Use the rest of ink from an ink bottle?

[jogot]

Hi,

I did a search because I thought this has likely been asked before but could not find anything. 

 

I would not put ink that has been in a pen back into the bottle to prevent contamination. However, when the level of ink in the bottle gets too low to fill a pen, is there any reason to not just fill this rest over into a new bottle of the same make/type of ink?

[Monophoto]

If you put leftover ink from one bottle into a new bottle, you have to make two assumptions:

1.  The older ink has not undergone partial evaporation that results in subtle changes in color or characteristics.

2.  The manufacturer's formulation has not changed.

 

Not sure that either assumption can be guaranteed.

 

 

[miig]

Two better options:

1. For piston / vacfillers:  use an inkwell: you can pour in the ink and get almost all of it into the pen

2. For cartridges or converters: use or a syringe to collect until the last drop and fill your pen directly.

[lapis]

If there is let's say "only" 1-2 ml of ink left -- and you do like the ink -- why not just keep it and fill it into a converter by

• using a syringe
• using a pipette
• sucking it up into the converter ?

[jogot]

Excellent, thank you very much for quick and good replies. Quite a few options and aspects to this as I see now! 🙂

[AceNinja]

12 hours ago, jogot said:

I would not put ink that has been in a pen back into the bottle to prevent contamination. However, when the level of ink in the bottle gets too low to fill a pen, is there any reason to not just fill this rest over into a new bottle of the same make/type of ink?

Isn't pouring ink from old bottle to new bottle, essentially has the same risk as putting ink from pen back to bottle?  ie to prevent contamination.

 

When ink gets low, you can:

1. dip the converter directly in bottle and fill the converter

2. use blunt tip syringe or pipet

3. if the pen is a piston filler with non-removeable nib unit or section, you can do what I called the "bird feeding method" with syringe.

[arcfide]

1 hour ago, AceNinja said:

Isn't pouring ink from old bottle to new bottle, essentially has the same risk as putting ink from pen back to bottle?  ie to prevent contamination.

 

There is risk, but I would rate it as a lower risk than from the pen directly, which is less likely to be well sealed and more likely to have experienced contaminants. 

[Karmachanic]

Pour the ink into 5ml sample vials.

[Arkanabar]

35 minutes ago, Karmachanic said:

Pour the ink into 5ml sample vials.

That's what I do, for all fills.

[Cassotto]

But even then, you'll reach a point when there's some ink at the bottom of a vial you can't get inside the pen.

 

I always use a syringe, which will allow using the very last drop of ink without any fuss. I try to avoid using that ink in piston fillers which cannot be disassembled, but if I really felt the urge to use that ink in such a pen, I'd use the "bird feeding method" that AceNinja has mentioned above (I didn't know it had that name).

[AceNinja]

1 hour ago, Cassotto said:

I'd use the "bird feeding method" that AceNinja has mentioned above (I didn't know it had that name).

I didn't know if it has any 'official' name or not, it just the way it invoke my mind when I first saw it.

I've made a YT video about 'bird feeding method'.  😄

Quote

https://youtu.be/2dhgvQbsUuQ

 

 

[Cassotto]

4 hours ago, AceNinja said:

I didn't know if it has any 'official' name or not, it just the way it invoke my mind when I first saw it.

I've made a YT video about 'bird feeding method'.  😄

 

 

As someone who rescues baby birds fallen from their nests, I think the name is aptly chosen. I couldn't think of a better one.

 

Great video. I love the way you've replaced the spoken explanations with handwritten ones.

 

 

[amberleadavis]

@mhguda has a special ink mix bottle just for such adventures.

[txomsy]

From my own personal experience:  I have been pouring emptying ink into new bottles for over 40 years without concern. But I may have been lucky.

 

From physics, inks usually contain biocides, which are often volátiles. Your remaining ink is little in quantity and will mix with a large amount of same ink richer I'm biocides. Any dilution will likely be unnoticeable.

 

Which bears the question: if instead of 1ml, the bottle contained 5-10 ml, would you discard it or trust it and continue using?

 

If the answer is yes, then you are assuming that the content in biocides in the ink left is high enough that the ink is still safe. The concentration is still good, so mixing it back will not result in any meaningful dilution.

 

From experience again, I have inks that have been open (not continuously) for decades 3+ and the ink is still OK.

 

But some inks have little or no biocides, are too volatile AND are used in wet, mouldy environments where they can easily contaminate.

 

If you suspect this.to be the case, or you already see mold growing, then discard the ink, whether the bottle is almost empty or full to be brim.

 

Otherwise, this stupid barbaric consumer does not see any reason not to pour ink from one bottle onto another. But that is me and only me, I may be wrong. Proceed at your own risk, YMMV, exercise due reasoning and diligence and all the usual disclaimers.

 

OTOH you can syringe fill. But if you do not trust that remaining ink to go into another bottle, then you are asking for well deserved.majiot trouble:

 

If the ink can contaminate a bottle full of biocides, it will contaminate your pen, and from then on all bottles you fill from, and all pens you fill from those... You get it.

 

Sp, from my POV, if you trust it to fill a pen, you trust it to pour in a bottle of fresh ink. If you do not either better throw it away.

 

Disclaimers repeated. And once more just in case.

 

 

So 

[Arkanabar]

One of the top sources of biocontaminants for ink is houseplants.  They ought not to be kept in proximity.

[txomsy]

On 8/28/2023 at 8:04 PM, txomsy said:

From my own personal experience

Re-reading my last post, I notice it is plagued with typos. My most sincere apologies. I wrote it in the dark on a night train and my eyes (and fingers) obviously didn't cope. Sorry.

[corniche]

Hello Jogot, et al,

 

I'm surprised no one else has mentioned this... I use a Noodlers Ink Miser... it was created specifically for this purpose and it works extremely well. ✅

 

- Sean

 

[bugsydog55]

Maybe it's just me, but i have noticed that as I get down to the last several mls in a bottle things start to get a bit more concentrated, especially if it's a bottle that has taken several years to get to that stage.  As it has been used, the constant opening and nib dipping has exposed the contents to a storm of dust and other junk in the air.  That does pile up over time and can make for some crud in the bottom of the bottle.  My take on this is if it looks a little yucky, tossing those last few mls is not that big of a deal.

[dftr]

Quote

 

 

3 hours ago, bugsydog55 said:

Maybe it's just me, but i have noticed that as I get down to the last several mls in a bottle things start to get a bit more concentrated, especially if it's a bottle that has taken several years to get to that stage.  As it has been used, the constant opening and nib dipping has exposed the contents to a storm of dust and other junk in the air.  That does pile up over time and can make for some crud in the bottom of the bottle.  My take on this is if it looks a little yucky, tossing those last few mls is not that big of a deal.

 

On one hand, I love to look for special deals and opportunities to buy and find value.  Yet I also realize at this point, I have more ink than I can feasibly use to the point where I'm actively using Fude and broad italic nibs.  So I'm learning to "let it go" like Indiana Jones in the Last Crusade and not worry about those few last cc of ink that I could syringe into some convertors..

[DrPlush]

I use a syringe or my Pineider Pen Filler to get the last of ink most of the time, but sometimes I also just decide to use the last drops of ink to stain the cover of a notebook or paint with instead (especially if I like the colour but am not so keen on the behaviour).

 

I wouldn’t transfer it to a new bottle of the same ink for the reasons outlined by other users.