Water Resistance

[mstone]

I've seen a few threads where the topic of ink water resistance has come up--it seems to be a topic of perennial interest. I remember a few years ago reading a thread in which someone suggested that Waterman's Florida Blue was water resistant, and I remember wondering at the time what kind of confusion of ideas could lead to such a conclusion. Over time I've become convinced that there are a few factors. First, the choice of paper is of paramount importance. Also there is the testing regimen--does one test by rinsing, by splattering, by dripping and allowing to soak/spread? Finally, does one evaluate only the quality of the line, or the effect on the paper? To illuminate some of these points I ran around the house scribbling on various paper scraps with Herbin's Poussiere de Lune, one ink whose water resistance is variously described as great and lousy, depending on who you ask. What follows are two scans, one of the front of the paper and for some samples, also the reverse. There is no attempt at color correction, and the contrast is rather harsh (which makes things easier to read than in real life. as it exaggerates the difference between the lines and the halos). Each sample has a number, and backsides have the same number with an 'o' for "over". I generated the samples by dripping a few drops onto the top of the writing, and for all but sample 2 (which soaked the water like a sponge) there is a portion which was wet and another which was dry. I almost wish that I had videoed the process, as the dye dramtically jumps off the paper when the drop hits it, and what happens next differs depending on the absorbency of the paper itself.

 

 

These are in no particular order, and sample 1 should probably have come later in the narrative. This is the only one where I wrote on both the front and the back of the paper, on each of three sections in a trifold (which was originally a bank statement). This is the front of the second layer down, which was not directly exposed to the water. It gives a good idea of the sort of result that I had when some notes written in PdL were caught in a pocket during a rainstorm: there's a lot of ink left, but the results are not particularly legible.

 

Sample 2 is a piece of newsprint. The purple dye obviously spreads quite a bit, and immediately soaks through and is quite visible on the back side. Had there been anything written on the back of this, it would be completely illegible. (Even the front isn't that great, if you were working from scratch rather than trying to pick out known letter forms.)

 

Sample 3 is cut from a bank statement, so I'm not exactly sure what kind of paper it is. This was an interesting sample as the paper seemed to repel water. There's no bleedthrough at all on the back, the purple dye puddled up, and just rolled right off when I picked up the sample. I'd guess that this is the kind of paper used by people who are pleased the the water resistance of PdL, as there's just a light purple haze on the paper and the writing is fully legible.

 

Sample 4 is HP laser paper. There's quite a bit of bleeding of purple ink into the paper, and if there had been writing on both sides it would be impossible to read through the mess. This is one of the samples where I added a truly waterproof ink (Noodler's Verdun) for comparison--note the complete absence of any kind of bleeding from the green ink. This is one of the samples most affected by the high contrast; in real life the remaining line is much, much lighter, and much less distinguishable from the purple ink halo (which almost disappears in the scan).

 

Sample 5 is some generic inkjet paper. I think the paper has some kind of coating that's designed to absorb and hold ink. I've noted previously in comparisons that it tends to widen lines and to completely eliminate shading. This is another good choice for people who like the water resistance of PdL, as the ink barely budged when the water hit it. It did, however, bleed badly and the backside would be fairly illegible if there were two sided writing. The green showthrough is a scanning artifact, as it's not particularly visible on real life.

 

Sample 6 is ripped from a bill. Probably more inkjet paper, as with sample 5 the ink barely budged on the front, but two sided writing would again be illegible. (On the back you can clearly see that the edge of the water drop was on the 'o' in Hancock.)

 

Keep in mind that the paper samples were just what happened to grab in a handful around the house, and are not fully representative. The most glaring omission is the absence of any plain uncoated office-quality bond paper--I just didn't have any at home. This is unfortunate mainly because I remember from previous disasters that this can lead to a much more smudged PdL sample than I have above. If I ever remember to grab some scrap I may update this with such a sample.

 

I hope that this gives some insight into how I, at least, consider water resistance. Poussiere de Lune is a well behaved ink with an interesting color. On some papers it has an almost bulletproof water resistance--but I consider that to be a property of the paper rather than the ink. I would have no expectation that a notebook written with PdL would retain any legibility if water were spilled on it (though with certain papers it might). Contrast with the Verdun, which is completely waterproof (labeled as "Eternal") and which I would not doubt would be completely legible after the same spill. My personal preference would be for a bit more standardization in classifying and testing inks, but I forsee no possibility of that happening. In the absence of such standardization, people should be very much aware that what one person calls "sort of waterproof" may mean "all your writing is gone" if you have an accident--and plan accordingly.

[lefty928]

Good info, thanks. I was surprised recently when a followup test showed Poussiere de Lune as being more water resistant than I remembered. Now I Know. (My testing technique is limited by my impatience, so I write on a piece of uncoated paper, let it dry -- that makes a big difference -- and then throw the scrap in a jar of water to soak, sometimes for as long as overnight. I also get distracted.)