Ink is a liquid Liquid is one of the three classical states of matter. Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container, but, like a solid, it resists compression. Unlike a gas, a liquid does not disperse to fill every space of a container, and maintains a fairly constant density. A distinctive property of the liquid state is surface tension, that contains pigments A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light and/or dyes A dye can generally be described as a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and may require a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber and is used to color a surface to produce an image An image is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person, text Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio, or design No generally-accepted definition of “design” exists, and the term has different connotations in different fields . Informally, “a design” (noun) refers to a plan for the construction of an object (as in architectural blueprints, circuit diagrams and sewing patterns) and “to design” (verb) refers to making this plan. However, one can. Ink is used for drawing and/or writing with a pen A pen is a long, thin, rounded device used to apply ink to a surface for the purpose of writing or drawing, usually on paper. There are several different types, including ballpoint, rollerball, fountain, and felt-tip. Historically, reed pens, quill pens, and dip pens were used. Modern-day pens come in a variety of colors, shapes and assortments, brush The term brush refers to devices with bristles, wire or other filaments, used for cleaning, grooming hair, make up, painting, surface finishing and for many other purposes, or quill A quill pen is a writing implement made from a flight feather of a large bird. Quills were used for writing with ink before the invention of the dip pen, metal-nibbed pens, the fountain pen, and, eventually, the ballpoint pen. The hand-cut goose quill is rarely still used as a calligraphy tool, mainly because many papers are derived from wood pulp. Thicker inks, in paste form, are used extensively in letterpress Letterpress printing is a term for the relief printing of text and image using a press with a "type-high bed" printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image. It was the normal form of printing text from its invention by Johannes and lithographic Lithography is a method for printing using a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface. Invented in 1796 by Bavarian author Alois Senefelder as a low-cost method of publishing theatrical works, lithography can be used to print text or artwork onto paper or another suitable material printing Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing.

Ink can be a complex medium, composed of solvents A solvent is a liquid, solid, or gas that dissolves another solid, liquid, or gaseous solute, resulting in a solution that is soluble in a certain volume of solvent at a specified temperature. Common uses for organic solvents are in dry cleaning (e.g. tetrachloroethylene), as a paint thinner (e.g. toluene, turpentine), as nail polish removers and, pigments, dyes, resins Resin is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. It is valued for its chemical properties and associated uses, such as the production of varnishes, adhesives, and food glazing agents; as an important source of raw materials for organic synthesis; and as constituents of incense and perfume. In perfumery such products, lubricants, solubilizers, surfactants Surfactants are compounds that lower the surface tension of a liquid, allowing easier spreading, and lowering of the interfacial tension between two liquids, or between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as: detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming agents, and dispersants, particulate matter Particulates, alternatively referred to as particulate matter or fine particles, are tiny subdivisions of solid or liquid matter suspended in a gas or liquid. In contrast, aerosol refers to particles and the gas together. Sources of particulate matter can be man made or natural. Particulate Matter—(Water quality) In water pollution, particulates, fluorescers, and other materials. The components of inks serve many purposes; the ink’s carrier, colorants, and other additives control flow and thickness of the ink and its appearance when dry.

Contents

Types of ink

Magnified line drawn by a fountain pen

Ink formulas vary, but commonly involve four components:

Inks generally fall into four classes[1]:

Colorants

Pigmented inks are used more frequently than dyes because they are more color-fast, but they are also more expensive, less consistent in color, and have less of a color range In color reproduction, including computer graphics and photography, the gamut, or color gamut , is a certain complete subset of colors. The most common usage refers to the subset of colors which can be accurately represented in a given circumstance, such as within a given color space or by a certain output device. Another sense, less frequently than dyes.[1]

Pigmented inks

Pigments are solid, opaque particles suspended in ink to provide color.[1] Pigment molecules typically link together in crystalline A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material, whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is crystallography. The process of crystal formation via mechanisms of crystal growth is called structures that are 0.1–2 µm A micrometre is one millionth of a metre, or equivalently one thousandth of a millimetre or one thousand nanometres. It can also be written in scientific notation as 1×10−6 m, meaning 1⁄1000000 m in size and comprise 5–30 percent of the ink volume.[1] Qualities such as hue Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as “the degree to which a stimulus can be described as similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,” (the unique hues). The other main correlatives of color appearance are colorfulness, chroma, saturation, lightness, and brightness, saturation In colorimetry and color theory, colorfulness, chroma, and saturation are related but distinct concepts referring to the perceived intensity of a specific color. Colorfulness is the difference between a color against gray. Chroma is the colorfulness relative to the brightness of another color which appears white under similar viewing conditions, and lightness Lightness is a property of a color, or a dimension of a color space, that is defined in a way to reflect the subjective brightness perception of a color for humans along a lightness–darkness axis. A color's lightness also corresponds to its amplitude vary depending on the source and type of pigment A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.

