Part 74

Instead of Chinese white, a sufficient amount of the so-called permanent white (barium sulphate) may be used. The containers for these inks should be kept air-tight. The writing in either case is not attacked by any reagent used in microscopical technique but may be readily scraped away with a knife. The slips or other articles should be as near chemically clean as possible, before attempting to write on them.

According to Schuh, a mixture of a shellac solution and whiting or precipitated chalk answers very well for marking glass. Any color may be mixed with the chalk. If the glass is thoroughly cleaned with alcohol or ether, either a quill pen or a camel’s-hair pencil (or a fresh, clean steel pen) may be used.

«Ink on Marble.»—Ink marks on marble may be removed with a paste made by dissolving an ounce of oxalic acid and half an ounce of butter of antimony in a pint of rain water, and adding sufficient flour to form a thin paste. Apply this to the stains with a brush; allow it to remain on 3 or 4 days and then wash it off. Make a second application, if necessary.

«Perpetual Ink.»—I.—Pitch, 3 pounds; melt over the fire, and add of lampblack, 3⁠/⁠4 pound; mix well.

II.—Trinidad asphaltum and oil of turpentine, equal parts. Used in a melted state to fill in the letters on tombstones, marbles, etc. Without actual violence, it will endure as long as the stone itself.

«Ink for Steel Tools.»—Have a rubber stamp made with white letters on a black ground. Make up an ink to use with this stamp, as follows:

Ordinary rosin, 1⁠/⁠2 pound; lard oil, 1 tablespoonful; lampblack, 2 tablespoonfuls; turpentine, 2 tablespoonfuls. Melt the rosin, and stir in the other ingredients in the order given. When the ink is cold it should look like ordinary printers’ ink. Spread a little of this ink over the pad and ink the rubber stamp as usual, and press it on the clean steel—saw blade, for instance. Have a rope of soft putty, and make a border of putty around the stamped design as close up to the lettering as possible, so that no portion of the steel inside the ring of putty is exposed but the lettering. Then pour into the putty ring the etching mixture, composed of 1 ounce of nitric acid, 1 ounce of {405} muriatic acid, and 12 ounces of water. Allow it to rest for only a minute, draw off the acid with a glass or rubber syringe, and soak up the last trace of acid with a moist sponge. Take off the putty, and wipe off the design with potash solution first, and then with turpentine, and the job is done.

«Writing on Ivory, Glass, etc.»—Nitrate of silver, 3 parts; gum arabic, 20 parts; distilled water, 30 parts. Dissolve the gum arabic in two-thirds of the water, and the nitrate of silver in the other third. Mix and add the desired color.

«Writing on Zinc» (see also Horticultural Inks).—Take 1 part sulphate of copper (copper vitriol), 1 part chloride of potassium, both dissolved in 35 parts water. With this blue liquid, writing or drawing may be done with a common steel pen upon zinc which has been polished bright with emery paper. After the writing is done the plates are put in water and left in it for some time, then taken out and dried. The writing will remain intact as long as the zinc. If the writing or drawing should be brown, 1 part sulphate of iron (green vitriol) is added to the above solution. The chemicals are dissolved in warm water and the latter must be cold before it can be used.

«GOLD INK.»

I.—The best gold ink is made by rubbing up gold leaf as thoroughly as possible with a little honey. The honey is then washed away with water, and the finely powdered gold leaf left is mixed to the consistency of a writing ink with weak gum water. Everything depends upon the fineness of the gold powder, i. e., upon the diligence with which it has been worked with the honey. Precipitated gold is finer than can be got by any rubbing, but its color is wrong, being dark brown. The above gold ink should be used with a quill pen.

II.—An imitation gold or bronze ink is composed by grinding 1,000 parts of powdered bronze of handsome color with a varnish prepared by boiling together 500 parts of nut oil, 200 parts of garlic, 500 parts of cocoanut oil, 100 parts of Naples yellow, and as much of sienna.

