Platinum Mix Free Ink Recipes

[Martini1R]

I'm tempted to mix a very dark purple, almost black in writing and have a hint of purple would be great. I recently purchased a bottle of Bungu box ink of the witch and am rather disappointed by the results. The purple is not deep and dark enough. It dries to be a little bit of a muted purple, dark grey-ish, not really black like.

 

Anybody tried to make a very dark purple, darker than the Aubergine (De Atramentis)? Please let me know the results and a possible recipe. I am not sure which bottles I should buy and wonder if the purple and black would do it. Do I need some blue and green?

[TMLee]

I'm tempted to mix a very dark purple, almost black in writing and have a hint of purple would be great. I recently purchased a bottle of Bungu box ink of the witch and am rather disappointed by the results. The purple is not deep and dark enough. It dries to be a little bit of a muted purple, dark grey-ish, not really black like.

 

Anybody tried to make a very dark purple, darker than the Aubergine (De Atramentis)? Please let me know the results and a possible recipe. I am not sure which bottles I should buy and wonder if the purple and black would do it. Do I need some blue and green?

 

 

have you considered PLATINUM's new range of inks ?

 

http://www.platinum-pen.co.jp/e_press_290206.html

 

save you a lot of trouble.

 

either that or look at NOODLER's range.

I am quite sure they have such a deep purple.

 

disclaimer : I dont own any purples

[Martini1R]

 

 

have you considered PLATINUM's new range of inks ?

 

http://www.platinum-pen.co.jp/e_press_290206.html

 

save you a lot of trouble.

 

either that or look at NOODLER's range.

I am quite sure they have such a deep purple.

 

disclaimer : I dont own any purples

Yeah I saw their new classic ink but I have read they are iron gall inks. A little bit intimidating on drying up and clogging. They also turn to black over time (no sure how long) but it is not really what I am looking for.

 

I have some experience on the Noodler's purple range. I like the Concord grape and since I have that my ultimate is the really dark purple I described.

 

It struck me as doing that with a black ink and just less than 10% purple tint. Hence the mix free.

[TMLee]

Yeah I saw their new classic ink but I have read they are iron gall inks. A little bit intimidating on drying up and clogging. They also turn to black over time (no sure how long) but it is not really what I am looking for.

 

I have some experience on the Noodler's purple range. I like the Concord grape and since I have that my ultimate is the really dark purple I described.

 

It struck me as doing that with a black ink and just less than 10% purple tint. Hence the mix free.

 

 

I see,

apologies,

Irongall - hmmm , I also don't feel comfortable with the potential damage they may bring.

 

I have PLATINUM MIX-FREE inks.

My experience using them (mixed and not mixed) has been positive .

 

In their standard mixing charts, which I think you have, they have dark purples.

Dark purples can be obtained not only by using SP (silky Purple)

for eg,

You can also get a shade of Dark purple by AB + CP (Aurora Blue + Cylamen Pink)

But this mix seems to yield a colour that is higher in hue , or chroma , how does one describe ? a fresher colour.

 

On the other end of the purple range, there are the mixes using inks of duller chroma - the browns or black.

 

so I am not sure which shade of purple you desire, (or maybe both)

More reddish - using CP or FR

 

or more drab using LG or SB

 

 

Do remember that all these shades in the chart are 1:1 ratio

which then means you can vary the ratio or mix with other colours.

 

I am just thinking, following the chart,

use AB + CP for a rich purple, (fresh looking hue, more red tint)

then add little amounts of SB to get the darkness you want.

 

On the other end of the spectrum,

use SP + LG for more drab purples

then add SB to get the blackness you want.

 

You may end up getting two mixes that are practically the same looking.

 

That's the interesting thing about PLATINUM MIX_FREE inks, for any given colour , you can mix so that you either have a 'fresher' looking shade or a 'duller' shade.

 

adding water also lightens the colour of the ink.

 

Lastly, do give some consideration to the paper you are using.

Paper - its shade of white - does 'affect' the shade of ink your eyes can detect.

 

as a matter of trivia , some people have greater ability to differentiate between subtle nuances of hues. Can be trained, but largely, you need to be born with good eyes.

I remember watching some video clip about technicians employed in PANTONE ? something like that.

Pretty interesting docu-clip.

 

Anyway, put on your lab coat, safety goggles , bring out your syringes and whatnot and have fun mixing.

 

you need to record each concoction methodically , lest all the effort goes to waste.

 

and when you do find the 'right' mix, pls post here, we can all do with useful information.

 

[Martini1R]

Sure. Thanks!

[amberleadavis]

Martini, I'm shocked that you don't like Ink of the Witch. I love IoW. I also love Concord Grape (which can only be mixed with other Baystate Inks). I think TMLee has given you great advice and I'd love to see your (and TM's) results.

[Martini1R]

Martini, I'm shocked that you don't like Ink of the Witch. I love IoW. I also love Concord Grape (which can only be mixed with other Baystate Inks). I think TMLee has given you great advice and I'd love to see your (and TM's) results.

Well it's not like I hate it. I was just a little disappointed that it's not exactly what I thought it would be. It's not black enough and the purple tone is a little on the muted side, that's all. It's nonetheless a nice addition to my purple collection. The ink also writes a little dry to my taste.

[amberleadavis]

Have you tried Private Reserve Ebony Purple or Sailor Shigure? (If you can find Sankodo Nishikan purple made by Sailor is amazing). Here is a link to some crazy comparisons.

 

http://www.sheismylawyer.com/album/Ink/slides/2015-10-17-21-12-35.jpg

 

http://www.sheismylawyer.com/album/Ink/slides/2015-10-17-19-00-04.jpg

[Martini1R]

Nice. No, I haven't tried PR Ebony Purple yet and it looks good. Is it darker than De Atramentis Aubergine? The nishikisan also looks good! I think I will try these two next if I could find them locally.

