Ink Dilution Recipes

[Truppi327]

Hello,

 

Please post your experience with diluting inks. Any brand of ink and any color. Please include the recipe/ratio of ink and distilled water (or whatever). Why you diluted that particular ink: to increase dry time, to increase flow, etc. Also, what are the climate conditions you live in/encounter when writing, we all know humidity can effect things hugely. Any other pertinent info is encouraged, usual pen, paper, nib, etc.

 

Hopefully this thread can be a resource like the ink recipe thread that people can refer to. Please try to be as thorough, clear, and accurate as possible. Thanks!

Edited October 18, 2010 by Truppi327

[Sandy1]

Hello,

 

• My Review of PR American Blue includes a Written Sample at 80% as Figure 8. My link
• A Written Sample of PR DCSS Blue at 50% is shown here: My link
• I've also done dilutions of Sailor nano BlBk, with water and Noodler's Whiteness of the Whale, which are depicted here: My link

All dilutions were a matter of curiosity. SnBlBk gave the most interesting results - one bottle for most Blues? Economy too!

 

Bye,

S1

[Randal6393]

Noodler inks seem to lose water by evaporation over a period of time, regardless of how well-sealed the bottle is. When I notice the ink taking too long to dry and smudging easily, I add ~2 ml of water to a 45 ml bottle of ink. Then try the ink in a clean dip pen. Repeat process until the ink dries in a reasonable period of time and does not smudge after drying for a minute. Usually takes about 10 ml of H2O to 40 to 45 ml of ink. Inks successfully treated this way are Heart of Darkness, BP Black, a mix of Polar Blue with Midnight Blue, and Navajo Turquoise. (My usual inks for fountain pens.)

 

This procedure also works well with Private Reserve inks. Think it may apply, in general, to any ink with high saturation levels. PR inks treated in this way include Velvet Black, DC Supershow Blue, and Black Cherry. Never needed to treat Dakota Red or Blue Suede for this.

 

Enjoy,

[whereisandy]

I have been regularly diluting my Noodler's inks 2 ink : 1 distilled water. I find that this helps shorten the drying time without compromising a lot of the color saturation. An added bonus is that it makes my bottle of Noodler's last twice a long.

 

I have also done this with my PR Tanzanite and DC Supershow Blue.

 

Instead of diluting an entire bottle of ink I use an ink vial from Dillon that is used for the ink exchange. I use a syringe to transfer 4 mL of ink to the vial and then add 2 mL of distilled water. This way, if I don't like how the diluted ink looks I can always make a new mixture with a new ratio.

[piembi]

I have dilluted Diamine Majestic Blue to 80%.

Since I have dilluted the ink it does no longer clogg my pens.

[inkpenguin]

I have Diamine Majestic Blue at 50% for my wetter pens.

[tonybelding]

I have been regularly diluting my Noodler's inks 2 ink : 1 distilled water. I find that this helps shorten the drying time without compromising a lot of the color saturation. An added bonus is that it makes my bottle of Noodler's last twice a long.

 

I always dilute Baystate Blue with 1 part water per 2 parts ink.

 

Noodler's inks are not the most consistent from one batch to the next, and sometimes you will get a bottle that is Too Strong -- it won't flow well or dry properly on paper. Diluting with 1 water / 2 ink is my quick cure for that problem.

[KCat]

I dilute in very small amounts (usually, with a fill) for a variety of reasons. I worry that the water or the transfer method might not be all that clean so why risk a whole bottle of ink? (just me, to each his/her own). And I figure the ink may work differently in different pens so in one pen I might want original strength (like a dry-writing Lamy Safari) but in another pen that is a very wet i might want a more subtle version of the color. it's easier for me to make that decision after i fill the pen. I typically leave a small gap in the fill if I think this might be necessary.

 

Mostly I dilute older inks that have been sitting around a while (my Penman Emerald) or Noodler's inks. PR Plum can be diluted significantly and get a range of beautiful shades. There are some I would never consider diluting (Diamine Mediterranean comes to mind).

[Viseguy]

As a rule I don't dilute, but I've taken to diluting my Noodler's to reduce the saturation. I take a 4-oz. bottle, pour the entire 3-oz. bottle of Noodler's into it, modify the color as desired (usually by adding a small amount of another color), and top it up with distilled H₂O. Works for me.

 

(You may want to experiment with something less than an entire bottle of ink to find out what works for you.)

