=Ink, Carbon.= Dissolve real Indian ink in common black ink, or add a
small quantity of lampblack previously heated to redness, and ground
perfectly smooth, with a small portion of the ink.
=Ink, Carmine.= Heat a scruple of carmine with 3 oz. of water of ammonia
for some minutes, a little below boiling, and add 15 to 20 gr. of gum.
(The inkstand must be kept well closed.)
=Ink, Chrome.= See GREEN INK and WRITING FLUID.
=Ink, Coloured.= Inks of various colours may be made from a strong
decoction of the ingredients used in dyeing, mixed with a little alum or
other substance used as a mordant, and gum Arabic. Any of the ordinary
water-colour cakes employed in drawing, diffused through water, may also
be used as coloured ink. See BROWN, GREEN, and RED inks, &c.
INK, COPYING. This is usually prepared by adding a little sugar or other
saccharine matter to ordinary black ink, which for this purpose should be
very rich in colour, and preferably made from galls prepared by heat, as
noticed above. Writing executed with this ink may be copied within the
space of 5 or 6 hours, by passing it through a press (COPYING PRESS) in
contact with thin unsized paper (BANK-POST), slightly damped, enclosed
between two sheets of thick oiled or waxed paper, when a reversed
transcript will be obtained, which will read in proper order when the back
of the copy is turned upwards. In the absence of a press a copy may be
taken, when the ink is good and the writing very recent, by rolling the
sheets, dully arranged on a ruler, over the surface of a flat smooth
table, employing as much force as possible, and avoiding any slipping or
crumbling of the paper. Another method is to pass a warm flat-iron over
the paper laid upon the writing. The following proportions are employed:
1. Sugar candy or lump sugar, 1 oz.; or treacle or moist sugar, 1-1/4 oz.;
rich black ink, 1-1/2 pint; dissolve.
2. Malt wort, 1 pint; evaporate it to the consistence of a syrup, and then
dissolve it in good black ink, 1-1/4 pint.
3. Solazza juice, 2 oz.; mild ale, 1/2 pint; dissolve, strain, and
triturate with lampblack (previously heated to dull redness it a covered
vessel), 1/4 oz.; when the mixture is complete, add of strong black ink,
1-1/2 pint, mix well, and in 2 or 3 hours decant the clear.
_Obs._ After making the above mixtures, they must be tried with a common
steel pen, and if they do not flow freely, some more unprepared ink should
be added until they are found to do so.
=Ink, Gold.= From gold in the state of a impalpable powder, ground up with
a little gum water. The brilliancy of the writing performed with this ink
is considerable, and may be increased by burnishing.
=Ink, Green.= 1. From sap green dissolved in very weak alum water.
2. A strong solution of binacetate of copper in water, or of verdigris in
vinegar.
3. (Klaproth.) Verdigris, 2 oz.; cream of tartar, 1 oz.; water, 1/2 pint;
boil to one half, and filter.
4. (Winckley.) Bichromate of potassa, 3 parts; hot water, 8 parts;
dissolve, add of rectified spirits, 4 parts, mix, and further add of
sulphuric acid, q. s. to liberate the chromic acid, avoiding excess; next
evaporate to one half, dilute with water, filter, and add to the filtrate
rectified spirit, 4 parts together with 3 or 4 drops of sulphuric acid (if
required), to precipitate any remaining potash salt; lastly, decant and
preserve the liquid until it assumes a rich green colour.
5. A solution of recently precipitated hydrated oxide of chromium in
liquor of ammonia, diluted with distilled water, q. s. A magnificent
dark-green liquid, perfectly anti-corrosive.
=Ink, Horticultural.= _Prep._ Chloride of platinum, 1/4 oz.; soft water, 1
pint; dissolve, and preserve it in glass. Used with a clean quill to write
on zinc labels. It almost immediately turns black, and cannot be removed
by washing. The addition of gum and lampblack, as recommended in certain
books, is unnecessary, and even prejudicial to the quality of the ink.
2. Verdigris and sal ammoniac, of each 1/2 oz.; levigated lampblack, 1/2
oz.; common vinegar, 1/4 pint; mix thoroughly. Used as the last, for
either zinc, iron, or steel.
3. Blue vitriol, 1 oz.; sal ammoniac, 1/2 oz. (both in powder); vinegar,
1/4 pint; dissolve. A little lampblack, or vermilion, may be added, but it
is not necessary. As No. 1; for iron, tin, or steel plate. Some of the
preparations described below under '_Incorrodible ink_' are also used by
gardeners and nurserymen.
=Ink, Incorro''dible.= This name has been given to several preparations of
a resinous character, capable of resisting the action of damp and acids.
_Prep._ 1. Boiled linseed oil, ground with lampblack and Prussian blue, of
each q. s. to impart a deep black colour. It may be thinned with oil of
turpentine.
2. Good copal or amber varnish, coloured with either plumbago or
vermilion.
3. Trinidad asphaltum (genuine), 1 part; oil of turpentine, 4 parts;
colour (as last) q. s.
4. (Close.) Cobalt (in powder), 25 gr.; oil of lavender, 200 gr.; dissolve
by a gentle heat, and add of lampblack, 3 gr.; indigo 1 gr. (both in
impalpable powder); or vermilion, q. s.
