Iron Gall Ink

Iron gall ink is primarily made from tannin (most often extracted from galls), vitriol (Ferrous Sulfate (FeSO4) (FeSO4)), gum, and water. Because of the indeliblilty of iron gall ink it was the ink of choice for documentation from the late Middle Ages to the middle of the twentieth century. Iron gall ink was stable in light, easily made, inexpensive, and the ingrediebts were readily available. It was used with quill, reed pen or brush and very popular with artists as a drawing ink. Iron gall ink is created by the chemical reaction between tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate (FeSO4) (FeSO4) in an aqueous solution. The active components in tannin are gallotannic and gallic acid reacting with Ferrous Sulfate (FeSO4) (FeSO4) to produce a black pigment, called ferrogallotannate or ferrotannate, upon exposure to oxygen. A small amount of pigment forms by reacting with oxygen in the water, but much more pigment is produced after the ink has been applied to paper and exposed to air for several days. Without additives this ink expresses a light tan while wet, which darkens when dry! It is known to be chemically unstable, and over time, change color or damage the paper on which it is applied. In todays time with advances in additives and preservatives both ink and paper last much longer

Research indicates that a 3:1 ratio of gallotannic acid to Ferrous Sulfate (FeSO4) (FeSO4) produces the most stable inks.

Although tannic acid and Ferrous Sulfate (FeSO4) (FeSO4) in water will produce a colored solution, it is not a true ink until a water-soluble binder, such as gum arabic, is added to improve the body and flow of the solution so it may be used with quill, reed or steel dip pens.

Iron gall ink is corrosive and not recommended for use in expensive fountain pens

Other ingredients can be added to strengthen or change the color of the ink, act as a preservative, or prevent it from freezing. A brief description of the source and function of each ingredient may inspire you to experiment with your own ink formulas.

Gum Arabic

gum arabic - is a water soluble golden-colored sap collected from Acacia trees native to North Africa. It may be purchased from art supply stores in the form of a liquid, a powder or as dried clumps or fragments. gum arabic acts as an emulsifier and keeps the black pigment suspended in the liquid - otherwise, it would settle to the bottom of the container over time. It also helps to thicken the ink, allowing it to flow more easily from the pen or brush onto the paper. More importantly, the gum holds the ink at the surface of the paper for a few extra seconds before sinking into the fibers. This influences the appearance and durability of marks made with the ink. The ink line is clearer and sharper than it would be without a binding agent, in part because the ink sinks less deeply into the paper fibers. However, too much gum arabic will cause the dried ink to become inflexible, and it can crack and flake off the surface. Click here for more information!

Tannic acid - is contained in the galls, bark, leaves, roots and fruits of various plants. The greatest concentration of gallotannic acid is found in galls; the bulbous growths formed on the leaves and twigs of trees in response to attack by parasites. galls are collected from oak, oak-apple and pistachio trees. Depending on the source, they can be amorphous in shape (Japanese and Chinese galls); large, smooth and globular (British and American oak galls); or small, round and spiky (Aleppo galls). Aleppo galls, collected from trees native to Turkey, contain the highest amount of gallotannate, and were used in trial preparations of the inks described below. A lower proportion of gallotannic acid may be extracted from the bark of various trees, including oak, chestnut, mountain ash and cherry. Various other sources for tannin include pomegranate rinds, horse chestnuts, hemlock and pine bark. However, the active tannins in these materials are different, and the ink will be less durable and have a green tone instead of the blue black color characteristic of high-quality iron gall ink. Essentially, there are three methods by which gallotannate is extracted from galls:

Powdered or crushed galls mixed with water or other liquid.
Boiling the galls for several hours to release the tannins.
Mold fermentaion of the galls.

The fermentation process generally produces the richest, blackest inks. As the mold enzymatically digests the gallotannic acid, the solution is transformed to gallic acid. Gallic acid produces a purer black color in reaction with Ferrous Sulfate (FeSO4) (FeSO4), while gallotannic acid will produce a comparatively browner pigment. Should you want to make a gallic acid ink without investing the time, pure gallic acid can also be obtained from a chemical supplier.

Ink and Paper Degradation

The destructive mechanism of inks is a complex result of different chemical processes due to:

• the natural ageing of paper,
• the composition of the inks
• the chemical reactions between the ink, the carrier or the medium, and the paper

The chemical reactions between the inks and the carrier materials are especially influenced by the environment and storage conditions (temperature and humidity). Deterioration of paper by iron gall inks is a result of the action of inks and support containing iron and other transition metal ions such as copper or zinc. Damage to the support material goes through various stages:

• Fluorescence in the immediate vicinity of the ink writing under UV-light is noticeable, which is followed by a brown discoloration of the support in this area. This especially occurs in case of broad pen or brush strokes.
• Brown discoloration spreads through the support and very often an offsetting to neighbouring pages is observable.
• The degradation of paper is so severe that whole areas, especially along the written or drawn lines can fall apart and the information lost.

Other degradation processes include the composition of:

• Parchment material (which plant materials were used),
• Binding glue or paste used to hold the particles of the parchment together,
• Solvent materials used to produce the glue and parchment material,
• Bleaches to produce a whiter parchment

The paper and parchment becomes brittle and friable as a result of age and the influence of the destructive inks, deteriorating its natural properties and eventually making it useless as an information medium.

