The story about the composition and use of coloring liquids for writing and drawing: ink and ink, you need to start with a brief history of the appearance of both. We start, of course, with the carcass as the oldest means, whose durability has been tested for millennia.
History of the appearance and use of mascara
This paint appeared before papyrus and paper. The ancient treatises of Egypt and China speak of the use of carcasses to better distinguish inscriptions carved in stone. Initially, the mascara was made from improvised material: black soot, fat, gelatin, musk, etc.
With the translation of the letter from clay and stone to papyrus in Ancient Egypt, mascara appears, the main component of which, as now, is the soot of burned plants. In order for the paint to remain stable, it was better glued to papyrus, it was mixed with the juice of certain plants (gum) protruding on the bark. Mascara is found during excavations that have dried in jars or separately in the form of a bar (kaolin clay was added to the carcass). Such bars were ground in special baths (pots) with pestles, mixed with water.
In ancient China, the mascara was thicker than in Egypt, so they wrote with brushes rather than sticks. In ancient times, paint was also widely used for drawing drawings on the body in the form of tattoos: mascara was applied to the skin, and then tattoos were made with needles, which fixed the pattern.
Ink History and Application
Ink appeared with the appearance of a letter on parchment. What was needed was a substance that was eaten into the skin and left a trail of contrasting color on it. Ink in many languages comes from the word black. However, they were originally multi-colored, as they were made from a wide variety of raw materials. They were made from juices, decoctions, vegetable adhesives, insects, etc. The added dye, in addition to the most popular dye, soot, was obtained from juices, decoctions, vegetable adhesives, insects, and marine animals. And for the soot, various species of trees, leaves, seeds, and others were burned.
Differences in ink and ink composition
The main thing that distinguishes mascara from ink is that the latter is a solution, and not a suspension of dye particles in water, like mascara. Therefore, the ink penetrates into the material on which it is applied, completely. This leads to another difference: the mascara dries much faster, since only it dries itself, and the ink dries the entire layer soaked by them. Therefore, the second indicator of how mascara differs from ink is the drying speed: mascara dries faster, and this is often very important.
Of great importance for writing is the quality of the received line. Ink in this loses ink: it gives a deeper color, a thick and shiny coating surface. This is the difference between ink and ink.
To work with ink, a dense base is necessary, since ink often diffuses on a porous surface. Mascara of good quality lays down, being fixed with a thin film, without penetrating into the material. This is the fourth difference between ink and ink.
Large differences in the light fastness of ink and ink. The ink-filled letter fades over time, which cannot be said of the carcass on the oldest scrolls that have come down to us. This is the fifth difference between ink and ink. There are even sympathetic inks that, when dried, become completely invisible. This property makes mascara indispensable in calligraphy, graphics and other artwork.
Types of Ink by Method of Use
The composition of all inks necessarily includes solvents, dyes, viscosity modifiers and drying rates. As solvents, water, glycerin and ethyl alcohol are used. The composition of the dyes is very wide. A lot of modifiers are also used. The composition of the ink will depend on where they are used: different techniques use a wide variety of ink modifications.
Existing inks today can be divided into several groups by type of application:
- for writing with feathers;
- for fountain pens;
- for capillary pens and felt-tip pens;
- for inkjet printers and many other types.
Ink for writing with feathers is used to fill in documents. You can add a certain coloring pigment to them, then they will become unique, and it will be easier to identify a fake.
For ballpoint pens, paste-based wax-based inks are generally used. The paste is continuously fed onto the paper, leaving a greasy print. Over time, the ink trail fades and may disappear completely.
Inks for capillary pens, as for felt-tip pens, are made using dissolved dyes in various alcohols.
Ink for inkjet printers
What is the difference between printer ink? Printer manufacturers have done everything possible to securely hold ink in the cartridge (containers for them) and apply them to print at the required speed. Original cartridge ink always meets the requirements for them: in terms of saturation, acidity, surface tension and specific gravity, and other parameters. Work on the original ink is the key to a long and uninterrupted operation of copying equipment, high-quality performance of work. For printers, two types of ink are used: water-soluble and pigment. What is the difference between pigment ink and water soluble ink?
Pigment dyes for printers
Pigment ink includes water without impurities (deionized), a coloring substance in the form of a pigment insoluble in water, and up to 20 more components to obtain high-quality, light and moisture resistant elements. What is the difference between pigment inks for printers?
Because very fine abrasive particles are used in the cartridge, pigment ink cartridges are more likely to fail. Printers with such a coloring element are more expensive due to the cost of ink.
When using pigmented liquid dyes, it is necessary to print at least once a week one multi-color work. These are the flaws.
The advantages of such printers include:
- clearer printing, even on bad paper;
- resistance to light and water, which is indispensable for street images;
- You can use printing on both sides.
Water Soluble Ink for Printers
Ink based on water-soluble dyes should be used if:
- the printer often prints photographs on special photo paper, matte or glossy;
- if your printer is capable of working only with water soluble ink.
Disadvantages of such printers:
- lack of moisture resistance;
- the light fastness of such inks is also significantly lower than that of pigment analogues, they fade under the influence of the sun, such photos and documents must be stored in a dark place.
The main advantage of water-soluble inks is their natural transmission of color and light.
More advantages:
- the ink supply system is less likely to clog, and if the print head is clogged, it is easy to rinse;
- stability with prolonged downtime without work.
The technique is constantly being improved. Perhaps, ink will soon appear combining the advantages of pigment and water-soluble dyes, but without their disadvantages.