How To Make Ink Dry Slower?

[indraneel]

I made myself a carbon pigmented ink concoction but it is drying out too fast. What to do?

 

Here's the longer version. I mixed Camel black drawing ink which supposedly has carbon nano particles and some water based resin, and Camel permanent black for fountain pens in a 1:2 ratio (10ml pigmented to 20ml dye based). Also added a drop of dish detergent and 5 drops of glycerine. I'm using a parker frontier as this is the only pen I have that allows me to easily unscrew the nib/feed for washing. The drawing ink does wash out easily from the section, and the whole concoction on paper is non feathering and non washable (with soap water). Overall I'm quite pleased, but...

 

The ink dries out very rapidly. I can pull my finger right after the nib, on paper, and there are no smudges. If I pause to collect my thoughts, the ink dries up in the nib, and I need to coax it out. It was worse before the glycerine drops. I know I should probably use a hooded nib (aka parker 51), but I'd much rather prefer the ease of cleaning a screw in feed.

 

So how can I make my ink dry slower? (Please note: Buying Noodlers or Pelikan or any other fancy inks is not an option. I am in India.)

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Link to Camel drawing ink (this is where I bought it, manufacturer link has almost no information) http://www.himalayafineart.com/Product.aspx?prodid=46&itemname=Camel%20Coloured%20Drawing%20Inks

[professionaldilettante]

Drawing ink will kill a fountain pen. It's for stylographs, and will eventually clog it. I would just stop with the experiment right now before your pen dies.

[atypical]

Add more glycerin perhaps?

[hari317]

Drawing ink will have carbon particles with shellac. even when mixed with other FP ink it can clog your pen.

 

Try camlin fount india. It is a diluted drawing ink designed for FPs.

[indraneel]

Ok, here's the manufacturer's link

http://www.camlin.com/product/camel-coloured-drawing-inks

and it says the inks can be "diluted with water". How do I find out if the black one has shellac or gum in it (the other ones except white seem to be dye based)? Even the black one does seem to wash off readily from the nib and feed (when dry).

 

I don't want a dead pen for sure, so I am being extra careful. I'll add more glycerine and see what happens. Can there be a risk with too much glycerine, for the pen? I'm guessing it can't hurt the carbon in the ink.

 

Hari, do you mean the Camel "Designer's waterproof black Indian inks"? There is a picture with "fount" written on it.

http://www.camlin.com/catalog/artists-range/camel-colours/coloured/black-waterproof-inks-sets/camel-designers-waterproof-b

[hari317]

 

http://www.camlin.com/catalog/artists-range/camel-colours/coloured/black-waterproof-inks-sets/camel-designers-waterproof-b

 

Item 1111760 in the link above. I like that stuff.

[indraneel]

Thanks! Any place online where I can order it from?

[hari317]

Thanks! Any place online where I can order it from?

 

I have no idea Indraneel, sorry, but google is your friend. It should be available in your local art supplies store. It is a common item.

[indraneel]

Thanks, I'll try at the Camlin store in Kolkata, next time I'm in the "big" city.

[indraneel]

Midnight update: Following the "atypical" suggestion I added more glycerin. 25 drops more, so that makes it about 1 drop/ml. Glycerin drops are quite a bit smaller than water drops. I also changed the pen to a cheaper pelikan with a thicker and wetter nib. The pen does not dry out anymore, I can pause for thoughts, no need to scratch and wipe the nib after uncapping... but now I have a new problem, there is a lot of skipping, especially on cheaper paper. No feathering on any paper though.

 

Any thoughts what might help (till I can lay my hands on the "fount" ink mentioned above)?

[Draikyr]

I don't know anything about mixing, but if you're looking for a good black, I've been using the Platinum Carbon Black. I have it loaded into a Rotring Art Pen - Sketch F nib.

 

Waterproof, nano carbon particles, and doesn't dry terribly fast. It flows nicely and I've yet to see skipping on my drawing papers with it.

It's fairly dark as well, just a bit lighter than my India Ink (for use with dip pens).

 

 

[indraneel]

Just an update, himalayafineart now has the camel black drawing/fount inks for sale online after one request.

 

I have no idea where to find Platinum carbon black in India, and Camel will be cheaper (and hopefully nearly the same; maybe Hari can clarify that).

 

As for my concoction, it's still going great in my cheapo pelikan. The ink does not dry out in the pen even if I don't write for a couple of days, but I need to swipe the top of the nib on a rag once or twice to start. No fading even with an overnight soak (maybe the ordinary camel black gets stuck by the same resins?). I probably added too much detergent, will add only half a drop next time; no spilling or creep or bleeding, but the writing is much broader. Adding the extra glycerin was an excellent idea by Atypical. Next time I'll add more. Soap bubble recipes usually call for 1ml to 2.5ml per 50ml soap solution to prevent bubbles from evaporating quickly, so 0.5ml is probably a good place to start for inks.

 

Many thanks to everyone who responded.

[hari317]

I have no idea where to find Platinum carbon black in India, and Camel will be cheaper (and hopefully nearly the same; maybe Hari can clarify that).

I have no experience with the Platinum carbon black, but i have heard only good things about it. You can buy it from japanese sellers on ebay. It is much more expensive than the Camlin stuff.

Edited July 6, 2012 by hari317