«HORTICULTURAL INK.»

I.—Chlorate of platinum, 1⁠/⁠4 ounce; 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.

II.—Verdigris and sal ammoniac, of each 1⁠/⁠2 ounce; levigated lampblack, 1⁠/⁠2 ounce; common vinegar, 1⁠/⁠4 pint; mix thoroughly. Used as the last, for either zinc, iron, or steel.

III.—Blue vitriol, 1 ounce; sal ammoniac, 1⁠/⁠2 ounce (both in powder); vinegar, 1⁠/⁠4 pint; dissolve. A little lampblack or vermilion may be added, but it is not necessary. Use No. I, for iron, tin, or steel plate.

«INDELIBLE INKS.»

These are also frequently called waterproof, incorrodible, or indestructible inks. They are employed for writing labels on bottles containing strong acids and alkaline solutions. They may 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.

The following is a superior preparation for laundry use:

Aniline oil 85 parts Potassium chlorate 5 parts Distilled water 44 parts Hydrochloric acid, pure (specific gravity, 1.124) 68 parts Copper chloride, pure 6 parts

Mix the aniline oil, potassium chlorate, and 26 parts of the water and heat in a capacious vessel, on the water bath, at a temperature of from 175° to 195° F., until the chlorate is entirely dissolved, then add one-half of the hydrochloric and continue the heat until the mixture begins to take on a darker color. Dissolve the copper chloride in the residue of the water, add the remaining hydrochloric acid to the solution, and add the whole to the liquid on the water bath, and heat the mixture until it acquires a fine red-violet color. Pour into a flask with a well-fitting ground-glass stopper, close tightly and set aside for several days, or until it ceases to throw down a precipitate. When this is the case, pour off the clear liquid into smaller (one drachm or a drachm and a half) containers.

This ink must be used with a quill pen, and is especially good for linen or cotton fabrics, but does not answer so well for silk or woolen goods. When first used, it appears as a pale red, but on washing with soap or alkalies, or on exposure to {406} the air, becomes a deep, dead black. The following is a modification of the foregoing:

«Blue Indelible Ink.»—This ink has the reputation of resisting not only water and oil, but alcohol, oxalic acid, alkalies, the chlorides, etc. It is prepared as follows: Dissolve 4 parts of gum lac in 36 parts of boiling water carrying 2 parts of borax. Filter and set aside. Now dissolve 2 parts of gum arabic in 4 parts of water and add the solution to the filtrate. Finally, after the solution is quite cold, add 2 parts of powdered indigo and dissolve by agitation. Let stand for several hours, then decant, and put in small bottles.

«Red Indelible Inks.»—By proceeding according to the following formula, an intense purple-red color may be produced on fabrics, which is indelible in the customary sense of the word:

1.—Sodium carbonate 3 drachms Gum arabic 3 drachms Water 12 drachms

2.—Platinic chloride 1 drachm Distilled water 2 ounces

3.—Stannous chloride 1 drachm Distilled water 4 drachms

Moisten the place to be written upon with No. 1 and rub a warm iron over it until dry; then write with No. 2, and, when dry, moisten with No. 3. An intense and beautiful purple-red color is produced in this way. A very rich purple color—the purple of Cassius—may be produced by substituting a solution of gold chloride for the platinic chloride in the above formula.

«Crimson Indelible Ink.»—

The following formula makes an indelible crimson ink:

Silver nitrate 50 parts Sodium carbonate, crystal 75 parts Tartaric acid 16 parts Carmine 1 part Ammonia water, strongest 288 parts Sugar, white, crystallized 36 parts Gum arabic, powdered 60 parts Distilled water, quantity sufficient to make 400 parts

Dissolve the silver nitrate and the sodium carbonate separately, each in a portion of the distilled water, mix the solutions, collect the precipitate on a filter, wash, and put the washed precipitate, still moist, into a mortar. To this add the tartaric acid, and rub together until effervescence ceases. Now, dissolve the carmine in the ammonia water (which latter should be of specific gravity .882, or contain 34 per cent of ammonia), filter, and add the filtrate to the silver tartrate magma in the mortar. Add the sugar and gum arabic, rub up together, and add gradually, with constant agitation, sufficient distilled water to make 400 parts.

