print quality is good (letters are clearer)

Purple ink
№1
1. 27% purple ink "rainbow"
2. 18% alcohol
3. 55% glycerin
Characteristics: pale purple print, flowing from the "snake" and print head.

№2
1. 45% purple ink "rainbow" evaporated to 50% by volume
2. 16% alcohol
3. 35% glycerin
4. 4% AJAKS remedy
Characteristics: Purple, slightly blurry print, leaking from the print head.

№3
1. 30% purple ink "rainbow" reduced to 20% by volume
2. 40% alcohol
3. 30% glycerin

Characteristics: high-quality purple, printed, almost do not flow.

№4
1. 38% purple ink "rainbow" reduced to 10% by volume
2. 37% alcohol
3. 25% glycerin
4. AJAKS agent may not be added
Characteristics: dark purple, print, do not flow.

| Message Sent April 01, 2006 - 11:40

Continuation

Develop your own recipe!

1. choice of dye: first of all, the dye that you will use in your recipe must be water-soluble and not pigmented, to check this - drop it on a piece of ordinary (80 g/m) paper, if it saturates it and stains it with reverse side, then it will most likely fit. If the ink (dye) remains on one side, and uncolored liquid appears on the other side, such a dye cannot be used! I’ll say right away: most construction tints, as well as tints for car paints, are not suitable. And one more thing - if you are planning to choose the colors of Cyan Magnetta Yello (for a color cartridge), it’s better not to try - even the manufacturers of cartridge refills have failed to do this, unless you want to constantly print in one color - orange, for example. In the latter case, use Easter or food colors after pre-boiling and filtering. Attention! If you use food coloring or other tinting mixtures, carefully read the ingredients on the package! Dyes containing molasses, sugar, glue and other foreign components (besides dye) are not suitable!

2. determination of the viscosity of the finished ink: After the ink is ready, it is necessary to compare its viscosity with the “native ink”; to do this, take any syringe, for example, 5 ml, put on a needle, turn it over, quickly pour in a certain volume of “native ink” ", for example, 3 ml and we note the time during which the ink will flow out - this is the ideal to which the viscosity of homemade ink will need to be adjusted. Attention, determine the viscosity of your ink using the same syringe under the same conditions! .If the viscosity is low, add glycerin, increase the concentration (evaporation) of the original ink. If it is high, add alcohol, AJAKS (the latter is preferable because it reduces the viscosity without changing the density of the ink) If you don’t have any “native ink” left, the viscosity should be approximately 3ml in 10 minutes.

| Message Posted 02 April 2006 - 10:00 P$ux


Brought to mind the Chinese toy "Magic Pen". On one side there is a paste with “invisible” ink, on the other there is a flashlight, in the light of which the ink glows blue. So, the pen leaves a fairly deep mark on the paper, from which you can read what is written without resorting to backlighting. How would one put such ink into a printer? :D

| Message Posted 05 April 2006 - 19:31 Episode

P$ux (Apr 2 2006, 10:00 AM) wrote:

There is an idea to make "invisible" ink.


Such ink is commercially available. Designed for applying security marks to documents, decorating evening clubs, discos, etc. They glow in ultraviolet light, but are not visible in white light.
I came across a set of “photos”, i.e. with light flowers.
IMHO, it will not only not be easy to push yourself, but it will also not be profitable.
| Message Posted 05 April 2006 - 19:41 YuHa

V&W, I should have posted on this topic about “viscosity”.
Anyway.
I support the idea and method of controlling “fluidity” using the drip method. Moreover, this is a professional way.
I'll experiment one of these days.

| Message Posted 07 April 2006 - 22:46 SPAWN

There is an idea to make "invisible" ink. They become visible under the influence of radiation.
Brought to mind the Chinese toy "Magic Pen". On one side there is a paste with “invisible” ink, on the other there is a flashlight, in the light of which the ink glows blue. So, the pen leaves a fairly deep mark on the paper, from which you can read what is written without resorting to backlighting. How would one put such ink into a printer? biggrin.gif


I’ve been thinking about a similar idea for a long time, only not “invisible” ones, but transparent fluorescent ones
which are visible under ultraviolet light.
Recently appeared C 42 (my little polygon: P) I just need to find ink.
I think it might be in a joke shop.
| Message Posted 14 April 2006 - 23:09 delfin

How about edible pictures? I heard that there is edible paper (either rice or corn), how about making ink from food dyes (edible), you could decorate cakes - it’s cute and you can make money on it B)

| Message Posted April 15, 2006 - 01:46

Need a confectionery printer for printing on DECOJET EVOLUTION food paper
Decojet Evolution uses wafer or sugar paper and edible ink for printing. In addition, a special medium, Shocotransfer, is offered for transferring images onto chocolate.

