... Before Filling ...

[SamCapote]

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.

 

Well said.

 

I see there are still absolute rules and wasting of ink that is a result of a lack of understanding about some sediments in dye inks that are normal--particularly those that have high dye concentrations. It is of course their choice to toss out a perfectly good bottle of ink, but others should know that it is not based on factual verification. I'm not saying that all sediment found in fountain pen ink is normal or innocent, but most of it is.

 

Again, there are dye inks that use weak bonding lattice structures that are not as strong as ionic/covalent bonds, and/or some inks may be slightly supersaturated with dye. Many people mistake a lower concentration of ink dye as the only mark of a safe, dye ink. That's just not accurate either.

 

As a comparison to inks that can cause problems, I love most MB inks, and regard them as good quality & safe. Yet it is amazing that people so overlook their orange Ink of Joy crystallization deposits (other ink brands can do the same) all over the nib and feed, despite it being a dye ink. I consider that more of a nuisance than some safe sediment found in another brand that resolves with shaking.

Edited January 10, 2012 by SamCapote

[PelikansPlus]

I just swirl the bottle before filling a pen. If I shake the bottle, I get a layer of bubbles. I have shaken a bottle a few hours before filling, and that seems to reduce the bubble factor. I honestly have never detected a huge difference in color saturation between a shaken and an unshaken ink bottle. Sounds like a good weekend science project!

[handwriter]

I never saw the neeed for shaking. I think the inks I use are solutions of several solutes (dyes, surfactants, biocides, etc.) in water, and never found evidence against this assumption: never noticed settled matter, thinning of the ink upon time.... There is no point in shaking a solution, because the brownian motion is already "shaking" everything that is in there.

[JimB]

J Herbin's Anniversary 1670 ink needs a shaking, I've found. Some require even more attention; like Private Reserve's Sepia, that needed shaking AND 2 drops of Dawn dish detergent to get it working for me. My recipe inks, I shake them as well. Ink that uses iron gall? Uh-uh.

[torstar]

Always shake before using.

 

Make sure the lid is on properly and tightly first.

[Scrawler]

I shake it, whether it needs it or not. It is just a habit I picked up from mixing ink for school.

[fotographik]

I always give them alittle shake as well....just in case!

[leod]

i like them shaken not stirred

[kalali]

If you shake a BSB bottle just be prepared to see a whole bunch of bubbles on top. And if you plan to pop those bubbles, you better make sure you have a real dark color shirt or an apron....

Don't ask me how I know...

Edited January 13, 2012 by kalali

[KrazyIvan]

I shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it like a Polaroid picture.

 

Then I flip the bottle upside down and then right side up after a few seconds and the bubbles go away.

Edited January 14, 2012 by KrazyIvan

[gregamckinney]

Only Noodlers inks, many of which (mostly the bulletproof versions I think) you can see separated in the bottle.

 

Regards, greg

[someonesdad]

It seems we have the people who shake the ink and those that just move the bottle on the shelf. I guess we could call them the movers and shakers.

[dcwaites]

I used not to be a shaker, until I recently did a refill from Swisher's Aquamarine ( a Noodler's ink). I got a really light, sky blue, not the medium aquamarine I was expecting. I gave the bottle a good shake, let it settle for a couple of hours, shook again, carefully opened the bottle and popped the bubbles. This fill was the full, rich colour I expected.

 

However, don't shake a bottle of Diamine Registrar's Ink. Oxygen in the air at the top of the bottle causes some of the iron in the ink to precipitate out. Shaking the bottle gets that into your pen, and clogs the narrow feed channels.

 

Also, any Parker Penman bottle (or equivalent) gets at least a gentle inversion when you fill the pen filling chamber.

 

My feeling is now, that any saturated or pigmented ink will get a shake, except for a Registrar's Ink.

Less saturated inks like Parker Quink, Waterman, Sheaffer Skrip won't get shaken.

[SamCapote]

Only Noodlers inks, many of which (mostly the bulletproof versions I think) you can see separated in the bottle.

 

Regards, greg

 

Greg, commensurate with the high regard in which I hold you, perhaps you would find this interesting.

 

 

 

.

Edited January 14, 2012 by SamCapote

[Gcouch]

I only really use Parker Quink or Montblanc in all of my pens, and I never shake them. I see no reason to, and I haven't had any adverse effects as of yet. This is an extreme matter of personal preference, to say the least.

[Tom Aquinas]

New ink yes, old ink, no Thanks

 

 

I agree.

[Parker Quink Turquoise]

No,I never shake the bottle.Just put the pen in and fill it.

[hoppes no9]

J Herbin's Anniversary 1670 ink needs a shaking, I've found.

 

After a couple of weeks of sitting undisturbed, my bottles of 1670 have a thick layer of the gold dust on the bottom. If you don't shake, you don't get any of the gold. And it can take a good long while to get the gold completely resuspended.

 

Some of my other inks need shaking to avoid losing saturation or components of the color -- Noodler's Polar Blue jumps to mind.

[DoctorZhivago]

I used not to be a shaker, until I recently did a refill from Swisher's Aquamarine ( a Noodler's ink). I got a really light, sky blue, not the medium aquamarine I was expecting. I gave the bottle a good shake, let it settle for a couple of hours, shook again, carefully opened the bottle and popped the bubbles. This fill was the full, rich colour I expected.

 

However, don't shake a bottle of Diamine Registrar's Ink. Oxygen in the air at the top of the bottle causes some of the iron in the ink to precipitate out. Shaking the bottle gets that into your pen, and clogs the narrow feed channels.

 

Also, any Parker Penman bottle (or equivalent) gets at least a gentle inversion when you fill the pen filling chamber.

 

My feeling is now, that any saturated or pigmented ink will get a shake, except for a Registrar's Ink.

Less saturated inks like Parker Quink, Waterman, Sheaffer Skrip won't get shaken.

I shake Diamine Registrar's ink. Seems to work.

[RudyR]

Some of the Noodlers that I had used do need a shake, particularly my bottle of Bad Blue Heron. If I don't, it has a sickly blue/green cast to it. Also as has been mentioned, a bottle of J Herbin 1670 does settle and does need a shaking. So it probably doesn't hurt to give a dye based ink a good bit of agitation.