Pigments

A pigment is in its simplest form is a finely powdered mineral, colored earth, that is mechanically bound to a surface with a binder. Dyes on the other hand are chemically bound to a material generally with the use of a mordant (alum, chromium, copper, tin and iron.) This paper will focus on ground mineral pigments, binders and application methods.

Pigment Colors - The spectrum of natural earth colors can be found in most places of the world.

• Red: Iron oxide, also known as red ocher, hematite or more commonly as rust.
• Yellow: Also an iron oxide known as yellow ocher or limonite. The ancients knew if you heat yellow iron oxide in a fire, it turned from yellow to orange, then to bright red!
• Black: Wood charcoal from various woods. Other common materials were manganese dioxide and natural graphite which was broken down by heating it. Soot, collected from burning pine resin or lampblack is created for use in India ink and for the ink blocks used in Japanese and Chinese calligraphy.
• White: Clay known as KAOLIN clay (porcelain clay), chalk, gypsum, diatomaceous earth, burned bone or shell.

Natural Colors from the earth:

• Rich Brown: Red Ocher/Haematite (iron oxide)
• Yellow: Yellow Ocher/Limonite (iron oxide)
• White: Diatomaceous Earth
• Black: Charcoal
• Pinkish Red: Cinnabar (mercury sulfate)
• Golden Yellow: Yellow Ocher/Limonite (iron oxide)
• Flat Yellow: Yellow Ocher/Limonite (iron oxide)
• Bright Red: Red Ocher/Haematite (iron oxide)
• Black: Graphite
• Dark Red: Red Ocher/Haematite (iron oxide)

Processing - To convert a raw mineral into usable pigment is only a matter of grinding it into a very fine powder. Some times though, mineral pigments are very hard and have to be processed. This is done by grinding the mineral using a mortar and pestle (molcahjete) or simply a flat hand stone called a muller or mano, on a larger flat stationary stone (metate). The material being ground can be left dry or water can be added to help keep the fine particles from scattering as it is being processed. This is a tedious task, but knowing that not all of the mineral material need be perfectly ground to make it usable can help us to persevere.

One method of separating the finely ground pigment from the courser material is done using a process called settling. The powdered mineral is poured into a container of water. The water is then stirred to mix the ground pigment thoroughly through the water. The heavier particles of pigment will begin to settle to the bottom, while the lighter, finer particles remain suspended in the liquid. The amount of time given for the heavier particles to settle, will determine the consistency of the finished pigment; less settling time gives a courser pigment, more settling time results in a finer pigment. Usually, after less than a minute, the water with the lighter pigment particles is carefully poured off into another container and allowed to settle to the bottom. The fine pigment will settle to the bottom of this new container leaving the remaining water perfectly clear. Only now, should this clear water be carefully poured off and the remaining moisture in the wet pigment be allowed to evaporate away. The pigment that is left is fine and of uniform size. When it is completely dry, the finished pigment is then ready for use or storage.

Caution In using Pigments

The hazards of pigments may be classed in three broad categories:

• Highly Toxic - Materials that will cause severe illness or death from a single exposure of a small amount.
• Toxic - Materials considered toxic may lead to the same results as above but require larger amounts or greater lengths of exposure. These materials may also cause less severe illness.
• Slightly Toxic - These materials may cause temporary irritation or illness but more severe results may ensue if an overdose occurs.

The choice of pigments colors is a personal one, however, certain colors work well in tempera, some do not. Here is a list of more commonly used pigments.

• Lead White/Flake White - Highly Toxic - Has wonderful painting characteristics and excellent tinting strength.
• Titanium White - Not considered toxic - do not breath the dust. The most widely used white being very permanent and having the greatest opacity and tinting power. It can have the tendency of overpowering other colors it is mixed with. Try mixing a two to one ratio of titanium and zinc white.
• Zinc White - Not considered toxic - do not breath the dust. A difficult paint to apply. Its only use is when blended with titanium white to emulate the characteristics of lead white.
• Mars Black - Not considered toxic - do not breath the dust. Blends well with egg and water and has a warm, brownish hue. It is best to mix the dry pigment with the yolk using as little water as possible therefore resulting in a black with optimum tinting strength.
• Ivory Black - Not considered toxic - do not breath the dust. A very cold black and most commonly used in tempera. However, some brands are difficult to temper with egg and water.
• Yellow Ocher - Not considered toxic - do not breath the dust. Comes in a variety of tones all of which are permanent. Even a fairly subdued yellow like ochre appears quite brilliant in egg tempera, giving it a wide range of applications.
• Naples Yellow - Highly Toxic - A beautiful natural light yellow.
• Cadmium Yellow Deep - Toxic - Has great tinting strength and maintains a richness that works well with egg tempera.
• Raw Sienna - Not considered toxic - do not breath the dust. An excellent color for glazing and warming colors.
• Burnt Sienna - Not considered toxic - do not breath the dust. A brown or a red? In egg tempera it can be considered a red because of its brilliance. Very versatile and useful.
• Venetian Red - Not considered toxic - do not breath the dust. A rich pigment with great tinting strength. Useful when mixed with black for details.
• Red Ocher - do not breath the dust. The modern name for Sinopia, the color used in the Renaissance for painting flesh tones. Remarkable for high lights.
• Vermilion - Poisonous - do not ingest or breath the dust. True vermilion is quite beautiful but expensive and has questionable permanence. The modern substitute is more permanent though slightly more orange in color than the original.
• Cadmium Red - Toxic - Permanent but tend to be garish compared to earth reds.
  When mixed with water they can generate a strong, almost putrefying smell.
• Chromium of Oxide Green - Toxic - suspected carcinogen - A pale color with good tinting strength. Very useful for underpainting and laying in solid green tones. It must be glazed over or mixed with other colors to create a rich green color.
• Viridian Green - Toxic - suspected carcinogen - A man made color with intense tinting power. There are differing opinions about its usefulness - some painters avoid it - others use it for its intense color for effect. It can be used sparingly with others colors (ochres, blues, reds) to give a variety of greens.
• Terre Verte - Not considered toxic - do not breath the dust. A very light transparent green traditionally employed for underpainting flesh. It is very difficult to work with because it does not flow easily.
• Cobalt Geen - Toxic - do not breath the dust. This varies from company to company. Depending who makes it, one may encounter a favorable result or a disaster! Some varieties solidify in the jar after a day, others resist being ground with water.
• Ultramarine Blue - Not considered toxic - do not breath the dust. The modern replacement for Lapiz Lazuli. It is not as dense a blue as Lapiz but it has a very deep rich tone. Although it works wonderfully as a glaze, it looses much of its beauty when mixed with white. The pigment if made into a paste will solidify - best to mix dry when required.
• Ultramarine Blue light - Not considered toxic - do not breath the dust. Not as intense as the above and resembles a dark shade of cobalt blue. Useful for skies and glazing and it will form a paste.
• Cobalt Blue - Considered toxic - do not breath the dust. A replacement for azurite. A very clean and clear blue which does not weaken too much when mixed with white, making it one of the most useful blue colors for tempera. Several grades and shades of cobalt are sold.
• Cerulean Blue - Considered toxic - do not breath the dust. A wonderful color but can be gritty therefore making it impossible to create a smooth, consistent color.
• Manganese Blue - Considered toxic - do not breath the dust. A greenish blue that works well in tempera. The greenish cast can be a problem because it affects some of the natural color harmonies of tempera.
• Burnt Umber - Considered toxic - do not breath the dust. A deep rich brown which works well in tempera although some sources may be very gritty.
• Raw Umber - Considered toxic - do not breath the dust. A useful brown with a slightly greenish tinge.