The text of the work is posted without images and formulas.
Full version work is available in the "Work Files" tab in PDF format

Introduction

One day in the summer, my grandfather and I were walking near the forest. It began to rain, and we ran to hide under a tree. It turned out to be a large century-old oak tree. I saw green balls on its leaves and asked my grandfather what they were?

Grandfather said that oak leaves often contain balls that look like berries or nuts - galls. Galls on oak trees appear due to insects called gall moths. They land on a leaf, pierce its skin and lay the last egg inside, from which a larva hatches, which begins to feed on the tissues of the leaf and causes their abnormal growth, as a result of which a gall is formed, and the larva receives a safe shelter. Growing gallworms overwinter in galls, and at the end of spring adult insects emerge from the galls. He also told me how his grandmother used these balls to make ink when she was in school. On the way home, I thought: “I wonder what the ink I write with is made of”? When I arrived home, I told my mother everything, and we decided to find out when ink appeared, what it is made from now, and try to make ink ourselves according to my great-great-grandmother’s recipe.

Goal: to study the history of origin and methods of making ink.

Tasks:

1. Study the history of ink creation.

2. Find out what kind of ink they used to write in the past and write with now.

3. Conduct a survey in the class to find out whether the children know what they used to make ink from before and what they are making now.

4. Making ink at home.

Object of study: ink.

Subject of research: preparing ink at home.

Research methods:

1.Collection and analysis of information,

2. Setting up the experiment,

3. Drawing up a questionnaire with different types questions, conducting a survey, analyzing the results.

Relevance . Currently, ink is made from artificial dyes. And ink made from plant ingredients is environmentally friendly and safe.

Hypothesis: Ink can be obtained at home using galls.

Theoretical part.

1. History of ink creation.

It is difficult to meet a person who does not use ink and does not know what it is. But how many of us know the history of the origin, chemical composition ink.

As soon as humanity had the need to write something down and preserve it for posterity, special compositions for writing appeared. The first ink was made quite simply: soot was mixed with something sticky. In Egypt, for these purposes, they used ash from burning papyrus roots, which was combined with a solution of gum - sticky thick juice of acacia and cherry. Almost the same ink was used 2.5 thousand years ago in China. They were made from a mixture of soot, plant resin and an alkaline solution. More precisely, it was ink that had a very significant drawback: over time, it became brittle and bounced off the paper at the folds.

In ancient times, people made ink from cuttlefish. Cuttlefish and fellow octopuses have a special ink sac, from which the animals, in a moment of danger, release an “ink bomb” for camouflage. The ink bags were dried in the sun and pounded.

Later, people came up with the idea of ​​using silver and gold to make ink. In Byzantium and Russia, scribes ground honey with thin gold and silver leaves, then washed the honey, but the elegant gold and silver letters remained. However, this ink was not cheap.

Therefore, people looked for the possibility of using cheaper writing material. Such ink could be made from gall nuts - such growths on the branches and leaves of trees on which the gall larvae lived. Juice was squeezed out of such “nuts”, which was added to glue and iron ore (later iron sulfate.) In addition to galls, the bark of various tree species (alder, oak, spruce, larch, ash, etc.) was also used.

This ink has interesting property- they themselves are lightly colored, and the color appears over time. Therefore, it is difficult to immediately re-read what is written; it will only be clearly visible after 10-12 hours, so it was difficult for a medieval copyist to even detect a copying error.

However, this ink has been used for many centuries. After all, the ink is of high quality - it penetrates deep into the paper, adheres well, does not fade in the sun, and the resulting color is pleasant.

In 1885, the Saxon teacher Leonhardi invented alizarin ink. They were also gall-like, but not colorless-turbid, but intensely blue-green. On paper they faded to deep black. This was achieved with the help of krappa - a product of special processing of the roots of the eastern madder plant. That gall ink was used almost until the middle of the 20th century.

