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Chromatography And Fountain Pen Ink


Ash1

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Hello,

I am interested in seeing what colors are in a fountain pen ink and comparing inks that seem the same to actually see what is in them and have discovered Chromatography, Unfortunately, I am not sure where to begin; firstly, I do not know what materials I need such as what type of paper to use and do I just use water or something else? And where might I be able to buy these materials, such as the paper, from? Also, I have no actual idea of what I should be doing once I have the materials. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Ash

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I use blotter paper. You can find that at an art supply store. Then distilled water.

 

I use a piece of blotter paper about an inch wide and five inches long. Put a heavy dot of the ink a half inch from one end. Before the ink dries, stand the paper in a quarter inch of water (you don't want the surface of the water to actually touch the ink directly). As the water wicks itself up the paper, the colors separate into bands. Takes 10 to 30 minutes.

Can a calculator understand a cash register?

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I'd do exactly as Paddler does, except I can't easily find blotter paper around here parts, so I use strips of heavy-duty toilet paper around the same size of Paddlers.

 

For whatever reason, I slowly trace a horizontal line, though. Gotta try the heavy dot technique some day!

Who knows what ink lurks in the hearts of pen? The Shadow knows!

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You'll find some already done in ink reviews if you search for the word "chromatography" in posts. Post your results when you do yours.

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Hello,

I want to say a big thank you for all your posts; they will be very helpful when I get into ink chromatography.

 

Thanks,

Ash

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I actually use a standard paper towel like those you find in public restrooms to wipe hands with. It works quite well. I slice it into strips, add a small blot of ink about 1.5cm away from the bottom and soak the bottom in plain water for about 2 minutes. Try to prevent the water from directly touching the blot of ink, or it will just wash it away.

fpn_1434432647__fpn_1425200643__fpn_1425160066__super_pinks-bottle_200x159.jpg

 


Check out my blog at Inks and Pens

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I chanced upon a kind of chromatography while I was filling my pens.

 

For all my pen cleaning chores I have been using good quality three-ply facial tissues (no lotions or scents added). These are the same ones that I also use for cleaning my coated eyeglass lenses.

 

My pen (section, barrel, nib) is first wiped with a dry tissue to get most of the ink off. I fold another tissue a number of times so that it looks like a narrow strip, which I dip in RO water then squeeze out. This wet tissue is then used to wipe everything off again.

 

Particularly after wiping off the nib & the feed, I've noticed a larger amount of ink transferring onto the wet tissue. This stain continued to spread while the ink's colours began to separate out.

I would then carefully unfold the wet tissue to discover the interesting shapes that were formed by the ink & the colours that were revealed.

There were some real surprises.

*Sailor 1911S, Black/gold, 14k. 0.8 mm. stub(JM) *1911S blue "Colours", 14k. H-B "M" BLS (PB)

*2 Sailor 1911S Burgundy/gold: 14k. 0.6 mm. "round-nosed" CI (MM) & 14k. 1.1 mm. CI (JM)

*Sailor Pro-Gear Slim Spec. Ed. "Fire",14k. (factory) "H-B"

*Kaweco SPECIAL FP: 14k. "B",-0.6 mm BLS & 14k."M" 0.4 mm. BLS (PB)

*Kaweco Stainless Steel Lilliput, 14k. "M" -0.7 mm.BLS, (PB)

 

 

 

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I remember back at school we used coffee filters as chromatography paper for an experiment.

You know, those disposable paper cones. They did quite a good job.

 

Can't recall much about the procedure unfortunately..

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