Dyes in inks

Dye-based inks are generally much stronger than pigment-based inks and can produce much more color of a given density per unit of mass. However, because dyes are dissolved in the liquid phase, they have a tendency to soak into paper, making the ink less efficient and potentially allowing the ink to bleed at the edges of an image.[2]

To circumvent this problem, dye-based inks are made with solvents that dry rapidly or are used with quick-drying methods of printing, such as blowing hot air on the fresh print. Other methods include harder paper sizing Sizing or size is any one of numerous specific substances that is applied to or incorporated in other material, especially papers and textiles, to act as a protecting filler or glaze. Sizing is used in papermaking and textile manufacturing to change the absorption and wear characteristics of those materials; it is used as a surface preparation for and more specialized paper coatings. The latter is particularly suited to inks used in non-industrial settings (which must conform to tighter toxicity and emission controls), such as inkjet printer An inkjet printer is a type of computer printer that reproduces a digital image by propelling variably-sized droplets of liquid material onto a page. Inkjet printers are the most common type of printer and range from small inexpensive consumer models to very large and expensive professional machines inks. Another technique involves coating the paper with a charged coating. If the dye has the opposite charge, it is attracted to and retained by this coating, while the solvent soaks into the paper. Cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula n, a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β(1→4) linked D-glucose units, the wood-derived material most paper is made of, is naturally charged, and so a compound that complexes with both the dye and the paper's surface aids retention at the surface. Such a compound in common use in ink-jet printing inks is polyvinyl pyrrolidone PVP is soluble in water and other polar solvents. In water it has the useful property of Newtonian viscosity[dubious – discuss]. When dry it is a light flaky powder, which readily absorbs up to 40% of its weight in atmospheric water. In solution, it has excellent wetting properties and readily forms films. This makes it good as a coating or an.

An additional advantage of dye-based ink systems is that the dye molecules A molecule is defined as an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by very strong chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from polyatomic ions in this strict sense. In organic chemistry and biochemistry, the term molecule is used less strictly and also is applied to charged organic molecules interact chemically with other ink ingredients. This means that they can benefit more than pigmented ink from optical brighteners Optical brighteners, optical brightening agents , fluorescent brightening agents (FBAs) or fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs) are dyes that absorb light in the ultraviolet and violet region (usually 340-370nm) of the electromagnetic spectrum, and re-emit light in the blue region (typically 420-470nm). Fluorescent activity is a short term or rapid and color-enhancing agents designed to increase the intensity and appearance of dyes. Because dyes get their color from the interaction of electrons The electron is a subatomic particle carrying a negative electric charge. It has no known components or substructure, and therefore is believed to be an elementary particle. An electron has a mass that is approximately 1/1836 that of the proton. The intrinsic angular momentum of the electron is a half integer value in units of ħ, which means that in their molecules, the way the electrons can move is determined by the charge and extent of electron delocalization In chemistry, delocalized electrons are electrons in a molecule that are not associated with a single atom or one covalent bond. Delocalized electrons are contained within an orbital that extends over several adjacent atoms. Classically, delocalized electrons can be found in conjugated systems and mesoionic compounds. It is increasingly in other ink ingredients. The color emerges as a function of the light energy that falls on the dye. Thus, if an optical brightener or color enhancer absorbs light energy and emits it through or with the dye, the appearance changes, as the spectrum of light re-emitted to the observer changes.

