Mixing Glitter Into Fountain Pen Ink?

[hakuchuu16]

Hi all, lately I've been obsessed with glittery inks such as those of Diamine's Shimmertastic and J. Herbin's 1670 series. Problem is, J herbin is a little too pricey for me so I can't even try them, and Diamine's sometimes aren't shimmery enough. So now I'm thinking of buying my own glitter and mixing it into my fountain pen ink...?

 

Does anyone have any suggestions, such as what types of glitter to use or not to use, or even any information about why adding glitter to ink isn't a good idea? I'm pretty clueless about ink mixing...

 

Thanks in advance!

[Miz Black Crow]

Look for a thread called Experimenting With Gold (Powder) . People have used Luster Dust. My own inksperimentation reveals that Pearl Ex pigments are good for this application also.

 

Good luck!!

[ac12]

The problem with glitter is the size. The reflective particles needs to be VERY SMALL, so they can get through the feed and the very narrow ink channel, and not clog the pen. As MizBlackCrow said, like fine powder. And be very stingy in adding it, so that you don't create a paste. Paste will NOT flow thru the ink channel.

[Miz Black Crow]

The problem with glitter is the size. The reflective particles needs to be VERY SMALL, so they can get through the feed and the very narrow ink channel, and not clog the pen. As MizBlackCrow said, like fine powder. And be very stingy in adding it, so that you don't create a paste. Paste will NOT flow thru the ink channel.

Agreed. No more than 60 nanometer particle size. And 1/8tsp can be too much pigment for 10mL of ink. Try to make sure your powder doesn't contain anything like xantham gum or something else.

 

Also, try to think of unusual combinations, like green with a red sparkle, or blue with copper. And be careful. My own inksperimentation reveals that these powders are quite addictive and may cause you to wake up in the middle of the night to mix ink.

[ac12]

 

And be careful. My own inksperimentation reveals that these powders are quite addictive and may cause you to wake up in the middle of the night to mix ink.

 

 

 

Edited March 23, 2016 by ac12

[amberleadavis]

Here is where you will find information from others who have inked with glitter.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/forum/126-inky-recipes/

[hakuchuu16]

Ohh, I see! Thanks so much for all the replies, everyone!

 

Agreed. No more than 60 nanometer particle size. And 1/8tsp can be too much pigment for 10mL of ink. Try to make sure your powder doesn't contain anything like xantham gum or something else.

Also, try to think of unusual combinations, like green with a red sparkle, or blue with copper. And be careful. My own inksperimentation reveals that these powders are quite addictive and may cause you to wake up in the middle of the night to mix ink.

 

So I found some old glitter lying around, but these particles look a little on the larger side...here's a picture, with my TWSBI Eco (M) nib beside it as a size reference:

 

http://oi66.tinypic.com/2iu58i.jpg

 

Sorry, I just have no idea how big 60 nm looks like...

[ancalagon]

60 nm = 60 billionths of a meter. It's 0.00006 mm.

 

So I think if you can see the individual particles, they're too big.

[oceanlover4evr]

This is what my luster dust looks like http://imgur.com/h01xaAO

 

Not sure if you can tell from the pic, but basically it should be really fine. Maybe kind of a mix between moonsand and powdered sugar? Been a while since I did anything with those so I'm not sure but if my memory serves me correctly should be something like that.

[zwack]

If you know what a 1mm stub nib looks like then a micro meter is 1000 times smaller. 100 nano meters is a tenth of the size of that. So, 1/2 of 1/10,000th of a millimeter.

 

powdered sugar has a particle size of about 60 micro meters. I would be a bit surprised if lustre dust is really 1/1,000th of the size. titanium dioxide powders (one of the ingredients of some lustre dusts) have a size of 200nm plus (0.2 mm micro meters)

[Sailor Kenshin]

Hi all, lately I've been obsessed with glittery inks such as those of Diamine's Shimmertastic and J. Herbin's 1670 series. Problem is, J herbin is a little too pricey for me so I can't even try them, and Diamine's sometimes aren't shimmery enough. So now I'm thinking of buying my own glitter and mixing it into my fountain pen ink...?

 

Does anyone have any suggestions, such as what types of glitter to use or not to use, or even any information about why adding glitter to ink isn't a good idea? I'm pretty clueless about ink mixing...

 

Thanks in advance!

 

After much experimentation and one semi-clogged pen, I have struck 'gold,' if you will, by using both LA Colors powder eye shadow (found in Dollar stores) and the more expensive Jacquard Pearl EX artist powder pigments (from Amazon and art supply stores).

 

Another key point is using these inks only in inexpensive, wet-writing, c/c pens where the cart has a mixing ball. And keep shaking!