«Gold Indelible Ink.»—Make two solutions as follows:

1.—Chloride of gold and sodium 1 part Water 10 parts Gum 2 parts

2.—Oxalic acid 1 part Water 5 parts Gum 2 parts

The cloth or stuff to be written on should be moistened with liquid No. 2. Let dry, and then write upon the prepared place with liquid No. 1, using preferably a quill pen. Pass a hot iron over the mark, pressing heavily.

«INDIA, CHINA, OR JAPAN INK.»

Ink by these names is based on lampblack, and prepared in various ways. Many makes flow less easily from the pen than other inks, and are less durable than ink that writes paler and afterwards turns black. The ink is usually unfitted for steel pens, but applies well with a brush.

I.—Lampblack (finest) is ground to a paste with very weak liquor of potassa, and this paste is then diffused through water slightly alkalized 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, toward the end of the process; the mass is, lastly, molded into cakes, which are ornamented with Chinese characters and devices, as soon as they are dry and hard.

II.—A weak solution of fine gelatin is boiled at a high temperature in a digester for 2 hours, and then in an open vessel for 1 hour more. The liquid is next filtered and evaporated to a proper consistency, either in a steam- or {407} salt-water bath. It is, lastly, made into a paste, as before, with lampblack which has been previously heated to dull redness in a well-closed crucible. Neither of the above gelatinizes in cold weather, like the ordinary imitations.

«To Keep India Ink Liquid.»—If one has to work with the ink for some time, a small piece should be dissolved in warm water and the tenth part of glycerine added, which mixes intimately with the ink after shaking for a short time. India ink thus prepared will keep very well in a corked bottle, and if a black jelly should form in the cold, it is quickly dissolved by heating. The ink flows well from the pen and does not wipe.

«INK POWDERS AND LOZENGES.»

Any of these powders may, by the addition of mucilage of gum arabic, be made into lozenges or buttons—the “ink buttons” or “ink stones” in use abroad and much affected by travelers.

The following makes a good serviceable black ink, on macerating the powder in 100 times its weight of rain or distilled water for a few days:

I.—Powdered gallnuts 16 parts Gum arabic 8 parts Cloves 1 part Iron sulphate 10 parts

Put into an earthenware or glass vessel, cover with 100 parts of rain or distilled water, and set aside for 10 days or 2 weeks, giving an occasional shake the first 3 or 4 days. Decant and bottle for use.

The following is ready for use instantly on being dissolved in water:

II.—Aleppo gallnuts 84 parts Dutch Madder 6 parts

Powder, mix, moisten, and pack into the percolator. Extract with hot water, filter, and press out. To the filtrate add 4 parts of iron acetate (or pyroacetate) and 2 1⁠/⁠2 parts of tincture of indigo. Put into the water bath and evaporate to dryness and powder the dry residue.

«LITHOGRAPHIC INKS.»

These are for writing on lithographic stones or plates:

I.—Mastic (in tears), 8 ounces; shellac, 12 ounces; Venice turpentine, 1 ounce. Melt together, add wax, 1 pound; tallow, 6 ounces. When dissolved, add hard tallow soap (in shavings), 6 ounces; and when the whole is perfectly combined, add lampblack, 4 ounces. Mix well, cool a little, and then pour it into molds, or upon a slab, and when cold cut it into square pieces.

II. (Lasteyrie).—Dry tallow soap, mastic (in tears), and common soda (in fine powder), of each, 30 parts; shellac, 150 parts; lampblack, 12 parts. Mix as indicated in Formula I.

«MARKING OR LABELING INKS:»

«Black Marking Inks.»—

I.—Borax 60 parts Shellac 180 parts Boiling water 1,000 parts Lampblack, a sufficient quantity.

