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Why Are There So Few Permanent Inks?


s5s

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Personally, I think it's been about five years since I wrote anything but 'VOID' on a cheque. Very soon, there will be no more personal cheques, anyway.

 

FWIW, I have things I wrote in school from 35 years ago, written with Sheaffer Washable Blue, that are still most legible. The writing is in better shape than the paper it's written on. I'm sure if I left them on a sunny windowledge they'd be faded in a month. But why would I do that? :hmm1:

 

Edit: http://www.koh-i-noor.cz/en/produkty/tuse-inkousty-a-kancelarske-potreby/715-inkoust-plnici-dokument-50

 

Ink fades whether you leave it in the sun or not. Sunlight just speeds the process up. Same with running water - just a faster way of seeing what will happen eventually. I mean all those tests with running water and sun exposure are not to see what will happen if one of those events occurs but to see what will happen eventually to the ink without having to wait all that time.

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Why bother and why are you harking on this topic? By this thinking all documents written in the earlier parts of the twentieth centrury in all the documents archives in the entire world, and all of your great grandfather's correspondence are now blank sheets of paper. Stop fear mongering.

Edited by haziz
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Why bother and why are you harking on this topic? By this thinking all documents the documents written in the earlier parts of the twentieth centrury in all the documents archives in the entire world, and all of your great grandfather's correspondence are now blank sheets of paper. Stop fear mongering.

I don't see this thread as fear-mongering at all, and it is in fact quite interesting and much less banal than many of the topics that get slung around. Yes there are plenty of documents that have survived the passage of time, and there are many that have not. I stopped using a few pens because they failed to hold up to the elements. Does it always happen? No, of course not, but it has happened enough that I pause every time I ink up with something that lacks permanence. I mostly have Iroshizuku inks, but Sailor Kiwaguro is quickly overtaking all of them in my daily use, precisely because I am confident in its stability on most media.

Robert.

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Do we really think our writings are important enough to survive?

Gosh, I rather have fun with my inks and pens than to care about the longevity of my incoherent scribblings from the lower left corner of the world.

 

(BTW I'm a historian and live from the relics of the past, but my estimate is that 99% of what we write is not worth to be preserved - except for pleasing our own ego)

Greetings,

Michael

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(BTW I'm a historian and live from the relics of the past, but my estimate is that 99% of what we write is not worth to be preserved - except for pleasing our own ego)

I just love this! How appropriate!

The Good Captain

"Meddler's 'Salamander' - almost as good as the real thing!"

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(BTW I'm a historian and live from the relics of the past, but my estimate is that 99% of what we write is not worth to be preserved - except for pleasing our own ego)

I just love this! How appropriate!

 

Especially if referring not only to handwriting, but also to posts in forums. Agree? :blush:

Greetings,

Michael

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(BTW I'm a historian and live from the relics of the past, but my estimate is that 99% of what we write is not worth to be preserved - except for pleasing our own ego)

I just love this! How appropriate!

 

Especially if referring not only to handwriting, but also to posts in forums. Agree? :blush:

Interesting point - yes.

The Good Captain

"Meddler's 'Salamander' - almost as good as the real thing!"

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Do we really think our writings are important enough to survive?

Gosh, I rather have fun with my inks and pens than to care about the longevity of my incoherent scribblings from the lower left corner of the world.

 

(BTW I'm a historian and live from the relics of the past, but my estimate is that 99% of what we write is not worth to be preserved - except for pleasing our own ego)

The suggestion has come up a few times that somehow those of us who desire permanence in ink are arrogant or seem to think our writings are important enough to be preserved for centuries. That is surely not the case for many of us.

Robert.

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I want my lab notes and personal journal not to be bothered by condensation rings and scattered drops from drinks. I want my mail to arrive correctly and be at least legible. I want documents I write and/or sign to be very difficult to alter.

 

It's the incidental spills, humidity exposure, rain drops, ... that I worry about, just a little. Not much, but I try to use what I think of as reliable or security inks for doing those things; for shopping lists, signing birthday cards, and the like, it doesn't matter.

 

This is an interesting thread. Noodler's Kung Te-Chung I'll try next, I think.

Edited by htom
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Do we really think our writings are important enough to survive?

Gosh, I rather have fun with my inks and pens than to care about the longevity of my incoherent scribblings from the lower left corner of the world.

 

(BTW I'm a historian and live from the relics of the past, but my estimate is that 99% of what we write is not worth to be preserved - except for pleasing our own ego)

 

 

I'm so glad some of my ancestors did not think this way. I do genealogy and am so glad to have their writings, no matter how humble or mundane the life the writer thought they lived. There are very good and valid reasons for seeking out the most permanent inks we can find. No person is ordinary, and I for one appreciate a glimpse into other times that doesn't come out of a textbook. Perhaps my descendants will think the same about me.

Edited by fiberdrunk

Find my homemade ink recipes on my Flickr page here.

 

"I don't wait for inspiration; inspiration waits for me." --Akiane Kramarik

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I want my lab notes and personal journal not to be bothered by condensation rings and scattered drops from drinks. I want my mail to arrive correctly and be at least legible. I want documents I write and/or sign to be very difficult to alter.

 

Which should be fine with most, if not all, inks out there. No need for any extra paranoia.

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I want my lab notes and personal journal not to be bothered by condensation rings and scattered drops from drinks. I want my mail to arrive correctly and be at least legible. I want documents I write and/or sign to be very difficult to alter.

 

Which should be fine with most, if not all, inks out there. No need for any extra paranoia.

 

No extra paranoia, just ordinary caution from too many smears.

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I want my lab notes and personal journal not to be bothered by condensation rings and scattered drops from drinks. I want my mail to arrive correctly and be at least legible. I want documents I write and/or sign to be very difficult to alter.

 

Which should be fine with most, if not all, inks out there. No need for any extra paranoia.

Actually, most inks are abysmal at just about all of the things htom mentioned. Not paranoia at all to be concerned about durability.

 

Robert.

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