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Is There Any Interest On Ink P H Level?


cimmerian

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My partner has access to a chemistry lab and there she could easily test my inks for their pH levels.

 

Sometimes I hear discussions about this or that ink pH. Is it something anybody's really interested in? Because, for example, my partner tells me she'd require less than 1 ml of ink to test it for its pH level, so I could give her samples of the half-a-dozen inks I have without shedding a tear, and I could share the knowledge here (and whenever I buy and test more ink).

 

But I'd like to know if there's a demand for this kind of information. After all, I'd be spending my ink and her time on this.

Who knows what ink lurks in the hearts of pen? The Shadow knows!

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I think it would be interesting to know.

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I would be very interested in this. Thank you for the offer. I prefer using inks as close to neutral pH as possible or, if they are not, flush the pen more often. I have only seen one very old ink pH chart and ink composition may have changed over the years plus new inks are always coming on the market. Timely pH information could be very useful.

Happiness is a real Montblanc...

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Lol, just make sure the pH electrode does not get stained.

 

My first reflex was: "Go get pH test paper!" but then I realized that color readings might be a bit off.

 

Good luck with the testing, might also be a fun little chemistry bachelor work.

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SirVival called it.

 

My partner came back reporting a failure. She was hesitant to use the lab's pH Meter and permanently stain the electrode, as its glass is porous. So she tried diluting the ink to use pH testing strips.

 

Even diluting the inks 10x, she couldn't read the strips, as they had been solidly painted by the ink solutions.

 

She didn't have time to dilute further without impacting what she had to do today, but she had an idea: she knows the math for finding the pH of a diluted solution, you know, to work back and extrapolate the pH of the initial, undiluted substance. So we'll do it at home, diluting samples of my inks 100x and 1000x times and seeing if the pH tape isn't stained too much. I don't have the car tomorrow, but I'm going to town come Monday to buy some pH testing tape.

 

We briefly considered using natural pH indicators, such as black tea, red cabbage water, pear water, etc. But not only they won't give off precise indications besides "slight acidic" or "very alkaline", the ink would dye the solution — and prevent us from evaluating if the cabbage water got red, blue or yellow, for example.

 

I'll update you all come Monday!

Who knows what ink lurks in the hearts of pen? The Shadow knows!

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My partner came back reporting a failure. She was hesitant to use the lab's pH Meter and permanently stain the electrode, as its glass is porous. So she tried diluting the ink to use pH testing strips.

 

There are a variety of complicating factors, depending on the equipment being used and the particular ink being examined.

 

I wrote up a brief primer a few years back when I was getting a lot of inquiries about pH determination. I've linked them below, perhaps they will be of interest to you in your endeavor.

 

4654576174_51baa763b1_b.jpg

4653960987_1022368149_b.jpg

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That was a very informative read, Chemyst. Thanks!

Who knows what ink lurks in the hearts of pen? The Shadow knows!

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That was a very informative read, Chemyst. Thanks!

 

Sure thing! It's what I do.

 

If you run into issues along the way, feel free to message me. I'm glad to help if I can.

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