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Working On The Perfect Prussian Blue Ink.


Flaxmoore

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Prussian Blue is iron hexacyanate, very deep and rich blue. It's the classic blueprint blue, and one my being a draftsman's son has left me a fondness for.

 

Problem is, Diamine Prussian Blue simply isn't it- too gray, too muted, not enough screaming "I am blue, hear me roar!".

 

To that end I've been formulating my own over about a year. Starts with basic Mrs. Stewart's bluing compound, just a few grams of blue in eight ounces water. Boil it off, and I'm left with the gram or so of pigment.

 

My problem has been lubrication. I've been using 1-2 drops of glycerin per ounce, and flow is great, but on nonabsorbent paper it smears. Should I cut the glycerin, or dilute it slightly?

 

It's such a beauty of a blue, I can't stop fiddling until it's right.

Physician- signing your scripts with Skrips!


I'm so tough I vacation in Detroit.

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I will say cut glycerin in half and add a drop of Photo Flow.

 

I have played with both.. glycerin and Photo Flow. It might take you a few tries to find the right balance between both.

 

 

C.

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Yes, Diamine Prussian Blue is a dreadful misnomer - and a dire ink to boot. I'd love to see your concoction, when you're ready to show it off.

Verba volant, scripta manent

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Plus 1 on what migo984 said. As a former painting major, I've always had a bit of a fondness for Prussian Blue. Can't wait to see your results.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Yes, Diamine Prussian Blue is a dreadful misnomer - and a dire ink to boot. I'd love to see your concoction, when you're ready to show it off.

I just can't believe how far off it is. BSB is more of a Prussian blue than the Diamine ever was. I want the color of Union uniforms, not German military grey blue.

Physician- signing your scripts with Skrips!


I'm so tough I vacation in Detroit.

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I just can't believe how far off it is. BSB is more of a Prussian blue than the Diamine ever was. I want the color of Union uniforms, not German military grey blue.

It's a quite wonderful pigment, with weird & wonderful properties. Sadly misrepresented by Diamine,

 

I love this image, painted in Prussian Blue - referencing its ability to treat people suffering caesium & thallium radioactive contamination.

 

 

Verba volant, scripta manent

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Is that really Prussian Blue ??... :huh: :huh:

 

 

My idea of Prussian Blue is...

 

http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/images/prussianblue_overview.gif

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**** BauerInks.ca ****

**** MORE.... Robert Oster Signature INKS ****

**** NICK STEWART - KWZI INKs TEST ****

"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it's the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking,

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Is that really Prussian Blue ??... :huh: :huh:

 

 

My idea of Prussian Blue is...

 

http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/images/prussianblue_overview.gif

Yes, that's painted using Prussian Blue pigment.

Verba volant, scripta manent

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Hi,

 

I've never compounded an ink, so please pardon my lack of experience ...

 

One of the things that I've learned is that we're using dyes, so emulating pigment colours often falls short, mostly due to lack of Chroma (vibrancy). We might get close in term of Hue, but where's the snap?

 

I'll put forward the notion of blending the pigment dye powder derived from Mrs Stewart's Blueing compound with a [diluted] ink such as Diamine Sapphire, Herbin Eclat de Saphire or even Diamine Denim.

 

Fingers crossed that only a slight bit of glycerine / KP-F will be needed to nudge the flow and absorption within range of most pen+paper combos.

 

OBTW, this sort of Hue, which encompasses [spectral] Violet, is poorly depicted on RGB computer colour systems, so much subtlety is lost. As such I would be temped to purchase some Prussian Blue oil/acrylic paint, then work toward that.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited by Sandy1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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In this case, I'm working with the actual pigment itself. They don't use a dye, they use actual Prussian Blue.

 

I can't help but think I'm getting close, all I need to do is find a source for photo flow.

Physician- signing your scripts with Skrips!


I'm so tough I vacation in Detroit.

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In this case, I'm working with the actual pigment itself. They don't use a dye, they use actual Prussian Blue.

 

I can't help but think I'm getting close, all I need to do is find a source for photo flow.

 

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/28195-REG/Kodak_1464510_Photo_Flo_200_Solution.html

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Kodak-Photo-Flo-200-Solution-16oz/dp/B00K335F6S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468356494&sr=8-1&keywords=kodak+photo-flo

 

(LIES!!!!.. they say free shipping but price is more than twice than BHPhoto) :glare:

 

 

 

C.

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I am just surprised that there seems to be only one ink maker of an ink called Prussian Blue (even if it is the wrong colour...).

fpn_1412827311__pg_d_104def64.gif




“Them as can do has to do for them as can’t.


And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices.”


Granny Aching

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I am just surprised that there seems to be only one ink maker of an ink called Prussian Blue (even if it is the wrong colour...).

 

 

Too true !!

 

I'm still on the hunt for a proper Indigo :/

Edited by Sandy1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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Too true !!