 

Thanks!

 

PS I do have the Sailor Shigure and it's also nice.

Edited April 29, 2017 by Martini1R

[WyrdForge]

Hello,

 

I'm reviving an old thread, and bringing the discussion back to the original topic, that being Platinum Mixable inks.

 

I've experimented with these inks, along the lines of CMYK colour theory. I'm using only Cyan (QB Aqua Blue), Magenta (CP Cyclamen Pink), Yellow (SY Sunny Yellow), and Key/Black (SB Smoke Black), with the intent to create any colour I wish. I'd rather not buy all nine colours, largely on the belief that CMYK is all I need to create any colour imaginable.

 

However, I'm running into an issue where I need to lighten a mix. I've tried the Platinum Dilution Liquid, but this only thins out the ink, making it look washed out. It does not change the pigmentation. I'm no artist or colour theory expert, but I believe that I need to add white pigment. I was thinking of using Noodler's Whiteness of the Whale, but it seems this ink is out of production. Still, if I can get it somewhere, it might be worth a try.

 

For example, I can create a very dark brown with 3ml SY + 2ml SB + 1ml CP, but then I'd like to lighten this to a light brown. i can add, for example, more yellow to make it lighter, but this makes the ink, uh, more yellow and no longer brown.

 

For those of you who have experimented with these Platinum Mixable inks, how have you lightened your inks?

 

Suggestions, thoughts, etc. all welcome.

 

 

Thanks,

 

Patrick

[BaronWulfraed]

Hence why the fancier photo printers have added additional colors. Mine adds true red and orange (I think the focus was on reproducing flesh tones, so no need for true blue or green)

 

If you look at a color circle, with the rim being full saturation/pure tones and the center desaturated/black, then any mix using CMYK will be cutting a chord across the circle. You can not produce "pure" RGB using just CMY, the mixes will always be somewhat toward the center/black. Adding some sort of pigment white will likely just produce a pastel.

 

CMYK printers rely on "half-toning" (sparse dot pattern) on the white paper to give the impression of a brighter RGB than the mix itself would create.

[WyrdForge]

Thanks BaronWulfraed for that explanation. Forgive me for wanting the obvious stated, but does this mean that a lighter shade of ink cannot be achieved (from a "base" colour)? For example, if I take Platinum's Aqua Blue, isn't there any way to obtain a light blue, without it tending towards magenta (by adding Cyclamen Pink) or Yellow (by adding Sunny Yellow)? If that's the case, how is one to achieve such lighter colours?

 

In my limited understanding, I thought I could obtain any colour by mixing the "base"/primary colours. It works with paint, but then paint is opaque. Thx!

[BaronWulfraed]

Acrylic and oils are typically managed as tons of white, with small beads of intense color. One seldom uses them straight from the tube. Even the mixes get lots of white to reduce saturation.

 

Pen inks come closer to water colors (many of which are transparent). Even at that, have you ever looked at a decent water-color set? Even a basic set will have 12-16 pans (My smallest, in terms of colors, runs 8-10 tubes*). A shirt pocket set of half pans contains: Chinese White (pigment; not sure of the others), Lemon Yellow, Azo Yellow Medium, Permanent Green, Viridian, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine, Permanent Red, Madder Lake Deep, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Payne's Grey.

 

If you look, there are two yellows, two greens, two blues, two reds, and two earth tones. For each pair there is a "bright/light" and a "dark". Chinese white is seldom used for mixing -- it really is meant to cover up mistakes and corrections.

 

 

 

* you do not want to see my cabinet of unused art supplies... In a previous life I was sent to the UK about 2-3 times a year for 3-4 week TDY... And tended to buy a new set of water colors and/or colored pencils (and sometimes water color pencils ) each trip.

[WyrdForge]

So is there any hope of achieving a lighter colour from a darker one, as in my example above with Aqua Blue? Thx

[BaronWulfraed]

I wouldn't hold out much hope.

 

Taking a diversion back to inkjet printers -- they produce lighter shades by not covering the paper with ink. It takes a 16x16 dot array to produce 256 levels from white (no ink) to full saturation (solid coverage). Most modern inkjet printers run 2400 dpi. 2400 dpi yields 150 pixels per inch [dpi is physical dot, ink/no-ink; ppi is the 16x16 "halftone cell" for shading]. Dropping into metric, a pixel is 0.17mm where my pens with EF nibs are putting down 0.2mm lines -- but that printer pixel is subdivided into 16x16. You might be able to emulate a first generation inkjet using a 000-point technical pen and stippling, but not by stroking.

 

Any time you mix two inks, the result will be "darker". (The exception being the use of a pigmented white -- which will lead toward a pastel if enough white is used... But most fountain pens will likely choke on the heavy pigment load... Heck, my Paasche AB Turbo airbrush would probably choke on that much pigment.)

 

Artist sets often contain (as my previous post listed) two of each "primary" (CMYK is a late addition to the stable, requiring synthetic dyes -- many artist "primaries" tend to be RBY as they were extracted from plants or dirts). One of each set would be leaning toward (say) blue-green and the other toward blue-violet(red side) to allow for mixes that don't get as dark.

 

The old Rotring ArtistColors came in a set of 12 (10 if you exclude black and white), along with a mixing chart. One side of the chart showed the pure color shaded with black in one direction and white in the other direction. The other side showed blends of each color against another. {And gave the drop vs drop ratio for the mixes}

 

Watering down the ink will allow more light to pass through it, but probably won't produce desirable coverage.

Edited October 23, 2018 by BaronWulfraed