Colored Inks

Blue Ink -

1. Triturate best Prussian blue, 6 parts, with a solution of 1 part of oxalic acid in 6 of water, and towards the end of 1/4 of an hour or so add gradually gum arabic, 18 parts, and water, 280. Pour off clear.
2. Dilute half a pound of indigo with some flake white and sugar, in a sufficient quantity of gum-water. The same may be done with ultramarine, and gum-water.

Brown Ink - Digest powdered catechu, 4 parts, with water 60 parts, for some hours; filter, and add sufficient of a solution of bichromate of potassa, 1 part in 16 of water.

Crimson Ink - A beautiful crimson ink is made by mixing red ink No. 1 with the violet ink; about equal parts will answer. The parts given are those of weight, not measure. The mucilage of gum arabic prevents the fine particles of color falling to the bottom in the form of a sediment. Sugar gives to inks a glossy appearance, but very little of it should be used, as it is liable to make the ink sticky.

Gold Ink - Mosaic gold, 2 parts, gum arabic, 1 part, are rubbed up with water until reduced to a proper condition.

Green Inks

Digest 1 part of gamboge with from 7 to 10 parts of the blue ink.
1. To powdered bichromate of potassa, 8 parts, contained in a porcelain dish, add oil of vitriol, 8 parts, previously diluted with 64 of water; then heat, and, while evaporating, add gradually 24 parts of alcohol, and reduce to 56 parts, which filter, and in the clear liquor dissolve 8 parts of gum arabic.
2. Grind together verdigrease, saffron, rue juice, then dilute this paste in gum rose water.

Red Inks

Pernambuco-wood, 4 parts; alum and cream of tartar, each 1 part, with 30 of water; boil down to 16 parts, let stand, pour off, filter, and dissolve in the liquid gum arabic, 1 1/2 parts; white sugar, 1 part.
1. Digest powdered cochineal, 8 parts, and carbonate of potash, 16 parts, in 144 of water, for 24 hours; then boil up with powdered alum, 4 parts, and add 24 of cream of tarter, with 3 parts of tartaric acid, and, when effervescence has ceased, another part of the acid, or enough to produce the color; let cool, filter, and boil the residue on the filter with 12 parts of water; filter again, mix the liquids and dissolve in them 24 parts of gum Arabic, and lastly 1/3 part of oil of cloves. No iron vessels must be used in this process.
2. Digest powdered cochineal, 16 parts; oxalic acid, 2 parts; dilute acetic acid, 80 parts; distilled water, 40 parts, for 36 hours; then add powdered alum, 1 part; gum arabic, 1 to 10; shake up, let stand for 12 hours, and strain.
3. Dissolve 1 part of carmine in 8 to 10 parts of aqua ammonia, and add mucilage of gum arabic sufficient to reduce it properly.
4. Dissolve half an ounce of gum-arabic in three ounces of rose water.  Then add with this water - dilute:
   • cinnabar,
   • vermilion, or
   • mimium.

Ink of any colour may be made in the same manner, by substituting only a proper coloring ingredient to the aforementioned cinnabar, etc.

Silver Ink - Triturate in a mortar equal parts of silver foil and sulphate of potassa, until reduced to a fine powder; then wash out the salt, and mix the residue with a mucilage of equal parts of gum arabic and water.

