Homemade Ink!

[watch_art]

inspired by the ongoing noodler's thread where somebody mentioned one brand of ink being merely water plus food coloring, i thought, hey, i've got food coloring, i've got water. BANG! i made my own ink. it turned out kind of greener than i had wanted, but now i have my very own montblanc british racing green! h ah ahaaaha!!

 

and no, i didn't pay attention to ratios. i used all the blue, what was left of the red, about 1/2, some of the green and lots of yellow. b/c well, you know, red, yellow blue = black... but with some green thrown in. i was just messing around. and now i have a new color for my pilot c742 fa!! and i filled the bottle to the TOP with food coloring.

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4075/4775345146_3e68b8e7d8_b.jpg

[watch_art]

hmmm... this one's actually a bit closer. it's still darker than the real thing, but only just.

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4102/4774732339_f56acfc66c_b.jpg

[y_bauluck]

Looks like carbon ink, let's us know how it flows. Also ink contain some anti mould forming substance, am assuming you did not use water straight from the tap.

[Biber]

Good for you, that color looks great! Your success is inspiring, but what are the ramifications of using simple food coloring (staining etc.)?

 

B

[watch_art]

hmmm... i suppose i could buy some of that mold stuff, and yep, just straight tap, but i'm crazy like that, i guess. we'll see what happens. doubt my pen will melt, though.

 

i've never cared about staining, and even with BSB have only had a little bit... so i doubt this will be anywhere close to that, really.

 

what could i add to the 'ink' to keep it from molding?? something from the kitchen maybe?

 

hmm...

 

edit: oh yeah, and it flows wonderfully. but i have modified the fire out of my pen's feed, so it drips if i shake it anyways... but i'm about to test it in one of my esters here pretty soon.

Edited July 8, 2010 by watch_art

[Biber]

Rubbing alcohol?

 

b

[stevlight]

CRAZY and COOL! It is always fun to play mad scientist!

[watch_art]

i think alcohol is bad for pens. that's why they say no to windex. well, plus the wax and other stuff...

 

don't know if it would hurt newer pens. maybe vinegar?

 

and yes, it is a LOT OF FUN. this stuff is so SUPER shady!!

 

love it.

[stonezebra]

Perhaps you could just keep it in the frig... (vinegar is another form of acid)

Edited July 8, 2010 by stonezebra

[SamCapote]

A dash of Lee & Perrin's Worcestershire Sauce is always a nice touch.

[LedZepGirl]

I might have to give that a try. I have a load of leftover food coloring from Christmas jammed in the back of the cupboard and some distilled water. All fountain pen ink is dye mixed with a vehicle- here water was used. I assume most fountain pen ink vehicles are just water with mould inhibitor mixed in and maybe a drying agent in some cases.

[USMCMom]

I'm curious .... Someone please explain to me why or how this would mould (mold)? I've had liquid coloring in the back of a cabinet for ... well, never mind ... a VERY long time. I also have paste coloring used in cake decorating. Neither have ever shown any signs of mould.

[watch_art]

i'm gonna go for a while to see if it will mold. if not, then i won't worry about it, but i'm definitely gonna makes some reds and blues, and shoot for a nice black. that one might be a bit harder though...

[Sholom]

i'm gonna go for a while to see if it will mold. if not, then i won't worry about it, but i'm definitely gonna makes some reds and blues, and shoot for a nice black. that one might be a bit harder though...

 

It may molder because the dyes have been diluted enough to wipe out any fungicidal ability they may have. There may also be something fungicidal in the food coloring (alcohol or sorbate?). Also, to repeat what everyone except a newbie reading this probably knows, real ink is not just dye and water. At a minimum it will also contain a humectant (to reduce drying on the nib), a preservative, probably a surfactant to adjust surface tension, and possibly a corrosion inhibitor, although with today's mostly more neutral inks that may not be necessary. Obviously some of the fancier inks like Noodler's may contain additional additives as well.

[watch_art]

well, in 7 pages it never acted funny. emptied that tiny con50 pretty quickly. i filled up the 70 about 5 hours ago and it started up just fine. we'll see.

 

hopefully it won't eat my pen.

[fabrimedeiros]

Nice shading!

[watch_art]

I KNOW! thanks! it's so awesome! i've never had anything shade this nicely that SHOWED UP. i mean, yeah, i've got some j. herbin indien orange, but it's so LIGHT and it's ORANGE. meh. it's pretty, and smooth and all, but... it's orange.

 

i was actually kind of hoping for a sort of blackish color with this mix today, but i'm happier that i got what i did.

[txinsk]

There is something incredibly hilarious about this thread. For a more serious point, it may be worthwhile to add a drop of clove oil to it for inhibiting mold. That is the suggestion of some in bookbinding to make paste last more than a few days. A small amount may be miscible as well, hard to tell some oils.

 

Rick

[watch_art]

clove oil huh? cool.

 

i think it's hilarious that, it seems, so many people think it's so awful to try to make your own ink with some tap water and food color. and i think it's great that so many other people think it's such a great idea.

 

that's what i love about fpn. so many views!

 

[axolotl66]

A dash of Lee & Perrin's Worcestershire Sauce is always a nice touch.

 

Mmm, Sauce. Yes, it is always a nice touch in food, but I wouldn't put it in my pens!! We use it here for almost everything else though: feed it to our babies in their bottles, strip paint with it, replace brake fluid with it (it gives a more racy feel to the pedal), use it as suncream, hair restorer, you name it.

 

Graham

(from just around the corner from the Lea and Perrins factory in Worcester... mmm smell those anchovies a-fermenting!)