Can Ink Last 100 Years?

January 11, 2011

I am interested to find out of the average life or the minimum life the the ink is? Would they last 100 years before fading?

January 11, 2011

Depends on the ink. Fountain pen inks, being dye based, can degrade from light and UV radiation. Unless held in a dark place, one could expect the coloration to fade over time but I'm guessing for most modern FP inks they could be readable for a few decades if left out in the open.

At the other extreme is something like iron gall ink, which actually chemically binds to the paper. Iron gall has been used for centuries and has a lifespan efffectively as long as the paper it's written on (though it is quite acidic and sometimes corrodes the paper it's written on before it fades!) Be advised though, iron gall ink is NOT for fountain pen use as a general rule.

January 11, 2011

Hi,

There may be an average, but that would be derived from wide-ranging samples - some of which may last a short time and those which may last hundreds of years.

The paper is critical.

The storage conditions are critical.

BoBo may suggest that the flex of the nib used is also critical. (Joking! But, ah, perhaps it does!!)

This topic arises from time-to-time, with considerable range of opinions and interpretations of actual and anecdotal evidence.

Bye,

S1

January 11, 2011

I am interested to find out of the average life or the minimum life the the ink is? Would they last 100 years before fading?

Depends too much on the particular ink, paper, and storage conditions to give a good answer. The range is from weeks to decades in practice, and over 100 years is not out of the question if the right ink and paper is used, and the document stored in a controlled climate.

January 11, 2011

Pretty well since the Magna Carta virtually all English Government papers and court decisions were recorded using Iron Gall ink and at first, parchment and later paper. When stored properly, these documents have lasted many hundreds of years.

However, in the middle 19th Century there were two developments which can shorten the lifespan of a document. The first was the development of aniline dye-based ink and the second was the development of wood-pulp paper and its bleaching with sulphite (sulphate?). Either can shorten the life of a document to less than ten years, and in combination can see a document unreadable in less than a year.

If you really want a document to last more than a hundred years, use either a carbon-pigment ink or a modern iron-gall ink in conjunction with oxygen-bleached rag-fibre (cotton and/or linen) paper.

For more information, do a Google* search for "Forty Centuries of Ink".

*PS - I am truly astonished. I am writing this using Google Chrome, and its spell checker doesn't know about "Google". Is That Weird or What?

January 11, 2011

I think your question was about the ink, not the paper. I believe a quality ink can last 100 years if stored properly. Then there is the whole other type of ink....that comes in envelopes or vials as ink powder, or tablets. I have a couple boxes that look like they are about 100 years old, and adding water and a biocide to them, they are better looking/performing than quite a few currently made inks in their same color range.

January 11, 2011

Thanks for all your responses.

January 14, 2011

For more information, do a Google* search for "Forty Centuries of Ink".

Here or here. A fascinating read.

January 14, 2011

My Brother-in-law has a collection of letters dating from 1836 - 1850 written by a relative in that period and the ink is still in good condition without showing signs of fading.

Regards,

Pickwick

Edited January 14, 2011 by Pickwick

January 14, 2011

If you really want a document to last more than a hundred years, use either a carbon-pigment ink or a modern iron-gall ink in conjunction with oxygen-bleached rag-fibre (cotton and/or linen) paper.

Can you recommend a brand of paper that meets this qualification? Thanks!