Yellow Ink

1. Macerate gamboge, 1 part (or 1 1/2); alum, 1/2 part; gum arabic, 1 part, in acetic acid, 1 part; and water, 24 parts.
2. Dilute in gum-water some saffron, or French berries, or gamboge, and you will have a yellow ink.  The same may be done with any other coloring ingredient, to obtain an ink of the colour one likes to have.

Violet Ink - Eight parts of logwood and 64 parts of water; boil down to one-half, then strain and add 1 part of chloride of tin.

Ink Recipes

An exceeding good writing ink - Boil half a pound of India wood shavings in two quarts of good vinegar, to the reduction of one half.  Take off the shavings, and substitute four ounces of gall nuts bruised, and put all into a strong bottle, which you expose in the sun for three or four days, shaking it during that time three or four times a day.  Then add a dissolution of two ounces and half of gum-arabic in half a pint of either water or vinegar,  Let the whole stand again in the sun for a week, shaking it several times every day, during that term; strain that liquor afterwards, and keep it for use.

1. If you should want to render this ink shiny, you must dissolve both the vitriol and gum arabic in an infusion of India wood, made as before directed, with the addition of one handful of pomegranate rinds in the bottle wherein the gall nut is.
2. If instead of setting this composition in the sun, you should boil it, it will take but a quarter of an hour a-doing.  But it is never so good, and besides, always turns muddy.

Asiatic Black Ink:

• Logwood shavings and powdered galls, of each 2 pounds;
• green vitriol, 1 pound;
• gum, 1/2 pound;
• pomegranate bark, 1/4 pound;
• water, 1 gallon;

Infuse 14 days with frequent agitation, or boil as directed in last receipt. This ink writes pale, but flows well from the pen, and soon turns black."

Black Ink #1- Campeachy logwood chips, 3 pounds; bruised galls, 9 pounds; boil in water, and to the mixed liquors add gum-arabic and green copperas (ferrous sulfate (FeSO4)), of each 4 pounds; to produce 16 1/2 gallons of ink. Quality very good, but inferior to the above [referring to Cooley's Superior Black Ink].

Black ink #2 - According to the most accurate experiments on the preparation of black ink, it appears that formula for the quantity of

Sulphate of iron should not exceed 1/3 part of that of the galls,

by which an excess of color matter, which is necessary for the durability of the black, is preserved in the liquid. Gum, by shielding the writing from the action of the air, tends to preserve the color, but if much is employed, the ink flows badly from quill pens, and scarcely at all from steel pens. The latter require a very limpid ink.

The addition of sugar increases the flowing property of ink, but makes it dry more slowly, and frequently passes into vinegar, when it acts injuriously on the pen. Vinegar, for a like reason, is not calculated for the fluid ingredient. The best blue galls should alone be employed in making ink. Sumach, logwood, and oak bark, are frequently substituted for galls in the preparation of common ink. When such is the case, only about one-sixth or one-seventh of their weight of copperas should be employed. [Inks so made possess little durability.*] (* The observation bracketed appears in an earlier work, Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Third edition, London 1856)

Black Ink, Cooley's Superior - Bruised Aleppo nut-galls, 12 pounds; water, 6 gallons; boil in a copper vessel for 1 hour, adding water to make up for the portion lost by evaporation; strain and again boil the galls with water, 4 gallons, for 1/2 hour, strain off the liquor and boil a third time with water, 2 1/2 gallons, and strain; mix the several liquors, and while still hot add green copperas (ferrous sulfate (FeSO4)) (sulphate of iron) coarsely powdered, 4 pounds; gum-arabic bruised small, 3 1/2 pounds; agitate until dissolved, and when settled, strain through a hair sieve, and keep it in a bunged-up cask for use. This will produce 12 gallons, very fine and durable.

Black Steel Pen Ink - A black ink, not corroding steel pens, and neutral, may be prepared by digesting in an open vessel, 42 ounces coarsely-powdered nut-galls, 15 ounces gum senegal, 18 ounces sulphate of iron (free from copper), 3 drachms aqua ammonia, 24 ounces alcohol, and 18 quarts distilled or rain water. Continue the digestion until the fluid has assumed a deep black color.

Exchequer Ink - Bruised galls, 40 pounds; gum, 10 pounds; green sulphate of iron, 9 pounds; soft water, 45 gallons; macerate for 3 weeks, employing frequent agitation. This ink will endure for centuries.

Ferrous Sulphate Ink Powder, Iron Gallate Inks - Many formulas exist for making ink powder to produce writing fluid of good keeping quality, low acidity, and satisfactory permanence. Ink will keep longer without depositing sediment if it is made without tannic acid, but with an increased amount of gallic acid. It is possible to replace the usual hydrochloric or sulphuric acid by less than an equivalent quantity of a solid organic acid. ... The weight of ferrous sulphate called for, 15.0 grams, contains 3 grams of iron.

• Gallic acid crystals, 10.0 grams
• Ferrous sulphate crystals, 15.0 grams
• Tartaric acid, 1.0 gram
• Soluble blue (C.I. 707; Sch. 539), 3.5 grams -- (NOTE: Explanation of this dye is in Appendix, the last page).

Dissolve ingredients in enough water (distilled is best) to make total volume of 1 liter. Variations in the type of dye and the amount of air in the bottle may cause formation of sediment. ...