Dissolve the borax in the water, add the shellac to the solution and stir until dissolved. Rub up a little lampblack with sufficient of the liquid to form a paste, and add the rest of the solution a little at a time and with constant rubbing. Test, and if not black enough, repeat the operation. To get the best effect—a pure jet-black—the lampblack should be purified and freed from the calcium phosphate always present in the commercial article to the extent, frequently, of 85 to 87 per cent, by treating with hydrochloric acid and washing with water.

II.—An ink that nothing will bleach is made by mixing pyrogallic acid and sulphate of iron in equal parts. Particularly useful for marking labels on bottles containing acids. Varnish the label after the ink is dry so that moisture will not affect it.

«COLORED MARKING INKS:»

Eosine Red.—

Eosine B 1 drachm Solution of mercuric chloride 2 drachms Mucilage of acacia 2 drachms Rectified spirit 4 ounces Oil of lavender 1 drop Distilled water 8 ounces

Dissolve the eosine in the solution and 2 ounces of water, add the mucilage, and mix, then the oil dissolved in the spirit, and finally make up.

Orange.—

Aniline orange 1 drachm Sugar 2 drachms Distilled water to 4 ounces

Blue.—

I.—Resorcin blue 1 drachm Distilled water 6 drachms

Mix and agitate occasionally for 2 hours, then add: {408}

Hot distilled water 24 ounces Oxalic acid 10 grains Sugar 1⁠/⁠2 ounce

Shake well. This and other aniline inks can be perfumed by rubbing up a drop of attar of rose with the sugar before dissolving it in the hot water.

II.—A solid blue ink, or marking paste, to be used with a brush for stenciling, is made as follows: Shellac, 2 ounces; borax, 2 ounces; water, 25 ounces; gum arabic, 2 ounces; and ultramarine, sufficient. Boil the borax and shellac in some of the water till they are dissolved, and withdraw from the fire. When the solution has become cold, add the rest of the 25 ounces of water, and the ultramarine. When it is to be used with the stencil, it must be made thicker than when it is to be applied with a marking brush.

III.—In a suitable kettle mix well, stirring constantly, 50 parts of liquid logwood extract (80 per cent) with 3 parts of spirit previously mingled with 1 part of hydrochloric acid, maintaining a temperature of 68° F. Dissolve 5 parts of potassium chromate in 15 parts of boiling water; to this add 10 parts of hydrochloric acid, and pour this mixture, after raising the temperature to about 86° F., very slowly and with constant stirring into the kettle. Then heat the whole to 185° F. This mass, which has now assumed the nature of an extract, is stirred a little longer, and next 15 parts of dextrin mixed with 10 parts of fine white earth (white bole) are added. The whole is well stirred throughout. Transfer the mass from the kettle into a crusher, where it is thoroughly worked through.

«PRINTING INKS.»

Black printing inks owe their color to finely divided carbon made from lampblack, pine-wood, rosin oil, etc., according to the quality of the ink desired. The finest inks are made from flame-lampblack. There are, however, certain requirements made of all printing inks alike, and these are as follows: The ink must be a thick and homogeneous liquid, it must contain no solid matter but finely divided carbon, and every drop when examined microscopically must appear as a clear liquid containing black grains uniformly distributed.

The consistency of a printing ink must be such that it passes on to the printing rollers at the proper rate. It will be obvious that various consistencies are demanded according to the nature of the machine used by the printer. For a rotary machine which prints many thousands of copies an hour a much thinner ink will be necessary than that required for art printing or for slow presses. As regards color, ordinary printing ink should be a pure black. For economy’s sake, however, newspaper printers often use an ink so diluted that it does not look deep black, but a grayish black, especially in large type.