And in 1938, the Hungarian artist, sculptor and journalist L. Biro and his brother received a patent for the invention of a ballpoint pen, in which ink was supplied to the writing ball using piston pressure. Later in Austria, liquid ink was replaced with ink paste. main feature which, unlike its predecessor, is that it dries quickly when exposed to air. This is how the first ballpoint pen appeared and the story of endless ways to prepare ink ended.

2. Modern ink.

Modern ink has little in common with the aforementioned primitive material of ancient times, except for one property. All inks are homogeneous mixtures of carrier and colorant with other substances often added to give the material special properties. The carrier may be a simple solvent, but most carriers consist of a solvent and a resin or other fairly volatile compound dissolved in it; sometimes refined or unrefined oils are used as carriers. A colorant is a mixture of pigments or dyes. Writing ink must have a number of special properties in order to meet its intended purpose. The most common of these properties are homogeneity, fluidity, physical and chemical stability, as low and harmless an odor as possible, intense color and the formation of a non-stick film upon drying. The solvent for these inks is usually water, although organic solvents may be added in small quantities to improve fluidity and stability.

3. It's interesting

The mystery of the ink of Mongolian monks has not yet been solved. They knew how to make mother-of-pearl, ruby, and sapphire ink. And yet, ink flows out of all types of pens, including ballpoint pens, due to gravity. Therefore, during space flight in a state of weightlessness, they cannot be used. American scientists have been struggling for a long time to improve pens for astronauts. Our compatriots did it simpler and provided the astronauts with... simple pencils.

Research part

1) Preparing ink at home.

After studying the information received, I decided to prepare my own ink in the same way as my great-great-grandmother did.

I will need:

Galls (growths on oak branches and leaves)

Glass jar

Rusty nails (instead of copper sulfate).

For the most important ingredient, galls, my mother and I went into the forest.

Upon arriving home, I cut the galls, and at the same time made sure that gallworm larvae actually live in the galls:

We put rusty nails there

Fill with water and close the lid. Leave this entire mixture for 10-14 days.

While the ink I made was infusing, I asked my grandfather to borrow feathers for writing from the geese that live in his village.

After two weeks, the mixture I prepared turned dark blue.

Now you can try to write something.

When I wrote this inscription, I was constantly worried about making a blot or smearing everything. After all, a feather or fountain pen will write only if it is placed correctly on the paper and moved at the right angle.

And most importantly, I am very glad that I live in the 21st century and have my favorite ballpoint pen.

2) Questioning classmates on the research topic A survey of classmates was conducted on the research topic. The results are reflected in the diagram.

To the question: “Do you know what ink was made from before (back in ancient times)?” - the whole class answered negatively.

To the question: “Do you know what the modern ink you write with now is made from?” - 21 people answered negatively. To the question: “Would you like to learn how to make ink yourself?” - the whole class answered “Yes.”

The results of the survey showed that classmates were little familiar with the recipes for preparing both modern ink and the ink they used to write with in the past. However, this topic interested them, and they would like to learn how to make ink themselves.

Conclusions:

While studying literature, I learned that the first ink was invented in ancient times.

I found out that the recipes for making ink were constantly changing in accordance with those natural materials, which were available in each specific territory, and were improved with the development of science and technology. Some recipes have survived from antiquity to the present day, while others have remained a secret.

I compiled a questionnaire and conducted a survey among classmates, as a result of which I found out that out of 25 students (100%):

    Know the recipe for making ink before - 0 people. (0%)

    They know the recipe for preparing modern mobs - 4 people. (16%)

    Would like to learn how to make ink yourself - 25 people. (100%)

During the experiment, it was possible to establish that ink can be prepared at home.

Conclusion

After doing research, I learned a lot of new and interesting information about ink. Also, during research work, I confirmed my hypothesis that you can make real ink yourself at home. Only they differ from modern ones in composition, consistency, color saturation and are not convenient for daily use.

Bibliography

Nemirovsky E.L. Journey to the origins of Russian book printing. - M.: Education, 1991. - 224 p.

Tereshin A. Nostalgia for the inkwell // Kalina Krasnaya. - 2012. - No. 4. - P. 3.