Fine Black Ink -

• Alleppo galls (well bruised), 4 ounces;
• clean soft water, 1 quart;

Macerate in a clean corked bottle for 10 days, or even longer, with frequent agitation; then add

• 1 1/4 ounces gum-arabic (dissolved in a wine-glassful of water);
• lump sugar 1/2 ounce;

Mix well, and afterwards further add

• 1 1/2 ounces sulphate of iron (green copperas (ferrous sulfate (FeSO4))) crushed small,

Agitate occasionally for 2 or 3 days, when the ink may be decanted for use; but it is better if left to digest together for 2 or 3 weeks. When time is an object, the whole of the ingredients may be at once put into a bottle, and the latter agitated daily, until the ink is made; and boiling water instead of cold water may be employed. The above will make 1 quart of beautiful ink, writing pale at first, but soon turning intensely black. Dick's Encyclopedia of Practical Receipts and Processes, [no date] circa 1870

Glycerine Ink - Take copperas, 4 ounces; nut-galls, 12 ounces; logwood, 8 ounces; vinegar, 8 ounces; gum-arabic, 1 ounce; glycerine, 1/2 ounce; water, 48 ounces; all the solid substances are to be pulverized and boiled for an hour together; they are then set to cool, strained through a flannel bag, and after that filtered through a folded filter. A drop of oil of cloves is added, the whole well shaken and filled into bottles. This ink will copy well.

Homemade Ink

This makes a fine inexpensive homemade ink!

• 1/3 cup dried and finely chopped herbs (herbs add a personal magical quality to your finished ink)
• 1/4 cup wood ash
• 1/2 cup charcoal
• 4 cups raw uncooked walnut husks (Juglans major - with skin if possible and broken into pieces)
• 1/2 cup rusted nails, bolts, washers (anything that is steel or iron that is rusted - but oil free)
• 1 tablespoon powdered gum arabic
• 1 quart distilled water (water is still going to be boiled but you don't want chlorine or flourides reacting with iron)
• 1 Tablespoon vinegar
• Methyl alcohol
• Iron brazier (or cauldron) with lid (iron brazier is used both as pot and to burn dry ingredients to ash)
• Bowl

Method:

1. Put the wood ash, walnut husks and rusted iron objects in 6 cups distilled water and boil in the brazier for 4 hours (boil down to 1 1/2 cups level)
2. Pour through sieve - let cool and save liquor in bowl; discard walnut husks and iron objects
3. Put dried herbs and charcoal into the brazier and while partialy covered to collect soot - burn completely to ash using methyl achohol
4. Collect ash and accumulated soot on lid of brazier and put into a grinder until finely powdered,
5. Clean brazier, add liqour from bowl with powder and vinegar
6. Bring to boil again for two hours - reducing liquid by half (to 3/4 cup level)
7. While hot - pour remaining liquor through fine filter (coffee filters if nothing else is available); the finer particulates of the ink will pass through while coarser particulates are cast off,
8. While still hot - immediately mix powdered gum-arabic into liquor until well blended (if too much heat was lost - return to clean brazier and reheat until gum arabic blends with lliquor)
9. Let sit for twelve hours before using - at this point add more distilled water if too thick or more arabic gum if too thin!
   • walnut to replace gallnuts for tannin,
   • iron rust, potash and and vinegar to replace ferrous sulfate,
   • carbon from soot and charcoal for finer black particulates

India ink #1

• Burn some lamp-black in a crucible till the fume which arises in doing it, has entirely subsided;
• grind it next on porphry, or marble, with a pretty strong water of gum-tragacanth. 
• Add an equal quantity of indigo burnt, and grinded in the same manner. 
• Then mix them both together on the stone, and grind them for two hours.
• Gather up the composition, in a flat square, of the height and thickness you are willing to give to your sticks. 
• Cut these with a knife to your intended size, and put them, if you choose, into an iron mold; and lest the paste should stick to them, rub the inside of the mold with lamp or ivory black, or with peach stones dust, which you burn in a crucible stifled with a brick to stop it well.

India Ink #2 - Let ivory or lampblack be mixed with a small portion of Prussian blue or indigo, for a blue-black, and let the same blacks be united with raw or burnt umber, bistre, vandyke or any other brown, instead of the blue, for a brownblack. These should be mixed together in a weak gumwater (perhaps matt-work would answer the purpose better), first levigating them very fine, in common water, on a marble slab. When dried to the consistence of a paste, let the glutinous matter be well mixed with them; that will be found sufficiently strong, which binds the composition so as to prevent rubbing off by the touch. Indian-ink drawings should be handled as lightly as possible. Too much gum in the composition will create an offensive gloss.

Ink for drawing and writing

1. Bruise with a hammer one pound of gall-nuts and put it to infuse for a fortnight in the sun, in two quarts of clear water, stirring it now and then.  
2. Strain this infusion through a sieve or cloth in a glazed pipkin.
3. In another vessel put two ounces of gum-arabic, and half of the above infusion. 
4. In the other half which remains to dissolve two ounces and a half of German green vitriol, and let it infuse for four-and-twenty hours. 
5. Join afterwards both infusions together; and a week afterwards, or thereabouts, the ink will be very good, and fit for use.

Ink for writing with a Quill

• Put three ounces of gall -nuts, bruised on a stone, in thirty ounces of warm rain water. 
• Let this be exposed in the sun for two days, after which time add two ounces of the finest green vitriol (ferrous sulfate (FeSO₄)) reduced into a subtile powder, and stir the liquor with a fig tree stick. 
• Let then the whole be exposed for two days longer in the sun. 
• Then put one ounce of gum arabic, or cherry-tree gum, and set it in the sun again for one day, after which boil it one bubbly, and strain it directly through a cloth. 
• If too thick, add some water to it; if too thin, gum-arabic.

