... Before Filling ...

[TMLee]

I am not sure but recently noticed that by shaking the bottle of ink before filling or refilling, I get truer ink colours.

 

Is it only me?

 

Inks are pigments in suspension?

[Chthulhu]

Fountain pen inks are generally dye-based: no pigments. Shake 'em if you like, but check the bottom of the bottle for sediment first, especially with "vintage" inks. <G>

 

Calligraphy inks are usually pigments in water and a binder; it's the binder that will clog your pen irredeemably, though the pigments are still an issue. These should only be used with dip pens or fountain pens specifically designed for them.

Edited April 13, 2011 by Chthulhu

[SnowLeopard]

I just invert the bottle a couple of times without any really violent shaking. The colors seen consistent from fill to fill.

Edited April 13, 2011 by SnowLeopard

[SilentK]

I usually give my bottles a quick flip or two upside down to move things around. I do this with all of my bottles of ink except Baystate Blue. Everything I do it with that ink, it leaves a bubble at the top of the bottle that doesn't seem to go away unless you pop it. Popping a BSB bubble has proved messy before.

[pkoko]

I also always give the bottle a quick shake before filling. I do this to make sure that the ink is consistent throughout the bottle.

[MidnightBlue]

New ink yes, old ink, no Thanks

[SamCapote]

There must be 20 threads asking this same question.

[MidnightBlue]

TMLee..........not a problem this has been raised before. There are few totally new threads. Glad you asked. Thanks

[SamCapote]

Sorry, I meant it more along the lines that no consensus has even been agreed upon. There are many versions of shakers, careful inverters, moderate shakers, heavy duty shakers, conditional shakers, never thought of shaking, anti-shakers, born again shakers, and at least a dozen other categories. Every one is an expert supporting their point of view.

[MidnightBlue]

We don't assume to be "experts with a point of view". We simply have one.Thanks

[TMLee]

Yes I must admit it did cross my mind about the question been asked before.

But I have become lazy to do a search because of past low successes with the search engine.

My bad.

(No offense to administrators intended here )

 

Anyway,

I remembered experiencing 'grey' ink after a refil from a bottle of noodlers black.

I was a little taken aback during that encounter.

But I decided to give a second try by inverting the bottle a few times before refilling.

The results were excellent.

I got black as black ink after that.

 

BTW , there was a reply up here that said 'no shaking' for old inks.

Why is that?

And when does ink become classified as old?

 

Thanks in advance for your patience

Edited April 13, 2011 by TMLee

[SamCapote]

Well since I am from the camp of vigorous shakers, the basic theory on why not to shake inks is the idea that fungal/bacterial contamination, or breakdown of the ink components has settled as a sediment on the bottom should not be mixed back up and drawn into your pen. There is no fixed rule on when an ink becomes "old." Some have 50 year old inks that were cared for properly, were well made to start with, and perform flawlessly. Others can deteriorate after a couple years.

 

There are those that believe that any sediment is bad, and the bottle should be discarded. Others are certain that a sediment means that an ink is using pigments rather than dyes, with supposedly objective studies using lasers and unverified expert credentials. Pigments are in suspension; dyes are dissolved, with the former category being more likely to clog your pen and destroy this sector of the milky way galaxy. Others of us believe that supersaturated, denser colored dye inks can have some sediment form over time, but goes back into solution with shaking or additional water dilution. Your example of the black ink is along this same line.

 

In any case, the wise pen user keeps a close eye on their pen's performance and flushing hygiene, with even more attention paid when using denser colored inks.

 

I posted this thread of a variety of ink brands, with others I didn't include as a way to challenge some of the dogma. I have also seen a good number of bottles that I am 100% certain of fungal contamination as viewed under the microscope (with photographs shared) that had no visible sediment. The fungal strands ("hyphae") were throughout the ink. Other contaminations can float on top in fluffy colonies, or be slimy & translucent.

[Possum Hill]

I am not sure but recently noticed that by shaking the bottle of ink before filling or refilling, I get truer ink colours.

 

Is it only me?

 

Inks are pigments in suspension?

Generally inks use dyes, not pigments. Dyes are very funny things though. See Wikipedia for some background. Don't believe everything you read there.

 

At one time on this board the notion was put forward that a certain brand of FP ink used pigments rather than dyes and therefore was dangerous to FPs. It was a complete fabrication by someone using someone else's work to pose as an expert. You can still find traces of that FP ink composition red herring in the archives.

 

Now that a few companies have actually introduced some popular well behaved pigment based inks it's no longer possible to just say they're bad for FPs.

[waterman1924]

Yes...

[Alexandra]

I was a shaker only of Noodler's Periwinkle until last week. I hadn't used Violet Vote for some time because I ceased to be crazy about the color. But, because it behaves itself so nicely I loaded up an eyedropper pen with it---no small supply of ink either. The color was too pink and, feeling an aversion for it, I dumped it out. After shaking the bottle I now get a nice bluer-than-usual color that I really like. So, all turned out for the best and I am now a shaker.

[M@rtin]

Yes, but gently...

 

PS= ink with sediment, badly resident

Edited April 13, 2011 by M@rtin

[Penache]

I remember noticing a reduction in the saturation of the ink if I didn't, so now I always give the bottles a good swirl before filling up.

[s5s]

There's no need to shake - chemically the ink will stay mixed as this is its preferable state. The dye particles are so small that they stay mixed.

[lapis]

I don't shake. I don't even stir. If there is any sediment or slime or floating junk, I just discard.

 

Chuck

[dcpritch]

But on certain inks that are colored not by dye, but by pigment, shaking is sometimes necessary to evenly redistribute the pigment. For example, I invariably find that Platinum Pigment ink (especially rose red and brun/sepia), JH 1670, and Noodler's Seminole Sepia and El Lawrence have significant sedimentation at the bottom when unused for any period of time. Those I shake (vigorously, like Sam Capote) and then I fill from the bottle. I've not found a dye-based ink that needs shaking, though I'm open to change on that front. Haven't yet had a bottle with slime or floating junk, the dreaded SITB; that I would toss.