3. http://allforchildren.ru/why/where1-12.php

4. http://museo-2015.livejournal.com/20633.html

5. http://www.orgprint.com/wiki/strujnaja-pechat/istorija-sozdanija-chernil

Annex 1

Questionnaire

1. Do you know what ink was made from before (back in ancient times)?

2.Do you know what the modern ink you write with now is made from?

3. Would you like to learn how to make ink yourself?

Every day we use ballpoint pens, there are printers on desktops that work almost without interruption. We are already so accustomed to this that we don’t think about how it works. And the first step towards the invention of all these convenient devices became a recipe for an amazing composition that can leave lasting marks on paper and fabric. However, today we want to talk about what ink is made of. Brief excursion into history and modern technologies will be interesting for adults and children.

Ancient tomes

The thinnest parchment, lines written on tanned leather, ancient manuscripts always amaze with the fact that you can still easily make out what is written. The first ink was made very simply - they mixed soot with something sticky. It was essentially mascara that dried out and cracked. In addition, it was quite viscous; you had to get the hang of it to make a beautiful line. At that time the recipe was strictly classified. Only the clergy knew what ink was made of. By the way, there were many variations. They took honey as a base and added gold powder to it. A composition made from elderberries and walnut. But all this has already sunk into oblivion. Today, ink production has become simple and affordable. Let's follow the chain further.

Ink from gall nuts

Continuing to look, we cannot forget the famous discovery, namely special growths on oak leaves. They are called galls, and insect larvae - gallworms - live in them. That is why the growths are called ink nuts. The juice was squeezed out of them, then mixed with iron sulfate and glue was added. The result was a durable composition with a beautiful shine. Even today, the surviving manuscripts look very fresh. However there was one important nuance. This ink was colorless; what was written could be read only when the letters were dry.

Revolution in history

In the 19th century, people became more educated; many already knew what ink was made of. In 1885, another coup was carried out. The teacher invented alizarin ink. They were also gall, but had an intense color thanks to a unique additive. Blue-green in the bottle, they turned black when applied to paper. This was achieved by adding krappa, that is, an extract from madder roots.

Coloring the glass

Ink for a smooth surface is prepared from two working solutions. The first is 100 ml of water and 1 g of potassium sulfide and 7 g dissolved in it. It is prepared by simple mixing. The second contains similarly 100 g of water, 3 g and 13 ml of hydrochloric acid. The mixture can be immediately used as ink. You can safely apply it to glass and get matte inscriptions after drying.

Compositions for metal

They can only be called ink conditionally. You should write on metal with a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acid. To do this, the surface is covered with wax, then an inscription is made with a sharp object, and then the composition is applied on top. After five minutes, you can lower the vessel into warm water. To obtain an analogue of a blue ink inscription, you need to prepare a different composition.

It is prepared by mixing 3.5 g of borax with 15 ml of ethyl alcohol, 2 g of rosin powder and 25 ml of methylene blue solution. As a result, the inscription remains blue.

Fabric Ink

We have already looked at the compositions and are guided by what the ink is made of. However, all these compositions do not have great resistance to washing and repeated boiling. To do this, you need to change the recipe slightly. To do this, 42 g of aniline and 2.5 g of berthollet salt and 13 ml of water are heated in a flask. Then add 15 ml of hydrochloric acid (25%) and continue to heat the mixture until it darkens. There's just a little bit left to do. Copper chloride is poured into the flask, at which point the process can be considered almost complete.

The resulting solution is heated to a red-violet color. After this, under the influence of a dye, an oxidizing agent and a reaction catalyst, we can obtain the final result. Ink made using this recipe is very durable. They do not fade during washing and can be used in light industry.

Instead of a conclusion

As you can see, there are quite a few ways to prepare ink. Modern industry makes it possible to produce inks ranging from black to multi-colored inks. IN Lately technology for preventing mold growth has been developed. There are special compounds that, when added to ink, completely neutralize the role of the fungus. These are creosote and formaldehyde, salicylic acid.

As you can see, the composition of the ink is not at all complicated. If you are interested in chemistry, you can easily repeat this at home. However, the big question is whether it is worth the time investment, especially considering the cost of the product at the office supply store and its consumption.