Ink Powder #1 - For an ink powder take

• 1 pound nut-galls,
• 7 ounces green copperas (ferrous sulfate (FeSO4)), and
• 7 ounces gum-arabic.

Pulverize and mix. This amount of ink powder will make 1 gallon of good black ink. Two or three powdered cloves should be mixed with each pound of powder, to prevent moulding.

Ink Powder #2 - Take equal parts of black rosin, burnt peach, or apricot stones, vitriol and gall nuts, and two of gum-arabic.  Put the whole in powder, or in a cake, as you like best.

 

Ink Sticks
Chinese Ink Sticks
The characters on top of this Chinese ink stick means that the soot for it came from burning twigs or roots from a pine tree. The top character means 'pine'. The one in the middle means 'soot' or 'smoke'. The last one (which is not always present) means 'ink' or 'black'. Pine soot ink has a blue-black hue and yields dead-matt writing on Western papers. Apart from looking for these characters, there is a good way to decide if an ink stick is made from pine soot by observing its bottom part (the one which you grind) will be dry, looks matte and dull.
This Chinese ink stick indicates that the soot has been obtained from burning vegetable oil. The top character means 'vegetable oil'. The one in the middle means 'soot' or 'smoke'. The last one (which is not always present) means 'ink' or 'black'. Vegetable oil soot ink is shiny and has a brown-black hue. The bottom part of the stick (the one which you grind) will be dry, glossy and smooth.
Yellow Mountain Pine Soot This Chinese Ink Stick is made from pine soot. The top character means 'yellow' and the next one means 'mountain'. The ink obtained from it is somewhat coarse, but the ink behaves quite nicely.	Everbright This Chinese Ink Stick, known as 'Thousand Autumns Light', is composed of vegetable oil soot. The characters for 'select soot' can be found on top, which indicates that it is of middle quality.
Japanese Ink Sticks
Ink is made from the displaced soot obtained by burning organic substances which are mixed, along with other additives, to glue acting as a polymer base. The extreme heat and moisture of summer is not suitable for the production of ink. This means that ink must be made in the cooler part of the year from mid-October to the end April.     The basic raw materials used in the production of ink are made from soot acquired by the burning of pine wood and sap, or vegetable oil. Although ink-making originated by using pine soot, vegetable oil is mainly used as of late.     In the case of pine soot, red pine and it's sap are burned in a small stove placed in the centre of a small hut with sliding paper doors. Once burned, the soot which has been heavily deposited on the doors and ceiling are scraped off and collected. Oil soot, which is taken from the sesame, rape, camellia and paulownia trees, is favoured because of its price, quality and ease of burning. In addition, soot is improved by burning the mineral oil attained from petroleum oil. It has depth like oil soot but very small particles and a redness which gives it a different character.     For the production of oil soot, a long tradition has followed by burning the oil in an earthenware bowl and later scraping the soot off the lid. But, because of low output, quality inconsistency and material waste an automatic unit was developed where a cylinder spins above the burning oil producing high quality soot.     The adhesive glue is made from animal skin and bone which is boiled to produce a solid gelatin. By adding solid ink to the glue allows the soot particles to adhere producing an ink in which water can be added to create the necessary consistency for paper application. To melt the glue a heating method is used where water and glue are added together and steamed in a two level oven. The glue has a raw smell which is neutralized by adding plum flower and other fragrances.     Once the glue is cooked, soot and glue are thoroughly mixed together. In Japan the weight mixture ratio is 10:6, soot to glue. However, the glue level is decreased and the viscosity is reduced in ink for fine letters. This mixture of soot, glue, and additives is put into a mixer and blended into a soft rice cake-like ball which is then kneaded by hand on a wooden board.     After kneading, the ink ball is placed into a wooden pattern. Although there are many sizes of solid (dry) ink, in Japan 15 grams is called 1 cho and considered the standard. There are sizes ranging from 0.5 cho to 20 cho and many shapes, such as circles, square, etc. To make 1 cho of solid ink, a 26 gram ball is required which means the pattern must be much bigger than the finished product. A thoroughly kneaded ink ball is weighed, placed into a wooden pattern and pressed.    The ink is then removed from the pattern. If the ink is left alone the surface will quickly dry and cracks will form. Because of this, the whole thing must by dried slowly by placing it into a box filled with damp charcoal. By constantly changing the damp charcoal the ink is dried over a 7-20 day period. Once fairly dry the ink is wrapped in rice husks and hung from the ceiling for 30-90 days to dry in the air.     After drying any charcoal or debris that remain are quickly washed off with water. There are two types of surface finishes. One is a dull natural finish, and the other a buffed finish. The ink is stacked and dried for one month. Later the surface is prepared with letters or a picture and then packaged.

Ink without gall-nuts, which will be equally good to wash drawings and plans, and strike very neat lines with the pen.

1. In half a pound of honey put one yolk of an egg, and beat it a good while with a flat stick.  Then asperse the matter over with three drachms of gum arabic in subtile powder.  Let this stay about three days, during which, beat it often with a stick of walnut-tree wood.
2. Next to this, put to it such a quantity of lampblack as will make it in consistence of a dough, which you make in cakes, and dry it in the air, to render it portable.
3. When you want to use it, dilute it with water, or with a lye made either of vine-wood ashes, or walnut tree, or oak, or even peach-stones.

