Fp Inks And Tattoos

[inkstainedruth]

I had an odd conversation with someone over the weekend. The topic of pens and inks came up and I mentioned that I had some ink samples that were ones that I would not ever get a full bottle of but hadn't finished up. The other person asked if they could be used for doing tattoos (or conversely, if tattoo ink could be used in a fountain pen). Personally, I thought that both of these came under the category of "This is a Bad Plan " and said so, simply because I wasn't sure if the chemicals would be all that safe to stick under your skin. Note that I'm not all that convinced about "real" tattoo inks either -- I'd be the 1 in the nth power of the general population that would have some sort of horrible allergic reaction to the ink. (Food allergies? Naah. Topical allergies? Totally different animal... ).

But now I'm really kinda curious. Especially since I have Kung Te Cheng all over my hand this (and a little Yama-budo on my finger for good measure, neither of which have completely washed off). So I thought I'd throw these questions out there to the members. How different is tattoo ink from, say, fountain pen ink? Is it safe to use in a pen? [spoiler alert: keep that guy who wants to put EVERYTHING including seawater in his pens away from this thread -- because he'd go and do it and I don't want to be responsible for the resulting horror.... ] And am I right in thinking that subcutaneous application of FP inks are not a good idea (particularly given ingredients such as phenol and other biocides)?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[GabrielleDuVent]

Did a bit of googling, as tattoos are a foreign world to me.

 

Fountain pens often use dye-based inks, not pigment, because of clogging (there are a few pigment-based inks, but they are specifically marked "For Fountain Pen"). Tattoo ink, apparently, is almost entirely pigment-based, and are quite permanent.

 

So, my guess is:

 

FP ink for tattoos: way too prone to fading. Also, would require pigment inks.

Tattoo ink for FP: most likely would ruin the pen, due to pigments clogging the pen. Quite a few tattoo inks use heavy metals... that can't be good for the pen mechanism.

[N2theBreach]

So, my guess is:

 

FP ink for tattoos: way too prone to fading. Also, would require pigment inks.

Tattoo ink for FP: most likely would ruin the pen, due to pigments clogging the pen. Quite a few tattoo inks use heavy metals... that can't be good for the pen mechanism.

 

"FP ink for tattoos: way too prone to fading. "

 

Might not be a bad thing. I saw the results of a poll somewhere that most people who got tattoos wish they hadn't later in life. Get an FP-ink tattoo when you're young. Ten years later, "What tattoo?"

 

"Quite a few tattoo inks use heavy metals..."

 

This could be a bad thing. Heavy metals under my skin? I think I'll pass.

[smk]

I think the dye based FP ink would spread out and become a mess before it fades. I have (accidentally) stabbed myself with pointed pens loaded with ink of various kinds but the resulting 'tattoos' never lasted. Even permanent tattoos lose some definition over time.

[amberleadavis]

Yeah, if I'm not ink stained yet... I don't think FP ink will work for tattoos, and let's get real, I love my pens and I wouldn't contaminate them (or my body) with some of those boring tattoo colors.

[dorothynotgale]

That doesn't sound safe or healthy. Tattoo inks are designed to go inside the body, FP inks are not. And just because something's made from "natural" ingredients with biocides, that doesn't make stuffing it into open wounds a good idea. Hemlock is natural, after all.

 

I wouldn't let a tattooist anywhere near me with anything but tattoo ink, autoclaved equipment, and a specially outlined list of procedures, and I say this as someone who has (and loves) her very own highly-visible tattoo.

[79spitfire]

Just 'iew'..... both ways...

[GabrielleDuVent]

"FP ink for tattoos: way too prone to fading. "

 

Might not be a bad thing. I saw the results of a poll somewhere that most people who got tattoos wish they hadn't later in life.

 

Well, I'm not surprised. Some people get game tattoos...

 

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/072/4/d/dragon_age_tattoo_by_pyramidhead22-d4so3cl.jpg

 

Seriously?!

 

Tattoo inks can have heavy metals (mercury, lead, cadmium, e.t.c.), rust (?!?!), plastic ( ). The manufacturers are not required to reveal ingredients or conduct safety trials. FDA has noted that tattoo inks are suitable for printer ink and automobile paint (but that doesn't mean much, oreo cookies are coloured with the same dye that colours tyres black).

