Speedball Ink "load" Dries Before I Can Use It!

March 4, 2015

I do a lot of pen and ink with the type of pen in the photo, and Speedball India Ink.

As you can see, there appears to be still ink in the nib, but this load has dried to the point where the flow stops. I then must wipe the nib clean, dip again, and draw till that load dries, but I'm basically wiping off 2/3 of the total ink because most of it dries on the nib!

Is there a way around it, or, is this just the way it is with these pens and Speedball ink?

Thank you!

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http://coffeeonmars.com/screenshots/wasted-ink.jpg

March 4, 2015

I do not know the formulation of Speedball's india ink, but if it similar to their acrylic inks, that is my experience.

I would have to clean the nib regularly, as the ink dries and cakes on the nib.

You could try diluting the ink, but I do not know the appropriate solvent to use in their india ink.

One question, how long do you take to use up a load/dip of ink? If you take a while, that time is the problem.

Then I suggest that you load up a smaller amount of ink onto the nib, so that you use up more ink than what dries. IOW match your ink load to the amount of time it takes you to draw, before the ink dries up on you.

March 4, 2015

thanks, ac12.. Well, I don't dawdle when drawing but it's also not a race to get that ink down on paper. I draw a lot of abstract, organic shapes and I try to make my lines carefully. This probably chews through the time most: taking care.

I can load up with less and perhaps use different nibs for filling in..I can try diluting with a small bit of this ink to see what happens...

thanks for the ideas/perspective!

March 4, 2015

I'm just speculating here, but I would venture a guess that the Speedball ink was intended for use with Speedball pens (nibs), which have brass reservoirs on the back and less air exposure to the ink, and thus less of a drying concern. I'd try diluting it too. It shouldn't take too terribly much to make a difference.

Of course, this is just a guess. At the end of the day I don't know either.