Noodler's CMYK Color Mixes

[krz]

I think your mix as you go method is the best way. I had trouble reaching for a pen with a certain shade and evaporation would have darkened the tone enough to make a visible difference.

 

The Kulturs should be a pleasure to work with. Lately I've been having fun with a flexy vintage Waterman's with Noodler's Black, a vintage Miller's pen with a semiflex XXF filled with Noodler's Lexington Gray, and an Ackerman Brushpen filled with a Lexington Gray wash (about 2/3 H2O).

 

The Lexington Gray wash is good about layering for tone, and since they're both waterproof I can ad in my color with watercolors and not worry about a smear.

 

That's also good technique your using the ink smear in your work with a brush.

 

All the best,

[Viseguy]

A truly excellent resource -- thank you, Limner!

[Penache]

Great reference and thank you, Limner.

I have those CMYK inks on my list now.

[Eternally Noodling]

I'm posting these in response to a request for more scans of an ink mix chart that I posted in another thread--if this is in the wrong section or is otherwise inappropriate I trust the moderators will move or remove it--thank you!

 

These are ink colors I mixed according to 4-color CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) color conventions. There are other techniques for mixing color, but CMYK is the method I am most experienced with. It is the method used in full-color printing separation.

 

For the Primary Hues I used the following:

CYAN: Noodler's Navajo Turquoise

MAGENTA: Noodler's Shah's Rose

YELLOW: Noodler's Yellow

 

""

 

 

VERY NICE.

 

One addition...for magenta please note that Saguaro Wine is also a prime behaving dye, a bit darker and deeper than Shah's Rose...but it can't be broken down to any other color. Shah's Rose is admittedly a bit more versatile for mixing though - it is a completely different dye. It is as prime as I can get it (as are the other colors you list...in fact, several retailers told me to never bother with Noodler's Yellow - but I believed somebody might find a use for it as a prime color for mixing purposes...so unlike many other yellows on the market, it was made pure and an absolute prime in the hope that somebody like you would find use for it!)

 

GREAT STUFF! My hat is off to you!!!

[Limner]

Thanks for the compliments, everyone--and thank you, Nathan, for making Noodlers in the first place. I'll definitely try Saguaro Wine--I'd like to have a stronger Orange/Red-Orange mix. If you happen by this thread again, I'd like to know: do you ever have plans to produce Bulletproof Black in a larger bottle than the 4.5 oz. size? I use flexible Watermans with BP black (same as krz noted above) for my pen & ink illustration work, and I go through a bottle pretty fast.

 

I certainly support Yellow, though it's true I never use it by itself. When I shop for any kind of new media (ink or paint) the dealbreaker is whether or not the line includes a primary yellow; most brands will have a Pthalo Blue and Permanent Rose equivalent (or close) but not always a Yellow. If it doesn't, the brand unfortunately falls off my radar, even if it's otherwise excellent.

 

In an effort to stay ontopic, here's another CMYK tip: I carry a printed CMYK sample with me when I go art supply shopping and use it as a reference when I want to sample a new brand. You can find them on most any packaging that is printed in fullcolor (cereal boxes are the best sources). Open the box all the way and you'll find the CMYK sample printed on one of the flaps that's usually hidden from view.

[Eternally Noodling]

Thanks for the compliments, everyone--and thank you, Nathan, for making Noodlers in the first place. I'll definitely try Saguaro Wine--I'd like to have a stronger Orange/Red-Orange mix. If you happen by this thread again, I'd like to know: do you ever have plans to produce Bulletproof Black in a larger bottle than the 4.5 oz. size? I use flexible Watermans with BP black (same as krz noted above) for my pen & ink illustration work, and I go through a bottle pretty fast.

 

I certainly support Yellow, though it's true I never use it by itself. When I shop for any kind of new media (ink or paint) the dealbreaker is whether or not the line includes a primary yellow; most brands will have a Pthalo Blue and Permanent Rose equivalent (or close) but not always a Yellow. If it doesn't, the brand unfortunately falls off my radar, even if it's otherwise excellent.

 

In an effort to stay ontopic, here's another CMYK tip: I carry a printed CMYK sample with me when I go art supply shopping and use it as a reference when I want to sample a new brand. You can find them on most any packaging that is printed in fullcolor (cereal boxes are the best sources). Open the box all the way and you'll find the CMYK sample printed on one of the flaps that's usually hidden from view.

 

 

Half-Gallon and full gallon black are available already, but totaling up shipping costs of such heavy items has admittedly intimidated many retailers from trying and they are not actively offered by anyone at the current time. It is their shelf space....their decision. I can still list the number of gallon sales on my fingers (people using the ink in air-brush applications, usually...such as on cotton T-shirts - all sold overseas thus far, although I have one ready for Susan Wirth next time I see her and Viv already has a half gallon of a super fast dry red prototype - for his help with Hindi labels!).

 

It may be made more standard an offering with "Heart of Darkness", which is different from standard black - though still waterproof - and should be more affordable in gallon and half gallon sizes. Oil at $80+ per barrel is not helping to contain shipping costs, though. ;-(

[Limner]

Half-Gallon and full gallon black are available already, but totaling up shipping costs of such heavy items has admittedly intimidated many retailers from trying and they are not actively offered by anyone at the current time. It is their shelf space....their decision. I can still list the number of gallon sales on my fingers (people using the ink in air-brush applications, usually...such as on cotton T-shirts - all sold overseas thus far, although I have one ready for Susan Wirth next time I see her and Viv already has a half gallon of a super fast dry red prototype - for his help with Hindi labels!).