 

I'm still on the hunt for a proper Indigo :/

 

Across the road from where we live is the Mount Annan Botanical Gardens. They have picnic areas. We were there one Sunday, and I was thinking that it would be nice to see what an Indigo plant looked like. Lo and behold, there was a wee little plant in a garden bed, with a wee little label that said it was one of the indigo family.

fpn_1412827311__pg_d_104def64.gif




“Them as can do has to do for them as can’t.


And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices.”


Granny Aching

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What is a true indigo? Hand Aizome (indigo) dyed products are popular traditional items in Japan. In my home I have aizome coasters, table cloth, place mat, keikogi and hakama, kendo armour, shinai bag, yukata and pen case at the very least. Perhaps because they are hand dyed, no two are of the same color. The difference in color was apparent when everything was new and became more pronounced after use.

 

I have redyed one of my keikogi. The dye was blue but whenever I wash (with cold water only) anything dyed with indigo the water turns brown.... and so do my hands.

 

If interested, check out

 

japan-magazine.jnto.go.jo > 1505_aizome

 

If my hand typed link doesn't get you there, google aizome.

 

If you are looking for the color of Union uniforms, well just about any shade of blue from a darker medium blue to almost black seems to have been correct. A former hardcore civil war reenactor, the issue of what is the "correct" shade of idigo blue was of the utmost importance. One of my pards researched and found that the wool cloth was dyed on the roll and the shade of blue would differ greatly from one end of the cloth to the other. Differences in the materials used and techniques between contractors would account for differences too.

 

Even with modern milspecs, and dyeing techniques no two sailors of my work center had the same shade of dungarees at morning quarters.

 

My quest for my perfect blue, that of union uniforms, ended when Mr. Ishimaru of Sailor blended Blue Iron for me. It is my favorite of the many "union blue"s out there.

 

But I do agree that Diamine's Prussian Blue does not fit my idea of the color.

Edited by Tinjapan
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Hi.

 

As for a 'true Indigo' I refer to my friend Wendy who works in the fabric arts and has her own dye-works. (She often travels to Japan and is profoundly curious. And blonde.)

 

This is a sample of the Japanese iteration of Indigo:

 

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20Diamine%20Indigo/4835db3d.jpg

 

And an image of the above cloth which was given more exposure in the camera to make the Hue more apparent. (As one would dilute a dark ink.)

 

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN%20Stuff%20-%202011/Ink%20Review%20-%20Diamine%20Denim/9a96a141.jpg

 

I'm not OCD about this, but I have learned that pigments are pigments, dyes are dyes, and FP ink dyes are a rum lot, so there comes a time to revert to dip pens which can handle pigment inks.

 

:)

 

Bye,

S1

Edited by Sandy1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 year later...

Every once in a while I develop obsessive interests. Pigments is currently one of those, Prussian Blue because I noticed I could make it out of my grandfather's old photochemicals. My recipe is such:

  1. Dissolve ten grams of Potassium Ferrocyanide(whitish crystals/chunks) into 10 milliliters water.
  2. Add 7.43 milliliters of 42-degree-baume Ferric Chloride solution. (red-brown liquid, PCB etchant)

It works instantly. It's kind of magic to see ugly red-brown sludge turn into beautiful blue sludge. So now I have 14 grams of solid, pure Prussian Blue not-quite-suspended in 15-something ml of water and am struggling to use it. It's so thick it doesn't like to flow, doesn't like to wet a surface, and is very prone to separating. I've tried the following:

  • Plain water: No go. At high concentrations, it won't wet your nib, and at low enough concentrations to use, it separates. You can watch it separate as you write.
  • Gum arabic: It'll wet the pen nib better at high concentrations, but doesn't prevent separation.
  • Glycerin: Works beautifully, producing an enduring, uniform, free-flowing and thinnable blue that just ... never ... dries. @Flaxmoore, I feel your frustration. Any ink containing glycerin - which is hygroscopic - will always be a little damp, forever.

Things left to try:

  • Dextrin: Found a recipe here which uses it. You make it out of starch. The ink requires a bit of iodine or something to prevent spoiling.
  • Polysorbate: AKA "tween". One of those Evil Food Additives you find in x-brand pudding. Also, vaguely yellow.
  • Methylcellulose: Goopy stuff used for microscope slides.
  • Linseed Oil: Obviously this is leaving "fountain pen" territory far behind. This would make permanently-drying paint.
Edited by Corona688
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Yes, Diamine Prussian Blue is a dreadful misnomer - and a dire ink to boot.

 

I just can't believe how far off it is. BSB is more of a Prussian blue than the Diamine ever was. I want the color of Union uniforms, not German military grey blue.

 

Is that really Prussian Blue ??... :huh: :huh:

 

 

My idea of Prussian Blue is...

 

http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/images/prussianblue_overview.gif

 

I just tried mixing real Prussian Blue pigment in an oil base, and hope I can solve this argument. It looks completely different! It's dark but not as dark, and all that vibrancy you see when it's in water is gone. And the more you thin it the grayer it gets. Suddenly I can see the resemblance to Diamine Prussian Blue -- it's almost right except for that greenish cast.

Edited by Corona688
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