 

... Maybe Hemlock dye is a safer choice than tattoo ink.

[BiggieD]

Two problems with fp ink for tattoos - bleedthrough and showthrough. Also unless your Farah Fawcett I don't think feathering is going to work either :-)

[spiv]

As someone who has used many fountian pen inks and many tattoo inks, GabrielleDuVent is correct, pigment is key for tattoo inks. Fountian pen inks are not suited for the task. There are hundreds of colours available these days. One thing to consider, every time they thaw out or pull from a bog some 10,000 year old body... they all seem to have ink, but not Waterman's. Some forms of ink collecting predate the D.C Supershow.

[dorothynotgale]

 

Well, I'm not surprised. Some people get game tattoos...

 

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/072/4/d/dragon_age_tattoo_by_pyramidhead22-d4so3cl.jpg

 

Seriously?!

 

Tattoo inks can have heavy metals (mercury, lead, cadmium, e.t.c.), rust (?!?!), plastic ( ). The manufacturers are not required to reveal ingredients or conduct safety trials. FDA has noted that tattoo inks are suitable for printer ink and automobile paint (but that doesn't mean much, oreo cookies are coloured with the same dye that colours tyres black).

 

... Maybe Hemlock dye is a safer choice than tattoo ink.

Your dismissal of people's tattoo choices is more than a little rude. (OMG, video games, how tacky and scandalous!) Just because you don't like video games enough to have them permanently etched into your flesh, that doesn't mean that those who get those tattoos will inevitably regret them. That's WHY they use inks appropriate to the task, and not FP ink.

[tfwall]

One thing to consider, every time they thaw out or pull from a bog some 10,000 year old body... they all seem to have ink, but not Waterman's. Some forms of ink collecting predate the D.C Supershow.

 

Indeed. I have several of the designs found on the Siberian 'ice princess' and her retinue.

[GabrielleDuVent]

Your dismissal of people's tattoo choices is more than a little rude. (OMG, video games, how tacky and scandalous!) Just because you don't like video games enough to have them permanently etched into your flesh, that doesn't mean that those who get those tattoos will inevitably regret them. That's WHY they use inks appropriate to the task, and not FP ink.

 

I actually liked this game. However, I've yet to see someone who is willing to dedicate his/her entire life to say, the black mage from Final Fantasy, and many incorrect tattoos gain shaking laughter. There was a gentleman walking in Tesco a few years ago with an exact same dragon print on his arm as one'd see on ramen noodle bowl commonly used in Japan. I had to leave.

 

That aside, fading tattoo inks might be a good idea, considering the stats... 1/3 regret tattoos according to British Association of Dermatologists (70% regret getting them while on vacation or study abroad), 1/4 according to Feinberg School of Medicine, and 17% would get them removed, if circumstances allowed it. There's been a 32% increase of tattoo regrets since 2011 to 2012. Tattoos still have social connotations, and not necessarily good ones all the time, so much so that it can get you rejected from being hired. One of my classmates got kicked out from medical school because of it. If there had been fading tattoo inks, he'd have avoided that problem.

Edited June 24, 2013 by GabrielleDuVent

[HDRoot]

BP ink is widely used for tattoos by inmates and outlaw bikers. Mine have faded a bit but you can still make out the f-word on my forehead.

[flyingfox]

There was a gentleman walking in Tesco a few years ago with an exact same dragon print on his arm as one'd see on ramen noodle bowl commonly used in Japan. I had to leave.

Whenever I see tattooed "kanji"/ Chinese characters and they happen to be misshaped (it is one thing if it's simply a bad penmanship, but sometimes the balance is just so bad that one part of a character looks like an independent character, changing the whole meaning) or a mirror-image (not sure if it's a mistake or intentional, but still...) I cringe.

Also- I have seen a tattoo on someone who must have taken a literal translation without considering the context. For example, the word "free" in English could mean "freedom" or "something that you don't have to pay any money for it." In Japanese, however, those meanings were conveyed by two entirely different sets of kanji characters. I have seen a tattoo of the latter, and- I am reasonably sure that the former meaning is the one the person was aiming for...