Ink Dilution Recipes

[dcwaites]

I use de-ionised water from a kitchen filter for topping up an individual cartridge that has lost water and is more concentrated due to evaporation via a less than fully sealed cap.

 

I use distilled water (2 litre bottle bought from a pharmacy) for larger jobs.

[danleaf]

Hi everyone,

 

I have diamine Sargasso Sea ink. It has a great gold sheen and the world is great. But I find that it's a bit thick and my fountain pens done flow well.

 

 

Does anyone have a ratio that will..... Keep the sheen... And flow like a river...

 

Thanks everyone

[Finalist]

Would adding a little water reduce the surfactant on Noodler's Eel Turquoise? -make it run through the nib a little dryer since water has so much tension?

[Oldtimer]

Can you save the diluted inks in plastic bottles? I know glass is optimum, but has anyone?

[Sandy1]

Can you save the diluted inks in plastic bottles? I know glass is optimum, but has anyone?

 

Hi,

 

If food/lab-grade bottles are used, I reckon the ink will be OK.

 

I did express caution (as usual) about long-term storage: If the ink contains biocides / stabilising agents, the concentration is reduced in a diluted ink, so I suggested mixing no more than would be used in six months. But that's a SWAG based on my evaluation of the many variables and my experience. Bottom line is to always inspect an ink prior to charging a pen.

 

Bye,

S1

[elevennx]

Does anyone dilute Iroshizuku inks? My Kosumosu is a bit saturated for my taste, particularly after a day or so in the pen. So much so that it begins to look more orange to me than the intended pink. Someone elsewhere mentioned that their Iroshizuku ink seemed to get darker as it sat in the feed. Anyone else find the same? What would be a good first trial ratio of ink to water? 2:1, 1:1?

 

I've never done this before, so your expert opinions would be appreciated here

 

Also, this ink will mostly be used with a pilot fine nib, in case that matters.

[Sandy1]

Does anyone dilute Iroshizuku inks? My Kosumosu is a bit saturated for my taste, particularly after a day or so in the pen. So much so that it begins to look more orange to me than the intended pink. Someone elsewhere mentioned that their Iroshizuku ink seemed to get darker as it sat in the feed. Anyone else find the same? What would be a good first trial ratio of ink to water? 2:1, 1:1?

 

I've never done this before, so your expert opinions would be appreciated here

 

Also, this ink will mostly be used with a pilot fine nib, in case that matters.

 

Hi,

 

The darkening of ink is most often due to evaporation of water, which increases the concentration of dye per unit volume; and some inks appear to change hue when the concentration of dye changes.

 

Typically a short-term dry-out only changes the small amount of ink that has become concentrated in the feed+collector - not the ink that is in the reservoir / fountain. Dilution will change the dye concentration of all ink, not just that in the feed+collector, so dilution is not your friend in such cases. Dilution might help with start-up problems, but that's a different matter.

 

When that happens to me, I just doodle for a bit to run out the concentrated ink, then when it is back to normal hue/value, I carry on writing. If it is persistent, I'll just refill the pen - flushing with fresh ink.

 

If after running-out a fair bit of ink, (perhaps writing four rows on an A4 sheet), the ink remains an odd hue, then the pen has residue of previous ink/s, so needs thorough deep cleansing.

(For a while I used a bright Yellow ink to check the effectiveness of my clean-up regimen after using very saturated Blue inks: if there was the least bit of Green, I knew that improvement were needed.)

 

Bye,

S1

[Charles Skinner]

I am certainly not new to "real fountain pens," but somewhat new to "the world of different inks." For 40 years, or so, I was a black ink man only ---- no telling how many bottles I used. At some point, I noticed all of the "talk" on the FPN about different inks and decided to branch out, so to speak. I know almost nothing about diluting inks. Please give me a three minute course in the purpose of diluting some inks. Do diluted ink mixtures fade sooner than "straight from the bottle?" Are diluted inks more or less likely to cause problems with your pens? If blue ink is diluted, two parts of ink to one part of distilled water, does the color look less "bright" on the paper?