5. (Hausmann.) As No. 3 (nearly). Resists the action of iodine, chlorine,
alkalies, and acids.
6. (Sheldrake.) Asphaltum dissolved in amber varnish and oil of
turpentine, and coloured with lampblack.
Coarsely powdered anacardium nuts (the fruit of the _Anacardium
orientale_) are macerated in a well-closed bottle with petroleum ether,
for some time. Upon allowing the latter to evaporate spontaneously, a
syrupy residue is left, and this, when applied to linen or cotton cloth,
imparts to them a brownish-yellow colour, which instantly changes to a
deep black on the addition of ammonia or lime water. (Böttger.)
_Obs._ The above are also frequently called 'indelible' or 'indestructible
inks.' They are employed for writing labels on bottles containing strong
acids and alkaline solutions. The last five are very permanent, and are
capable of resisting the action of iodine, chlorine, alkaline lyes, and
acids, together with all the operations of dyeing and bleaching, and at
once offer a cheap and an excellent material for marking linen, &c., as
they cannot be dissolved off by any menstrua that will not destroy the
fabric. They must be employed with stamps, types, or stencil plates, by
which greater neatness will be secured than can be obtained with either a
brush or pen. See HORTICULTURAL INK, INDELIBLE INK, &c.
=Ink, Indel'ible.= _Syn._ INDESTRUCTIBLE INK. _Prep._ 1. Lampblack
(previously heated to dull redness in a covered vessel), 1/4 oz.;
triturate with good black ink (gradually added), 1 pint. Resists chlorine,
weak acids, and weak alkaline lyes, in the cold.
2. (Bezanger.) Lampblack ground in a lye of caustic soda, combined with a
mixture of gelatin and caustic soda. Said to be indelible, and to resemble
genuine China ink.
3. (Braconnot.) Dantzic potash, 4 parts; tanned leather parings, 2 parts;
sulphur, 1 part; water, 20 parts; boil them in an iron vessel to dryness,
then raise the heat (constantly stirring with an iron rod) until the whole
forms a soft mass, observing that it does not ignite; next dissolve the
mass in water, q. s., and filter the solution through a cloth. Flows
freely from a pen, and resists the action of many chemical substances.
4. (CARBON INK.) Genuine Indian ink, rubbed down with good black ink until
it will flow easily from a pen. Resists chlorine, oxalic acid, and
ablution with a hair pencil or sponge.
5. (Coathupe.) Borax, 1 oz.; shell-lac, 2 oz., water, 18 fl. oz.; boil in
a covered vessel until dissolved, strain, add of thick mucilage, 1 oz.,
and triturate it with levigated indigo and lampblack, of each q. s., to
give a good colour. After 2 hours' repose, decant it from the dregs, and
bottle for use. Resists moisture, chlorine, and acids.
6. (FRENCH.)--_a._ From Indian ink, diffused through water acidulated with
hydrochloric acid. For quills.--_b._ From Indian ink diffused through
water slightly alkalised with liquor of potassa. For metallic pens.
7. (Herberger.) Wheat gluten (free from starch), q. s., is dissolved in
weak acetic acid of good pure vinegar, 4 fl. oz.; lampblack (best), 10 or
12 gr.; indigo, 2 or 3 gr.; and oil of cloves, 1 or 2 drops, are then
added, and the whole is thoroughly incorporated together. The product is
inexpensive, has a beautiful black colour, and resists the action of
water, chlorine, and weak acids.
_Obs._ The products of the above formulæ, though called 'indelible ink'
and 'indestructible ink,' are in reality only indelible as compared with
common writing ink, as they may all be removed with more or less facility
by chemical reagents, assisted by mechanical means. They are intended
chiefly for paper, pasteboard, and parchment. No 5 is also used for glass
and metal. See MARKING INK.
=Ink, In'dian.= _Syn._ CHINA INK; ATRAMENTUM INDICUM, L. _Prep._ 1.
Lampblack (finest) is ground to a paste with very weak liquor of potassa,
and this paste is then diffused through water slightly alkalised with
potassa, after which it is collected, washed with clean water, and dried;
the dry powder is next levigated to a smooth, stiff paste, with a strong
filtered decoction of carrageen or Irish moss, or of quince seed, a few
drops of essence of musk, and about half as much essence of ambergris
being added, by way of perfume, towards the end of the process; the mass
is, lastly, moulded into cakes, which are ornamented with Chinese
characters and devices, as soon as they are dry and hard.
2. A weak solution of fine gelatin is boiled at a high temperature in a
Papin's digester for 2 hours, and then in an open vessel for 1 hour more;
the liquid is next filtered and evaporated to a proper consistence, either
in a steam or salt-water bath; it is, lastly, made into a paste, as
before, with pure lampblack which has been previously heated to dull
redness in a well-closed crucible. Neither of the above gelatinise in cold
weather, like the ordinary imitations.
3. (Gray.) Pure lampblack made up with asses'-skin glue, and scented with
musk.
4. (Merimée.) Dissolve superfine glue in water, add a strong solution of
nut-galls, and wash the precipitate in hot water; then dissolve it in a
fresh solution of glue, filter, evaporate to a proper thickness, and form
it into a paste as before, with purified lampblack.