To make ink or ink with my own hands, You will have to tinker a lot. But if you look from the other side, when will we have to do these seemingly simple and ordinary things ourselves? Probably only after a global catastrophe or when we are completely cut off from the civilized world. Then we will have a lot of time and, perhaps, there will be a desire to write in ink or ink. But how to make them? Read below the answer to this question.

How to make ink?

Peanut ink
For the preparation of ordinary stationery or school ink by infusing or drawing on cold water take: 3 ink nuts, 2 iron sulfate, 2 gum arabic, 60 water. The nuts are ground into powder and poured into a glass bottle and doused with water. In another vessel, dissolve iron sulfate and gum arabic together or separately. The infusion of nuts should stand for several days until the water removes all the tannin from it, while vitriol and gum arabic completely dissolve within several hours. Both solutions are poured together, mixed well and, after allowing to stand for a day or two, carefully drained to separate the liquid from the sediment.

Alizarin ink
It is completely wrong to call ink by this name, since alizarin is not part of their composition at all. Alizarin ink is also prepared from the extract of ink nuts, and their composition includes acetic acid. In ordinary ink, the dye is contained in tiny particles floating in the liquid. In alizarin ink, due to the presence of a significant dose of acid and glue in them, sediment does not form. Acetic acid, which is part of the ink, has the purpose of dissolving and maintaining the dye substance in a dissolved form. However, alizarin ink has the disadvantage that it dries quickly, as a result of which it forms a thick mass and the pen must often be wiped with a cloth.

To prepare “alizarin” ink, take: 10 ink nuts, 6 iron sulfate, 1 gum arabic, 100 vinegar, 20 indigo carmine solution. The crushed nut is infused in vinegar for 4-6 days, as for vitriol and gum arabic, they are dissolved separately in vinegar, and they must be boiled once. When the liquids are then drained together and strained, then a solution of indigo carmine is added. The latter should not be added in large quantities at once, but little by little and shake the solution with each addition. You can use ordinary vinegar, but it is better to use wood acetic acid, as it contains a small amount of carbolic acid, which prevents the formation of mold.

Another recipe for preparing “alizarin” ink is as follows: 20 ink nut, 5 gum arabic, 5 wood vinegar, 2 ½ indigo carmine, 50 water. Ink nut is infused for a week in half vinegar and water. At the same time, prepare a solution of iron in vinegar; for this you need to take some wooden dishes, pour the rest of the vinegar into it and put various old iron in it, for example, nails, horseshoes, hoops, etc. After three days, drain the liquid and strain, dissolve the gum arabic in the ink nut infusion and combine everything strained together. Add as much indigo carmine to the finished nuts as is necessary to give the ink the desired strength of blue-green color. The presence of vinegar-iron salt in this ink makes steel pens less likely to deteriorate.

How to save ink?

If the ink is not properly sealed, it will become moldy, especially if it is in a damp place. Some substances have the property of preventing the appearance of mold: these include primarily: creosote, formaldehyde, carbolic and salicylic acid. For ordinary stationery ink, it is enough to add 30-40 g of creosote or 100 g of carbolic acid per 100 kg of ink. For ink highest quality for the same amount of ink add 100 g of salicylic acid.

How to make mascara?

Chinese liquid ink for drawing, similar to the products of Gunther Wagner and others.
Take 2 shellac, 1 borax to 15 water, heat, with frequent stirring, until the shellac dissolves and add water-based aniline paint until the desired tone is obtained. For ordinary black ink, water-based nigrosine is used; for other colors: sepia, terdisiene, etc., mixtures of water-based aniline dyes are used. If the colors turn out to be too bright, then add a few drops of an aqueous solution of nigrosin to neutralize.

Chinese ink according to Winkler
Apricot kernels are burned in the oven into coals. Once cooled, the burnt grains are pounded into a fine powder in a porcelain mortar and sifted through a fine sieve. The resulting black powder is ground on a stove with soft water and gum arabic, a little camphor is added, evaporated in a water bath, then long rectangular bars are formed from it, which are then dried in air.

Chinese ink according to Vosvel
Dissolve horn sawdust in caustic potassium lye until saturated; the resulting dark brown liquid is evaporated and melted in a crucible. Then the mass is dissolved with twice the weight of boiling water and mixed with a solution of alum, due to which a precipitate is formed, which is washed, dried and ground with gum arabic diluted in water.