Why Blue Ink?

[wykeite]

Does anyone have an idea as to why blue and it's variations has become more or less the standard ink colour?

 

I can understand black, carbon being readily available and the reaction with IG inks.

 

Why not green for example?

[caco]

To the extent of my knowledge, the reason is that the dye with most widespread use was Indigo, originally coming from India, hence the name. Indigo was added to ferrogallic ink, which is a colorless mixture of iron sulphate and gallic acid that turns black when in contact with air. But being colorless at first, a dye is necessary, and Indigo was the one most used for its availability and safety, since others would cause the ink to be too corrosive and destroy the parchment or paper on which they were applied.

[mstone]

The first synthetic dyes were blue or bluish colors such as purple (Mark Twain seems to have been fond of the latter). Certain blue dyes are erasable with an eradicator pen, leading to widespread use in schools.

[welch]

My guess is custom and etiquette, more or less.

 

I think that black was the standard, respectable, color (and "colour") in the US and UK until the end of WW2. At the same time, Americans seem to have preferred fine points; Britons preferred medium-to-broad points.

 

The color-preference is simply a guess, but it seems true that Parker manufactured far more fine-point 51s for the US market, and far more mediums for the UK market. Furthermore, as Tom "Old Griz" Mullane mentioned, the Newhaven nibs had more tip on them.

 

It would take real evidence to prove (or disprove) what I've just written. I think we lack the evidence, and that's common for business history. When a pen company or an ink company goes out of business, who bothers to maintain all the company archives just to benefit historians?

 

We would examine:

 

- books on penmanship to see if the authors recommended a color of ink (books should be around. This one is OK)

 

- books on manners, both business and family. People, for at least 200 years, have always gone to some rule-book to learn how to act in a new situation. If you are a farm-lid from Wisconsin who has just finished the University of Wisconsin and gotten an office job in Chicago, I expect you'd get a book on everything from how to dress to what color ink to use in business correspondence. These boooks might be available.

 

- Most important evidence, though, would be sales numbers from the ink makers. How much of each color did Carter, Parker, Sheaffer, and all the other I don't know, sell in a given year? How did the colors change? The focus-years woud be about 1930 - 1960.

 

Maybe the Parker numbers are stored away in Newhaven, along with the rest of the Parker archives. Tony F. might know what's there. If I ran the Sanford Office Products unit of Newell, I would probably ignore old sales figures and take the design drawings. (Would you want the detailed design for the Parker 51 aero, or a sales report saying that so many bottle of Quink blue were sold in 1948?)

 

So, there is my giess, but I doubt we'll have any reliable answer, unless some grad student decides to write a thesis.

 

Note to grad students: run fast, because companies are throwing out your documentation every day, documentaion from which you could write a solid history of everyday life.

[laser8]

I think blue kicked in when the photocopying machine started to spread. Since copies are black on white, you had to use a different colour to differentiate the original from the copy.

 

That's my guess on the when. Speaking of why, think about which is the most boring colour after black, and there you go.

[Blade Runner]

Because people like blue?

[Alohamora]

Because people like blue?

 

 

+1

 

There may be some good historical reasons for using blue. But reading ink reviews and inky thoughts, it's BLUE that I see people getting excited about, it seems to strike some sort of emotional or psychological resonance with people.

[welch]

I think blue kicked in when the photocopying machine started to spread. Since copies are black on white, you had to use a different colour to differentiate the original from the copy.

 

That's my guess on the when. Speaking of why, think about which is the most boring colour after black, and there you go.

 

My memory, and its one of the few benefits of being this old, is that we were encouraged to use black ink (ugh...usually BICs) for Xeroxing because black showed better. More contrast.

[ag273n]

Because people like blue?

 

 

+1

 

There may be some good historical reasons for using blue. But reading ink reviews and inky thoughts, it's BLUE that I see people getting excited about, it seems to strike some sort of emotional or psychological resonance with people.

 

 

+2

 

 

hey! i love blue, and i love looking at it.. its soothing to me. i'd say the same.. i just noticed, the color of the courtains in my room is blue, and the basket, and my drawer...

wait a minute, most of my books are also blue!

[tonybelding]

A lot of us grew up only knowing three ink colors: black, blue and red. And red was reserved for corrections or grading in school.

 

Blue probably became popular for a number of reasons already mentioned. . . Blue is always a popular primary color. Blue dyes were available early on. And when you xerox it, the copy is legible but easily distinguished from the original.

 

Why not green? Maybe it's just the luck of the draw, sometimes that happens. I've heard a sort of urban myth, from England, that crackpots often write letters to newspapers and magazines with green ink. Maybe it appeals to the nonconformist? Maybe green appeals to the sort of person who would ask the question, "Why Blue Ink?"

 

I searched a long time for the perfect blue. I had a bottle of Parker Penman Sapphire once upon a time, so I spent probably more time and effort than is sensible looking for the best substitute. The biggest thing that gave me grief was my desire for something waterproof, but all the permanent blues had shortcomings that turned me away. I finally gave up on that and settled on an excellent non-permanent blue ink (to wit: Noodler's Eel Blue).

 

Along the way I stumbled across Iraqi Indigo/Violet Vote, which is permanent and attractive and very well-behaved. And I found myself asking, "Why Blue Ink?" Maybe purple will do the trick after all. Then I found out that Enzo Ferrari was well known for using purple ink. Then I found out that Mark Twain notably used purple ink. And I thought, "If it was good enough for them. . ." So, now it's become my all-around favorite ink.