Iron-gall ink #1

• Gallnuts, 5 grams
• Ferrous Sulfate (FeSO4), 1 gram
• gum arabic, 1 gram
• Water, 200 grams

Iron-gall ink #2 "...Copperas is ferrous (or iron) sulphate, which is available from any drugstore as a dietary supplement. In its natural and impure state copperas has a green tinge, hence the incorrect association with copper. Tannin, or tannic acid ... is the brown substance found in the bark and leaves of trees. Medieval scribes had their own favorite sources, however:

• acorns,
• walnut shells and, most often,
• galls - the small protuberances that grow on oak leaves in reaction to the eggs of certain parasite wasps....

Method: one part powdered gum arabic, two parts copperas, three parts crushed galls, and 30 parts water, all by volume...." Paul Werner, "Dragon's Blood and Ashes", Calligraphy Idea Exchange, volume 1, number 2

Japan Ink - another formula

• Aleppo galls 1/2 pound
• logwood chips 4 ounces
• copperas (iron sulphate FeSO₄ ) 4 ounces
• gum-arabic 3 ounces
• sugar 1 ounce
• blue vitriol (sulphate of copper) 1/2 ounce
• * sugar candy 1/2 ounce.

Boil the galls and logwood in 6 quarts water till reduced one-half; strain; add the other ingredients. Stir until dissolved. Clear and bottle. If it does not shine enough, add more gum; also a few cloves, to prevent mold. * [Note: The term "sugar candy" is not defined in the recipe. Dick's Encyclopedia, in a different location, entry 1368, describes five stages that result in different kinds of candy. Which type would have been used in this ink recipe about 1870? You be the judge.]

1. In preparing sugar for candies, &c., the confectioner requires different degrees of boiling.... Well clarified and perfectly transparent syrup is boiled until a skimmer dipped into it, and a portion touched between the forefinger and thumb, on opening them, is drawn into a small thread which crystallizes and breaks. This is called a weak candy height.
2. If boiled again, it will draw into a larger string, and if bladders may be blown with the mouth through the dippings from the ladle, it has acquired the second degree, and is called bloom sugar.
3. After still further boiling, it arrives at the state called feathered sugar. To determine this, dip the skimmer and shake it over the pan, then give it a sudden flirt or jerk, and the sugar will fly off like feathers.
4. The next degree is that of crackled sugar, in which state the sugar that hangs to a stick dipped into it, and put directly into cold water, is not dissolved off, but turns hard and snaps.
5. The last stage of boiling reduces it to caramel sugar, and is proved by dipping a stick into the sugar and then into cold water, when ... it will snap like glass. It has now arrived at a full candy height.

Jewish Scribe's Ink - This recipe was sent by Rabbi Yair Hoffman of Far Rockaway, New York, who obtained it from Rabbi Kilschevsky, a scribe in the Meah Shaarim section of Jerusalem. The recipe likely dates back to a time before the settlement was initiated by the students of Rabbi Elijah of Vilna in the early 1800's.

• Soak two pounds of gallnuts in two quarts of water for 24 to 48 hours.
• Cook the soaked gallnuts on a small flame for six hours. An electric hotplate or burner would be preferable as it provides a uniform pattern of heat.
• After the gallnuts have cooked on a small flame for six hours heat the mixture on a larger flame until it boils and reaches a mudlike consistency
• Strain the mixture and remove the sediment.
• Place the mixture on the fire once again, but this time in a wide pan and on a low flame.
• Dissolve two spoonful of Kankatum (Ferrous Sulfate (FeSO4)) in a cup of hot water and mix it well.
• Slowly add the dissolved Kankatum into the gallnut mixture.
• After adding the Kankatum and mixing it thoroughly, add the gum arabic (one gram for every two liters of ink of a teaspoon will suffice).

* The gum arabic gives it a rubber-like quality ensuring that the letters will not crack on the page. Care should be taken not to add too much gum arabic as this would allow the entire letter to slip off the parchment.

Making the ink-stone with which you may write without ink

1. Take gum arabic, fourteen ounces; lamp black, thirteen; and burnt willow wood coals, three.  Pound the gum into an impalpable powder, and dissolve it into a pint of common water.  This done, knead you abovementioned powders with part of this gum water, so as to make a paste or dough of them, as it were for bread.  With this dough form ink-stands, while the composition is still soft, you may stamp a few small holes.
2. This done, dry these stands in an ardent furnace for four hours, or in the shade, a sufficient time.  When dry, brush them over with your afore mentioned gum-water, till they appear as black and shiny as jet, and as hard as marble.
3.   When you want to use them, put a few drops of water in one of the holes, and put a pen to soak in it at the same time.  If the water be but just put in, the ink will not be quite so black; but if it have remained a little while, it will be as black as the blackest of any inks.

 Pearl Ink:

Drawing Inks - Today most drawing inks are made from dyes. Inks such as India Ink and Chinese Ink are pigmented inks (made with pigments). They use gum arabic or Methylcellulose as the binder:

Gum arabic Recipe

• Soak one part gum arabic in two parts of water (preferably overnight).
• Mixture can be heated in a double boiler and strained if desired.
• Mixture can be strained to remove any sort of impurities

Methylcellulose Recipe

• Stir 5g of Tylose MH300(K6360) into 1/2 pint of water
• Allow mixture to soak for 6 hours, until methylcellulose is dissolved.

For both types of drawing ink...