 

Help from you experts would be very helpful to me.

 

C. S

[alvonellos]

A little bit of noodlers black with mostly Rohrer and Klingner Scabiosa goes a long way.

[Oldparkerguy]

Tap water is usually fine for cleaning as it is used to just dilute and flush away residue ink.

 

It however contains a varying amount of chemicals (usually chlorine), metals (copper and iron being more common) and minerals that affect among other things how soft or hard he water is. Also, it's pH value can vary a lot. All of those + other factors (microbiological) can produce a negative result when used to dilute ink, especially in the long term (if the ink is not used right away).

 

So it is safer to use distilled water, the results do not vary from batch to batch and it is safer to make bigger batches of a desired hue/saturation/dilution because of this. Consistent, predictable results and the (relative) longevity of the solution.

Here in the Alleghenies well (our tap) water can be hard or soft with minerals. In our farm’s water there’s a big dose of calcium so distilled is best for ink dilution and for automotive coolant mix too.

[amberleadavis]

Here in the Alleghenies well (our tap) water can be hard or soft with minerals. In our farm’s water there’s a big dose of calcium so distilled is best for ink dilution and for automotive coolant mix too.

 

Yep --- Las Vegas water is that bad too. Use regular stuff in any equipment and it clogs.

[phonelady61]

Yep Ohio has really bad water as well and I have bottles of water set out and I let them sit until I need them and that is what I use in my steam mop and so far so good .

[Diderot]

Instead of using washing up liquid or bath spray as a wetting agent, why can't people simply use a photographic wetting agent such as Ilfotol?

I suspect it will have far fewer of the salts than the first two.

[amberleadavis]

Well, it depends.... if you just want to lighten the color, water is probably the way to go. I use a flow enhancer like Kodak photoflo when I want to improve the flow without changing the color. I don't use liquid soaps or bath sprays. I have used glycerin.

[Diderot]

Well, it depends.... if you just want to lighten the color, water is probably the way to go. I use a flow enhancer like Kodak photoflo when I want to improve the flow without changing the color. I don't use liquid soaps or bath sprays. I have used glycerin.

 

Thanks, I was just curious.

As someone who only has Herbin Eclat de Saphir and as of last week Rattlers Red (as per your recommendation), I'm a long way from mixing.

However, I can see the attraction.

[amberleadavis]

I think you'll like RR for the cleaning potential. What pen do you have?

[Diderot]

I think you'll like RR for the cleaning potential. What pen do you have?

 

I actually I like the colour of RR - I've not used it in a pen, but have dipped a plastic tip and written a few lines (need to get a dip pen).

 

Pens, over the last 30yrs and in chronological order:

 

Parker 51

MB 146 or 149, cannot remember which and not sure how I can tell.

Sheaffer Targa

Conway Stewart 58

Parker Victory

Parker - don't know much about it

Sheaffer Jade Flattop

Pelikan M800 Green striated

Pelikan M800 Red striated

 

The last three in the last 8 months.

In fact it was when I was researching the Jade Flattop about 8 months ago that I stumbled here. The two Pelikans, in the last 3 months.

[amberleadavis]

Well, then, it is time to try some ink samples and get a feel for different inks to add to that impressive line up.

[VelvetSky]

I think the point of using distilled water isn't just the ions (which may change pH, slightly), but the contaminates that may be found in water. This is a guess.

 

There is also the issue of bacteria in water. Normally it isn't a problem, but filtering takes most of this (and some of the minerals) out - even so, J Herbin appears to have some problems with mould and bacteria growth in their inks. This is more a problem for longer term ink storage, rather than topping up a cartridge here and there.

[Diderot]

Well, then, it is time to try some ink samples and get a feel for different inks to add to that impressive line up.

 

Indeed, and only yesterday I had a handful of sample inks delivered.