Ink, Blue and Blue black. See Writing fluid.
Ink, Brown. 1. A strong decoction of catechu; the shade may be varied by the cautious addition of a little weak solution of bichromate of potash.
2. A strong decoction of logwood, with a very little bichromate of potash.
Ink, Carbon. Dissolve real Indian ink in common black ink, or add a small quantity of lampblack previously heated to redness, and ground perfectly smooth, with a small portion of the ink.
Ink, Carmine. Heat a scruple of carmine with 3 oz. of water of ammonia for some minutes, a little below boiling, and add 15 to 20 gr. of gum. (The inkstand must be kept well closed.)
Ink, Chrome. See Green ink and Writing fluid.
Ink, Coloured. Inks of various colours may be made from a strong decoction of the ingredients used in dyeing, mixed with a little
alum or other substance used as a mordant, and gum Arabic. Any of the ordinary water-colour cakes employed in drawing, diffused through water, may also be used as coloured ink. See Brown, Green, and Red inks, &c.
Ink, Copying. This is usually prepared by adding a little sugar or other saccharine matter to ordinary black ink, which for this purpose should be very rich in colour, and preferably made from galls prepared by heat, as noticed above. Writing executed with this ink may be copied within the space of 5 or 6 hours, by passing it through a press (COPYING PRESS) in contact with thin unsized paper (BANK-POST), slightly damped, enclosed between two sheets of thick oiled or waxed paper, when a reversed transcript will be obtained, which will read in proper order when the back of the copy is turned upwards. In the absence of a press a copy may be taken, when the ink is good and the writing very recent, by rolling the sheets, dully arranged on a ruler, over the surface of a flat smooth table, employing as much force as possible, and avoiding any slipping or crumbling of the paper. Another method is to pass a warm flat-iron over the paper laid upon the writing. The following proportions are employed:
1. Sugar candy or lump sugar, 1 oz.; or treacle or moist sugar, 11⁄4 oz.; rich black ink, 11⁄2 pint; dissolve.