[mstone]

I suck some water into my converter before loading whaleman's sepia. No science involved, I'm way to impatient/lazy to try measuring that with a syringe. :roflmho:

[Lloyd]

I have been regularly diluting my Noodler's inks 2 ink : 1 distilled water. I find that this helps shorten the drying time without compromising a lot of the color saturation. An added bonus is that it makes my bottle of Noodler's last twice a long.

It only makes the bottle last 1.5 times as long.

[atypical]

My "recipe" for diluting (my current bottle of) Noodler's Black is:

 

- 2.5 ml ink

- 0.5 ml water

- 3 drops of a 1:30 surfactant / water mixture.

 

I never add anything to the bottle but instead transfer the required amount of ink and water into a graduated conical cup and either fill straight from this cup or use a syringe to transfer the mixture.

[riff raff]

I have been regularly diluting my Noodler's inks 2 ink : 1 distilled water. I find that this helps shorten the drying time without compromising a lot of the color saturation. An added bonus is that it makes my bottle of Noodler's last twice a long.

It only makes the bottle last 1.5 times as long.

 

:roflmho:

Edited October 28, 2010 by KCat

[JMX]

I use R&K Helianthus in my Lamy Visty eydropper. This ink tends to build up crystals of dye, both at the edge of the bottle and the nib. This doesn't harm the pen at all, this is not clogging.

 

Diluting the ink stops the crystallisation, I often even just fill up with water when the pen is half empty. A 1:1 ratio seems to work fine and gives a pronounced yellow line. When I don't fill up regularly, the water in the ink seems to vaporise quite a bit and makes the ink appear more orangey.

 

 

[mana]

1:1 mix of Montblanc BlueBlack and distilled/sterile water.

 

I got tired of the somewhat too dark and opaque tone of this particular ink and decided to experiment a little. 1:1 is great, it lightens the ink and makes it shade and flow better. It also makes the bottle last longer so that is a bonus.

 

Haven't noticed any difference in waterproofness. Fade proofness? Don't know yet, haven't used it long enough.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

Noodler's inks are not the most consistent from one batch to the next, and sometimes you will get a bottle that is Too Strong -- it won't flow well or dry properly on paper. Diluting with 1 water / 2 ink is my quick cure for that problem.

I followed your advice on doing this with some Noodler's black a month or so ago (I really should show up here more regularly). It works all right for me. The intensity of the ink is pretty much the same and my meeting notes still photocopy well with that dilution. It also stretches my ink, which is good for my personal economy these days.

 

I plan to experiment with diluting other inks pretty soon. I have a lot of inks, but there are some inks that I'd really like to stretch out because of their expense. And if the dilution doesn't make them look bad I'll dilute a larger batch.

 

I never put anything in the bottle of ink that I buy, except for a blunt needle. I have other little bottles to mix inks and water in and so if I mix up a mess I don't blow a bottle of ink.

 

Yeah, economizing is something we need to do around the (Ink Stained) Wretched household these days.

[penspouse]

Great thread, Truppi327. Thanks for starting it.

[fungm]

The Noodler's Baystate Blue , did not write well with my Lamy Safari with an M nib. Skipping , drying and just being a general pain.

 

Dilution / mix as follows:

 

0.2ml Tile and bath cleaner

1.0ml Tap water (Melbourne)

1.8ml BSB

 

Future mix :

 

0.0ml Tile and bath cleaner

1.0ml Distilled water

2.0ml BSB

[Randal6393]

1:1 mix of Montblanc BlueBlack and distilled/sterile water.

 

I got tired of the somewhat too dark and opaque tone of this particular ink and decided to experiment a little. 1:1 is great, it lightens the ink and makes it shade and flow better. It also makes the bottle last longer so that is a bonus.

 

Haven't noticed any difference in waterproofness. Fade proofness? Don't know yet, haven't used it long enough.

 

Montblanc BlueBlack is (at least in part) an iron gall ink. Most such inks work very well with diluting. HMMMM ... Guess I will have to try diluting my Lamy BlueBlack and see how that works out.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

The Noodler's Baystate Blue , did not write well with my Lamy Safari with an M nib. Skipping , drying and just being a general pain.

 

Dilution / mix as follows:

 

0.2ml Tile and bath cleaner

1.0ml Tap water (Melbourne)

1.8ml BSB

Tile and bath cleaner ?

 

Isn't that pretty drastic stuff to put in a fountain pen? I'd think it'd do unkind things to the ink, too.