1. place pigment on a clean non-porous surface.
2. mix pigment with water, until it is of a thick cosistency with no lumps
3. Add the binder (gum arabic or methylcellulose) to the pigment paste.
4. Place the paste into a small jar and add more binder until the desired consistency is reached.

With either binder, the pigment paste and binder can be worked into a stiff dough, shaped, and allowed to dry. In order to be used as ink, simply wet the stick with water. This is known as Pearl Ink.

Printers Ink #1

• Take one pound of common turpentine, made with the sandarak of the ancients (juniper and linseed oil). Add to it one ounce of rosin black (which is the smoke of it) and a sufficient quantity of oil of nuts.
•   Set this composition on the fire, and boil it to a good consistence.  Such is the whole secret.  Observe however, that in the summer it must boil a little more, and a little less in the winter.  For in the summer the ink must be thicker, and thinner in the winter; because the heat makes it more fluid.  In which case it is therefore proper to boil it a little more, or to diminish the quantity of oil, allowed in the proportion to that of the turpentine.

Printers Ink #2

• Ten or 12 galls of nut or linseed-oil are set over the fire in a large iron pot, and brought to boil. It is then stirred with an iron ladle; and whilst boiling, the inflammable vapor arising from it either takes fire of itself or is kindled, and is suffered to burn in this way for about 1/2 hour; the pot being partially covered so as to regulate the body of the flame, and consequently the heat communicated to the oil.
• It is frequently stirred during this time that the whole may be heated equally; otherwise a part would be charred, and the rest left imperfect.
• The flame is then extinguished by entirely covering the pot.
• The oil, by this process, has much of its unctuous quality destroyed; and when cold is of the consistence of soft turpentine; it is then called varnish.
• After this, it is made into ink by mixture with the requisite quantity of lampblack, of which about 2 1/2 oz. are sufficient for 16 oz. of the prepared oil.

The oil loses by the boiling about 1/8 of its weight, and emits very offensive fumes. Several other additions are made to the oil during the boiling, such as crusts of bread, onions, and sometimes turpentine. These are kept secret by the preparers. The intention of them is more effectually to destroy part of the unctuous quality of oil, to give it more body, to enable it to adhere better to the wetted paper, and to spread on the types neatly and uniformly. Besides these additions, others are made by the printers, of which the most important is a little fine indigo in powder, to improve the beauty of the color.

Secret to revive old writings, which are almost defaced - Boil gall-nuts into wine; then steeping a sponge into that liquor, and passing it on the lines of the old writing, all the letters which were almost undecipherable will appear as fresh as newly done.

Shellac Ink, or Coathupe's Writing Fluid -

• To 18 ounces water add 1 ounce powdered borax and 2 ounces shellac, and boil them in a covered vessel, stirring them occasionally till dissolved.
• Filter, when cold, through coarse filtering paper; add 1 ounce mucilage (gum arabic); boil for a few minutes, adding sufficient finely-powdered indigo and lampblack to color it.
• Leave the mixture for 2 or 3 hours for the coarser particles to subside; pour it off from the dregs, and bottle it for use.

Shining Ink #1

• Put four quarts of warm water in a glazed pipkin. 
• Add eight ounces of turpentine oil, and one pound of gallnuts bruised in a mortar. 
• Let the whole infuse thus for a week, then boil it gently, till with a pen you may draw a stroke yellow and shiny with it. 
• Strain it through a strong cloth. 
• Set it on a blasting fire, and as soon as it boils, add seven ounces of green vitriol to it, keep stirring it with a stick till it is perfectly dissolved. 
• Let this rest for two days, without disturbing it. 
• There will be a skim on the to, which must be thrown off. 
• Decant next the clearest part into another vessel, which you set on a gentle fire, to evaporate about two fingers of the liquor, then let it rest four or five days, and it will be fit for use.
• Rain water, or that in which walnuts have been infused are both very good for making of ink.
• With white wine, or old beer, you may likewise make very good shining ink.
•   A carp's gall is very proper to mix among it.

Shining ink #2 - Infuse for a day in a quart of good table beer half a pound of the blackest and most shiny gall nuts you can find.  Add three ounces of gum-arabic, and half an ounce of brown sugar candy, with four ounces of green copperas (ferrous sulfate (FeSO4)).  Then boil the whole in a glazed pipkin for about an hour, strain it through a cloth, and put in in the cellar to keep for use.

Standard for Government Writing Ink
(Federal Specification, TT-I-563, Ink; Writing)

This formula was written originally to provide ink for use in post-office lobbies, where the conditions are devastating to pens. This standard ink is similar to some of the commercial writing inks. ...

• The formula for the standard writing ink is:
• Tannic acid, 11.7 grams
• Gallic acid crystals, 3.8 grams
• Ferrous sulphate crystals, 15.0 grams
• Hydrochloric acid, "dilute", S.S.P., 12.5 grams
• Carbolic acid (phenol), 12.5 grams
• Dye (C.I. 707; Sch. 539), 1.0 gram -- (NOTE: Explanation of this dye is in Appendix, the last page).
• Water (distilled is best) to make a volume of 1 liter at 20 degrees C (68 degrees F).

Tannin ink for writing on celluloid

• Ferric chloride, 10 parts
• Tannin, 15 parts
• Acetone, 100 parts

Dissolve the ferric chloride in a portion of the acetone and the tannin in the residue, and mix the solutions. Gardner D. Hiscox and Prof. T. O'Connor Sloane, Fortunes in Formulas, [New York: Books, Inc.], 1957

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