The question of the time that the ink takes to dry on the paper is a very important one, especially with ink used for printing newspapers which are folded and piled at one operation. If then the ink does not dry very quickly, the whole impression smudges and “sets off” so much that it becomes illegible in places. Although it is essential to have a quick drying ink for this purpose, it is dangerous to go too far, for a too quickly drying ink would make the paper stick to the forms and tear it. A last condition which must be fulfilled by a good printing ink is that it must be easy of removal from the type, which has to be used again.

No one composition will answer every purpose and a number of different inks are required. Makers of printing inks are obliged, therefore, to work from definite recipes so as to be able to turn out exactly the same ink again and again. They make newspaper ink for rotary presses, book-printing inks, half-tone inks, art inks, etc. As the recipes have been attained only by long, laborious, and costly experiments, it is obvious that the makers are not disposed to communicate them, and the recipes that are offered and published must be looked upon with caution, as many of them are of little or no value. In the recipes given below for printing inks, the only intention is to give hints of the general composition, and the practical man will easily discover what, if any, alterations have to be made in the recipe for his special purpose.

Many different materials for this manufacture are given in recipes, so many, in fact, that it is impossible to discover what use they are in the ink. The following is a list of the articles commonly in use for the manufacture of printing ink:

Boiled linseed oil, boiled without driers.

Rosin oil from the dry distillation of rosin.

Rosin itself, especially American pine rosin. {409}

Soap, usually rosin-soap, but occasionally ordinary soap.

Lampblack and various other pigments.

By the most time-honored method, linseed oil was very slowly heated over an open fire until it ignited. It was allowed to burn for a time and then extinguished by putting a lid on the pot. In this way a liquid was obtained of a dark brown or black color with particles of carbon, and with a consistency varying with the period of heating, being thicker, the longer the heating was continued. If necessary, the liquid was then thinned with unboiled, or only very slightly boiled, linseed oil. Lampblack in the proper quantity was added and the mixture was finally rubbed up on a stone in small quantities at a time to make it uniform.

«Boiling the Linseed Oil.»—This process, although it goes by the name of boiling, is not so in the proper sense of the word, but a heating having for its object an initial oxidation of the oil, so that it will dry better. Linseed oil is a type of the drying oils, those which when exposed in thin coats to the air absorb large quantities of oxygen and are thereby converted into tough, solid sheets having properties very similar to those of soft India rubber. The process goes on much faster with the aid of heat than at the ordinary temperature, and the rate at which the boiled oil will dry in the ink can be exactly regulated by heating it for a longer or shorter time. Prolonged heating gives an oil which will dry very quickly on exposure in thin coats to the air, the shorter the heating the more slowly will the ink afterwards made with the oil dry.

Linseed oil must always be boiled in vessels where it has plenty of room, as the oil soon swells up and it begins to decompose so energetically at a particular temperature that there is considerable risk of its boiling over and catching fire. Various contrivances have been thought out for boiling large quantities of the oil with safety, such as pans with an outlet pipe in the side, through which the oil escapes when it rises too high instead of over the edge of the pan, and fires built on a trolley running on rails, so that they can at once be moved from under the pan if there is any probability of the latter boiling over. The best apparatus for preparing thickened linseed oil is undoubtedly one in which the oil offers a very large surface to the air, and on that account requires to be moderately heated only. The oil soon becomes very thick under these conditions and if necessary can be diluted to any required consistency with unboiled oil.

In boiling linseed oil down to the proper thickness by the old method there are two points demanding special attention. One is the liability of the oil to boil over, and the other consists in the development of large quantities of vapor, mostly of acroleine, which have a most powerful and disagreeable smell, and an intense action upon the eyes. The attendant must be protected from these fumes, and the boiling must therefore be done where there is a strong draught to take the fumes as fast as they are produced. There are various contrivances to cope with boiling over.

«Savage’s Printing Ink.»—Pure balsam of copaiba, 9 ounces; lampblack, 3 ounces; indigo and Prussian blue, each 5 drachms; Indian red, 3⁠/⁠4 ounce; yellow soap, 3 ounces. Mix, and grind to the utmost smoothness.