 

It may be made more standard an offering with "Heart of Darkness", which is different from standard black - though still waterproof - and should be more affordable in gallon and half gallon sizes. Oil at $80+ per barrel is not helping to contain shipping costs, though. ;-(

 

 

Thanks for the info, Nathan. Darn, it sounds like arranging a special order through a retailer, if that were even possible, could end up being less economical than buying a slew of bottles. I'll just have to think up some creative use for all those bottles.

[Inkanthropist]

Thanks for sharing these amazing colours, Limner.

 

Neil

[nimrod]

This is awesome! Perfect!

 

I think I know what my first 3 non-black inks are going to be now!

[Ink Stained Wretch]

Half-Gallon and full gallon black are available already, but totaling up shipping costs of such heavy items has admittedly intimidated many retailers from trying and they are not actively offered by anyone at the current time.

Might we know what the prices of those large bottles are? And would it be possible for someone to buy such directly from you? That would certainly cut down on the cumulative shipping costs.

 

It may be made more standard an offering with "Heart of Darkness", which is different from standard black - though still waterproof - and should be more affordable in gallon and half gallon sizes. Oil at $80+ per barrel is not helping to contain shipping costs, though. ;-(

Oh, I don't have "Heart of Darkness" yet. Tell us more about it.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

I'm posting these in response to a request for more scans of an ink mix chart that I posted in another thread ....

Noodler's CMYK Color Chart

Color Wheel

Writing Samples

Thanks a lot for these charts. I mix Noodler's inks a lot and this will surely help me.

[Limner]

Half-Gallon and full gallon black are available already, but totaling up shipping costs of such heavy items has admittedly intimidated many retailers from trying and they are not actively offered by anyone at the current time.

Might we know what the prices of those large bottles are? And would it be possible for someone to buy such directly from you? That would certainly cut down on the cumulative shipping costs.

 

It may be made more standard an offering with "Heart of Darkness", which is different from standard black - though still waterproof - and should be more affordable in gallon and half gallon sizes. Oil at $80+ per barrel is not helping to contain shipping costs, though. ;-(

Oh, I don't have "Heart of Darkness" yet. Tell us more about it.

 

Hi Ink Stained Wretch (great name!)--

 

I'm curious about "Heart of Darkness" as well--Nathan mentioned it in this thread:

 

Naming an Ink

 

--I gather that it's a new ink. I haven't seen it available anywhere, yet. When it is, I'd like to give it a try. I use a lot of black!

 

Also, my thanks to everybody for the kind words, and you're welcome! I plan to eventually post writing samples for the rest of the colors on the chart (I've been swamped with work) as well as some other "in-between" colors.

[Iridium]

Perhaps this wouldn't work well because the colors aren't truly prime or some other reason, but could a fairly wide gamut of predictable waterproof/eternal/fraudproof mixes be made with the following substitutions (coincidentally all Swisher-exclusive Noodler's waterproof inks)?

 

Cyan: Navajo Turquoise -> Aquamarine Blue

Magenta: Shah's Rose -> Hellbender Red

Yellow: Yellow -> Goldfinch

[Limner]

Perhaps this wouldn't work well because the colors aren't truly prime or some other reason, but could a fairly wide gamut of predictable waterproof/eternal/fraudproof mixes be made with the following substitutions (coincidentally all Swisher-exclusive Noodler's waterproof inks)?

 

Cyan: Navajo Turquoise -> Aquamarine Blue

Magenta: Shah's Rose -> Hellbender Red

Yellow: Yellow -> Goldfinch

 

Hi Iridium,

 

I have indeed tried exactly those three inks to attempt a "Bulletproof Wheel" but couldn't come up with colors that matched standard spectrum colors exactly. The Aquamarine is much more saturated than Hellbender and Goldfinch, and forms a precipitate that settles to the bottom of mixes, so it's a little difficult to keep the color consistent. It is possible to mix a predictable gamut of colors, they just aren't a true spectrum match (though that may not matter to most folks). The colors have the "chalkiness" that seems endemic to Noodler's Eternals, as well.

 

Do you have these inks that you could mix and post samples of here? I don't presently have any, and it would be great to have both ranges together to compare the similarities and differences. Thanks in advance, if you can!

 

Edited to add:

A quick check of my files shows I did save a scan of my Bulletproof Wheel experiment, though I can't find the formulas I used here. The first (outer) ring shows the Hues; second, a Tint of each hue; third, a Tone of each hue; and fourth, a tint of each of the tones shown. The paper is HP Laser.

 

 

Edited October 20, 2007 by Limner

[Limner]

Pardon the resurrection of an old topic. As it's not possible to edit my original post, I am adding a refined/updated version of my CMYK chart here.

[saintsimon]

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:clap1: :clap1: :clap1: :clap1:

[krz]

Much thanks Limner! Excellent! :clap1: Your hard work is appreciated.

[Limner]

Thanks, and you're welcome--I've been making custom-mixes for giftgiving this year, and "Mixing Sets" for a few artistically-minded friends. Figured other FPNers may be doing the same. Happy Holidays!

[DanF]

Glad I found this thread, as I was just wondering which inks might be single dye primaries. I have two questions though.

 

How light fast are these colors?

 

How does mixing significant amounts of water for tints affect the handling properties of the resulting mixes, and does this lead to better shading in the writing?

 

Um, make that three questions---Is there another non-bullet proof black that you could recommend?

 

Thanks,

 

Dan

Edited May 7, 2008 by DanF

[biffybeans]

Holy cow. I was a little apprehensive at first, because sometimes it's difficult to match up warm or cool versions of the primaries to mix with.

 

Great job, and thanks for this!!!