Assignment

ON

INK

-A.HARSUL THAKUR
Mahatma Montessori
School [ c.b.s.e]
Ink

Ink is a liquid or paste that contains pigments or dyes and is used to color a surface to produce
an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, or quill. Thicker
inks, in paste form, are used extensively in letterpress and lithographic printing.
Ink can be a complex medium, composed of solvents, pigments,
dyes, resins, lubricants, solubilizers, surfactants, particulate matter, fluorescents, and other
materials. The components of inks serve many purposes; the ink's carrier, colorants, and other
additives affect the flow and thickness of the ink and its dry appearance.
In 2011 worldwide consumption of printing inks generated revenues of more than 20 billion US
dollars. Demand by traditional print media is shrinking, on the other hand more and more printing
inks are consumed for packagings.

History

[(<Ink drawing of Ganesha 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. The practice of writing with
ink and a sharp pointed needle was common in early South India Several Jain sutras in India were
compiled in ink

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 earliest
inks from all civilisations are believed to have been made with lampblack, a kind of soot, as this
would have been easily collected as a by-product of fire.
Ink was used in Ancient Egypt for writing and drawing on papyrus from at least the 26th century
BC. Chinese inks may go back as far as three or maybe four millennia, to the Chinese Neolithic
Period. These used plants, animal, and mineral inks based on such materials as graphite that
were ground with water and applied with ink brushes. Direct evidence for the earliest Chinese
inks, similar to modern inksticks, is around 256 BC in the end of the Warring States period and
produced from soot and animal glue. The best inks for drawing or painting on paper or silk are
produced from the resin of the pine tree. They must be between 50 and 100 years old. The
Chinese inkstick is produced with a fish glue, whereas Japanese glue (膠 "nikawa") is from cow
or stag.
India ink was first invented in China, though materials were often traded from India, hence the
name. The traditional Chinese method of making the ink was to grind a mixture of hide
glue, carbon black, lampblack, and bone black pigment with a pestle and mortar, then pouring it
into a ceramic dish where it could dry. To use the dry mixture, a wet brush would be applied until
it reliquified The manufacture of India ink was well-established by the Cao Wei Dynasty (220–265
AD). Indian documents written in Kharosthi with ink have been unearthed in Chinese
Turkestan. The practice of writing with ink and a sharp pointed needle was common in
early South India. Several Buddhist and Jain sutras in India were compiled in ink.
In ancient Rome, atramentum was used; in an article for the Christian Science Monitor,

Sharon J. Huntington describes these other historical inks:

Oak galls and iron(II) sulfate .

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.

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.
In the 15th century, a new type of ink had to be developed in Europe for the printing
press by Johannes Gutenberg. According to Martyn Lyons in his book Books: A Living History,
Gutenberg's dye was indelible, oil-based, and made from the soot of lamps (lamp-black) mixed
with varnish and egg white. 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. 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.

Types
Magnified line drawn by a fountain pen.

Ink formulas vary, but commonly involve two components:

 Colorants
 Vehicles (binders)
Inks generally fall into four classes

 Aqueous
 Liquid
 Paste
 Powder
Colorants
Pigments
Pigment 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 than
dyes. Pigments are solid, opaque particles suspended in ink to provide color Pigment molecules
typically link together in crystalline structures that are 0.1–2 µm in size and comprise 5–30
percent of the ink volume. Qualities such as hue, saturation, and lightness vary depending on
the source and type of pigment.
Dyes
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.
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 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 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, 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 is commonly used in ink-jet printing inks.
An additional advantage of dye-based ink systems is that the dye molecules can interact with
other ink ingredients, potentially allowing greater benefit as compared to pigmented inks
from optical brighteners and color-enhancing agents designed to increase the intensity and
appearance of dyes.
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.
This kind of ink is most commonly found in gel inks and in certain fountain pen inks
Health and environmental aspects
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 digital printers, and even those
found in a common pen can be harmful. Though ink does not easily cause death, repeated skin
contact or ingestion 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 inks' color and shine.
Three main environmental issues with ink are:

 Heavy metals

 Non-renewable oils
 Volatile organic compounds
Some regulatory bodies have set standards for the amount of heavy metals in ink. There is a
trend toward vegetable oils rather than petroleum oils in recent years in response to a demand
for better environmental sustainability performance.
Ink uses up non-renewable oils and metals, which has a negative impact on the environment.

Carbon

.
Carbon inks were commonly made from lampblack or soot and a binding agent such as gum
arabic or animal glue. The binding agent keeps carbon particles in suspension and adhered to
paper. Carbon particles do not fade over time even when bleached or when in sunlight. One
benefit is that carbon ink does not harm paper. Over time, the ink is chemically stable and
therefore does not threaten the paper's strength. Despite these benefits, carbon ink is not ideal
for permanence and ease of preservation. Carbon ink tends to smudge in humid environments
and can be washed off surfaces. The best method of preserving a document written in carbon ink
is to store it in a dry environment (Barrow 1972).
Recently, carbon inks made from carbon nanotubes have been successfully created. They are
similar in composition to 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.

Iron gall (common ink)

Iron gall inks became prominent in the early 12th century; they were used for centuries and were
widely thought to be the best type of ink. However, iron gall ink is corrosive and damages paper
over time (Waters 1940). Items containing this ink can become brittle and the writing fades to
brown. The original scores of Johann Sebastian Bach are threatened by the destructive
properties of iron gall ink. The majority of his works are held by the German State Library, and
about 25% of those are in advanced stages of decay (American Libraries 2000). The rate at
which the writing fades is based on several factors, such as proportions of ink ingredients,
amount deposited on the paper, and paper composition (Barrow 1972:16). Corrosion is caused
by acid catalysed hydrolysis and iron(II)-catalysed oxidation of cellulose (Rouchon-Quillet
2004:389).
Treatment is a controversial subject. No treatment undoes damage already caused by acidic ink.
Deterioration can only be stopped or slowed. Some think it best not to treat the item at all for fear
of the consequences. Others believe that non-aqueous procedures are the best solution. Yet
others think an aqueous procedure may preserve items written with iron gall ink. Aqueous
treatments include distilled water at different temperatures, calcium hydroxide, calcium
bicarbonate, magnesium carbonate, magnesium bicarbonate, and calcium phytate. There are
many possible side effects from these treatments. There can be mechanical damage, which
further weakens the paper. Paper color or ink color may change, and ink may bleed. Other
consequences of aqueous treatment are a change of ink texture or formation of plaque on the
surface of the ink (Reibland & de Groot 1999).
Iron gall inks require storage in a stable environment, because fluctuating relative
humidity increases the rate that formic acid, acetic acid, and furan derivatives form in the material
the ink was used on. Sulfuric acid acts as a catalyst to cellulose hydrolysis, and iron (II) sulfate
acts as a catalyst to cellulose oxidation. These chemical reactions physically weaken the paper,
causing brittleness.

Indelible ink
Indelible means "unremovable". Some types of indelible ink have a very short shelf life because
of the quickly evaporating solvents used. India, Mexico, Indonesia, Malaysia and other
developing countries have used indelible ink in the form of electoral stain to prevent electoral
fraud. The Indian Scientist Dr. M.L. Goel is the founding father of indelible ink in India and gave
the secret formula to NPL (National Physical Laboratory) of India.
The Election Commission in India has used indelible ink for many elections. Indonesia used it in
its last election in Aceh. In Mali, the ink is applied to the fingernail. Indelible ink itself is not
infallible as it can be used to commit electoral fraud by marking opponent party members before
they have chances to cast their votes. There are also reports of "indelible" ink washing off voters'
fingers in Afghanistan.[