A more recent development in dye-based inks are dyes that react with cellulose to permanently color the paper. Such inks are not affected by water, alcohol, and other solvents. As such, their use is recommended to prevent frauds that involve removing signatures, such as check washing Check washing is the process of erasing details from checks to allow them to be rewritten, usually for criminal purposes such as fraudulent withdrawal from the victim's bank account. This kind of ink is most commonly found in gel inks and in certain fountain pen A fountain pen is a nib pen that, unlike its predecessor the dip pen, contains an internal reservoir of water-based liquid ink. From the reservoir, the ink is drawn through a feed to the nib and then to the paper via a combination of gravity and capillary action. As a result, the typical fountain pen requires little or no pressure to write inks Fountain pen inks are water-based inks intended for use with fountain pens. These inks are commonly available in bottles. Plastic cartridges came into use in the 1960s, but bottled inks are still the mainstay for most fountain pen enthusiasts. Bottled inks usually cost less than an equivalent amount in cartridges and afford a wider variety of.

History of ink

Ink drawing of Ganesha Ganesha (Sanskrit: गणेश; IAST: Gaṇeśa; listen ), also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh, also known as Ganapati (Sanskrit: गणपति; IAST: gaṇapati), Vinayaka (Sanskrit: विनायक; IAST: Vināyaka), and Pillaiyar, is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout under an umbrella (early 19th century). Ink, called masi, an admixture of several chemical components, has been used in India since at least the 4th century BC.[3] The practice of writing with ink and a sharp pointed needle was common in early South India Southern India, also known as the Dravida in the Indian anthem, is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area. South India lies in the peninsular Deccan Plateau and is bounded by the Arabian Sea in the.[4] Several Jain Jainism is an ancient religion of India that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state of supreme being is called Jina ( sutras in India were compiled in ink.[5]

Many ancient cultures around the world have independently discovered and formulated inks for the purposes of writing and drawing. The knowledge of the inks, their recipes and the techniques for their production comes from archaeological analysis or from written text itself.

The history of Chinese inks can be traced back to the 12th century BC, with the utilization of natural plant (plant dyes), animal, and mineral inks based on such materials as graphite The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Greek γράφειν : "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead, as distinguished from the actual metallic element lead. Unlike diamond (another carbon allotrope), graphite is an electrical that were ground with water and applied with ink brushes Ink brushes are used in Chinese calligraphy. They are also used in Chinese painting and descendant brush painting styles (such as sumi-e). Together with the inkstone, inkstick and Xuan paper, these four writing implements form the Four Treasures of the Study. Evidence for the earliest Chinese inks, similar to modern inksticks Inksticks , sometimes known as sumi (Japanese transliteration), are a type of solid ink used traditionally in several East Asian cultures for calligraphy and brush painting. Inksticks are made mainly of soot and animal glue, sometimes with incense or medicinal scents added. To make ink from the inkstick, it has to be continuouly ground against an, is around 256 BC in the end of the Warring States Period The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, covers the period from 475 BC to the unification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC. It is nominally considered to be the second part of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, following the Spring and Autumn Period, although the Zhou Dynasty ended in 256 BC, 35 years earlier than the and produced using manual labour from soot Soot is a general term that refers to impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon. It is more properly restricted to the product of the gas-phase combustion process but is commonly extended to include the residual pyrolyzed fuel particles such as cenospheres, charred wood, petroleum coke, etc. that may become and animal glue An animal glue is an adhesive that is created by prolonged boiling of animal connective tissue.[6]

The India ink India ink is a simple black ink once widely used for writing and printing, and now more commonly used for drawing, especially when inking comics and comic strips used in ancient India The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago hominids from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent from c. 3300 to 1300 BCE, was the first major civilization in India. A sophisticated and since at least the 4th century BC was called masi, and was made of burnt bones, tar, pitch, and other substances.[3][7] Indian documents written in Kharosthi The Kharoṣṭhī script, is an ancient abugida used by the Gandhara culture, nestled in the historic northwest South Asia to write the Gāndhārī and Sanskrit languages. It was in use from the middle of the 3rd century BCE until it died out in its homeland around the 3rd century CE. It was also in use in Kushan, Sogdiana (see Issyk kurgan) and with ink have been unearthed in Chinese Turkestan Xinjiang is an autonomous region (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) of the People's Republic of China and also claimed by the Republic of China.[8] The practice of writing with ink and a sharp pointed needle was common in early South India Southern India, also known as the Dravida in the Indian anthem, is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area. South India lies in the peninsular Deccan Plateau and is bounded by the Arabian Sea in the.[4] Several Jain Jainism is an ancient religion of India that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state of supreme being is called Jina ( sutras in India were compiled in ink.[5]

In ancient Rome, atramentum In ancient Rome, the term atramentum signified any black colouring substance used for any purpose. The Romans distinguished three principal kinds of atramentum, one called librarium , another called sutorium, the third tectorium. Atramentum librarium was the writing ink of Roman times, atramentum sutorium was used by shoemakers for dyeing leather, was used. In an article for the Christian Science Monitor, Sharon J. Huntington describes these other historical inks:

About 1,600 years ago, a popular ink recipe was created. The recipe was used for centuries. Iron salts, such as ferrous sulfate (made by treating iron with sulfuric acid), were mixed with tannin from gallnuts (they grow on trees) and a thickener. When first put to paper, this ink is bluish-black. Over time it fades to a dull brown.

