Thursday, July 24, 2008

A Guide To Ink

Writen by Josh Riverside

Printing, writing, drawing, and dyeing are a few activities that have one thing in common - ink. Ink is a dense liquid that is a combination of various ingredients. Ink enables us to show an image or text on a surface.

The invention of ink was a natural outcome of the invention of writing. Humans first used ink more than 40 centuries ago, and still use it today in a variety of applications. The first inks made were composed mainly of carbon. Soot from pine smoke or lampblack was suspended in vegetable oils, gum or honey. These combinations were popular with the Hebrew and Arabians. Reeds and brushes were the writing vehicles for this ink to parchment and other tablets. During medieval times, black ink made from carbon or iron gall became common. The year 2000 BC saw the Chinese and the Egyptians make solid ink in the form of sticks. These sticks were mixed with water when needed. In the seventeenth century, Europeans started making ink from a mixture of tannic acid with an iron salt (commonly known as ferrous sulfate). A slow chemical reaction between the acid and salt left permanent markings on paper. The need for an ink suitable for the printing press caused an oily, varnish-like ink to be invented. The mid-nineteenth century brought ammonia-based aniline dye technology, the precursor of modern ink. This ink came to be used on plastic, fabric and other substances. The mid-eighties saw the advent of environmentally friendly soy ink made from soy beans.

Writing by hand will exist as long as people do. Yet today, people use ink even beyond hand writing. With a computer in nearly every home and business, and a printer attached to each computer, special inks are used to generate computer output in various forms. Printing presses have also made great advances in the type of ink used to create brochures, magazines, and books.

Ink provides detailed information on Ink, Ink Cartridges, Printer Ink, Inkjet Ink and more. Ink is affiliated with Printer Ink Cartridges.

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