 

And yet, when I want a bold signature, I'll still put a rich blue in the Waterman L'Etalon with the factory stub nib.

[Scrawler]

A lot of us grew up only knowing three ink colors: black, blue and red. And red was reserved for corrections or grading in school.

 

Blue probably became popular for a number of reasons already mentioned. . . Blue is always a popular primary color. Blue dyes were available early on. And when you xerox it, the copy is legible but easily distinguished from the original.

 

Why not green? Maybe it's just the luck of the draw, sometimes that happens. I've heard a sort of urban myth, from England, that crackpots often write letters to newspapers and magazines with green ink. Maybe it appeals to the nonconformist? Maybe green appeals to the sort of person who would ask the question, "Why Blue Ink?"

 

I searched a long time for the perfect blue. I had a bottle of Parker Penman Sapphire once upon a time, so I spent probably more time and effort than is sensible looking for the best substitute. The biggest thing that gave me grief was my desire for something waterproof, but all the permanent blues had shortcomings that turned me away. I finally gave up on that and settled on an excellent non-permanent blue ink (to wit: Noodler's Eel Blue).

 

Along the way I stumbled across Iraqi Indigo/Violet Vote, which is permanent and attractive and very well-behaved. And I found myself asking, "Why Blue Ink?" Maybe purple will do the trick after all. Then I found out that Enzo Ferrari was well known for using purple ink. Then I found out that Mark Twain notably used purple ink. And I thought, "If it was good enough for them. . ." So, now it's become my all-around favorite ink.

 

And yet, when I want a bold signature, I'll still put a rich blue in the Waterman L'Etalon with the factory stub nib.

There have in the past been interesting conventions associated with ink. As a child in the 1950's my school required me to write in washable blue, or blue/black. The ink in the inkwells for those who could not afford a fountain pen and used the dip pens, was blue/black. Angry letters were written in green, I do not know if this started, as you suggest, due to eccentricity, but it was a convention. The NKVD and KGB in those days wrote threatening letters in purple. Marking was done in red to distinguish the teachers writing and make their words and comments stand out. The nearest we had to photocopying was a waxed paper mimeograph, which smelled of alcohol and make mauve copies. When Xerox type machines were invented we were asked to write in black, because it copied better than blue, green or red.

[Viseguy]

I doubt we'll have any reliable answer, unless some grad student decides to write a thesis.

Someone has. Hannah Rose Mendoza, Pale Intrusions Into Blue: The Development of a Color. Not about ink, specifically, but a lot of interesting information about the color. Mendoza teaches "interior architecture" at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.

Edited November 7, 2010 by Viseguy

[Possum Hill]

Blue ink -- because it's there.

[mikey]

Does anyone have an idea as to why blue and it's variations has become more or less the standard ink colour?...

 

Why? Because blue is MY favorite color.

[corniche]

Greetings all,

 

I think blue became the default color for a couple of reasons; first, it's a very popular color in it's own right. Just ask any sampling of people what their favorite color is and the majority will say blue. Secondly, ink has been traditionally applied to business. Business has to be on the serious side, so greens, reds, turquoises, etc., never would be accepted within the business millieu as a color to take seriously. Black is serious, but a bit too serious, a bit too somber and dreary, so blue-black was the color of choice for decades. It was business-like but still inviting. The wide range of blues available today are thanks to two things: more cultural acceptance of more vivid blues and the low cost synthetic dyes that make them affordable.

 

Just my 2 cents off the top of my head- take it or leave it.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

 

[Trebster]

The NKVD and KGB in those days wrote threatening letters in purple.

 

This strikes me as highly interesting and I have given it some thought, but have had no opportunity to do any research. What follows is conjecture.

 

The practice strikes me of a tactic from the Cheka era, and I would guess that intimidation via purple ink would have been most effective when used against the intelligentsia, and against select members of the émigré population in Paris and China. So I would roughly date the use of purple ink for such ends to the civil war period, and through period of the Trust operation.

 

The subtlety of such tactics would have been unnecessary during the Great Terror, and would have been wasted on the lower classes. Perhaps the practice continued through the Beria era under special circumstances, but that's only a guess.

[mholve]

Why? Because blue is MY favorite color.

Right on. Same here.

[HDoug]

I thought it was because the development of inexpensive blue aniline dye coincided with the development of the fountain pen. I'm not certain on this, but I'll bet a dollar anyway.

 

Doug

Edited February 13, 2011 by HDoug

[Scrawler]

The NKVD and KGB in those days wrote threatening letters in purple.

 

This strikes me as highly interesting and I have given it some thought, but have had no opportunity to do any research. What follows is conjecture.

 

The practice strikes me of a tactic from the Cheka era, and I would guess that intimidation via purple ink would have been most effective when used against the intelligentsia, and against select members of the émigré population in Paris and China. So I would roughly date the use of purple ink for such ends to the civil war period, and through period of the Trust operation.

 

The subtlety of such tactics would have been unnecessary during the Great Terror, and would have been wasted on the lower classes. Perhaps the practice continued through the Beria era under special circumstances, but that's only a guess.

My father mentioned to me that he had been a recipient of such letters during the 1940's and early 1950's after he left the Soviet Union without permission. He would certainly have been classified as "intelligentsia". The content of at least some of these letters was to remind him that I was born a Soviet citizen and they wanted me back.

[lapis]

It still reminds me of the good ol' days when I had no problems as re wife, children, mortgage, debts, insurances, health ...

 

ach ja