Scribes in medieval Europe (about AD 800 to 1500) wrote principally on parchment or vellum. One 12th century ink recipe called for hawthorn branches to be cut in the spring and left to dry. Then the bark was pounded from the branches and soaked in water for eight days. The water was boiled until it thickened and turned black. Wine was added during boiling. The ink was poured into special bags and hung in the sun. Once dried, the mixture was mixed with wine and iron salt over a fire to make the final ink.[citation needed]

The reservoir pen, which may have been the first fountain pen, dates back to 953, when Ma'ād al-Mu'izz, the caliph of Egypt, demanded a pen that would not stain his hands or clothes, and was provided with a pen that held ink in a reservoir.[9]

In the 15th century, a new type of ink had to be developed in Europe for the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg. Two types of ink were prevalent at the time: the Greek and Roman writing ink (soot, glue, and water) and the 12th century variety composed of ferrous sulfate, gall, gum, and water.[10] Neither of these handwriting inks could adhere to printing surfaces without creating blurs. Eventually an oily, varnish-like ink made of soot, turpentine, and walnut oil was created specifically for the printing press.

Modern ink applications

Up until a few years ago, consumers had very little interest in ink other than refills for their pens. Fountain pens became a novelty as the disposable ball point pen took over the market. The introduction of home computing led to home printing. Today, in developed nations, most residences and businesses have a printing capability. As a result, buying ink in the form of a printer cartridge has once again become a part of the day-to-day shopping experience, similar to buying a bottle of ink fifty years ago.

Ink refilling services for printer cartridges are offered by large, official printing companies as well as smaller, "unofficial" refill companies. Customers can often cut printing costs by using refill services from a refill company, or buying the new non-OEM (original equipment manufacturer) brands instead of refilling. The refilling of ink cartridges and the use of continuous ink supply systems for inkjet printers is very common in most countries, with the exception of the United States. As printer manufacturers control the type of competition that they allow on retail shelves to a great extent, devices to ease the use of refill inks are usually only available online.

Health and environmental aspects

See also: Environmental issues with paper

There is a misconception that ink is non-toxic even if swallowed. Once ingested, ink can be hazardous to one's health. Certain inks, such as those used in printers, and even those found in a common pen can be harmful. Though ink does not easily cause death, inappropriate contact can cause effects such as severe headaches, skin irritation, or nervous system damage. These effects can be caused by solvents, or by pigment ingredients such as p-Anisidine, which helps create some ink's color and shine.

Three main environmental issues with ink are:

Some regulatory bodies have set standards for the amount of heavy metals in ink.[11] There is a trend toward vegetable oils rather than petroleum oils in recent years in response to a demand for better environmental sustainability.

Writing inks and preservation

The two most used black writing inks in history are carbon inks and iron gall inks. Both types create problems for preservationists.

Carbon inks

Chinese inkstick; carbon-based and made from soot and animal glue

Carbon inks were commonly made from lampblack or soot and a binding agent such as gum arabic or animal glue. The binding agent keeps the carbon particles in suspension and adhered to paper. The carbon particles do not fade over time even when in sunlight or when bleached. One benefit of carbon ink is that it is not harmful to the paper. Over time, the ink is chemically stable and therefore does not threaten the strength of the paper. Despite these benefits, carbon ink is not ideal for permanence and ease of preservation. Carbon ink has a tendency to smudge in humid environments and can be washed off a surface. The best method of preserving a document written in carbon ink is to ensure it is stored in a dry environment (Barrow 1972). Recently, carbon inks made from carbon nanotubes have been successfully created. They are similar in composition to the traditional inks in that they use a polymer to suspend the carbon nanotubes. These inks can be used in inkjet printers and produce electrically conductive patterns.[12]

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