Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume I Part 296

=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 s.p.a.ce of 5 or 6 hours, by pa.s.sing 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 pa.s.s 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, 1-1/4 oz.; rich black ink, 1-1/2 pint; dissolve.

2. Malt wort, 1 pint; evaporate it to the consistence of a syrup, and then dissolve it in good black ink, 1-1/4 pint.

3. Solazza juice, 2 oz.; mild ale, 1/2 pint; dissolve, strain, and triturate with lampblack (previously heated to dull redness it a covered vessel), 1/4 oz.; when the mixture is complete, add of strong black ink, 1-1/2 pint, mix well, and in 2 or 3 hours decant the clear.

_Obs._ After making the above mixtures, they must be tried with a common steel pen, and if they do not flow freely, some more unprepared ink should be added until they are found to do so.

=Ink, Gold.= From gold in the state of a impalpable powder, ground up with a little gum water. The brilliancy of the writing performed with this ink is considerable, and may be increased by burnishing.

=Ink, Green.= 1. From sap green dissolved in very weak alum water.

2. A strong solution of binacetate of copper in water, or of verdigris in vinegar.

3. (Klaproth.) Verdigris, 2 oz.; cream of tartar, 1 oz.; water, 1/2 pint; boil to one half, and filter.

4. (Winckley.) Bichromate of pota.s.sa, 3 parts; hot water, 8 parts; dissolve, add of rectified spirits, 4 parts, mix, and further add of sulphuric acid, q. s. to liberate the chromic acid, avoiding excess; next evaporate to one half, dilute with water, filter, and add to the filtrate rectified spirit, 4 parts together with 3 or 4 drops of sulphuric acid (if required), to precipitate any remaining potash salt; lastly, decant and preserve the liquid until it a.s.sumes a rich green colour.

5. A solution of recently precipitated hydrated oxide of chromium in liquor of ammonia, diluted with distilled water, q. s. A magnificent dark-green liquid, perfectly anti-corrosive.

=Ink, Horticultural.= _Prep._ Chloride of platinum, 1/4 oz.; soft water, 1 pint; dissolve, and preserve it in gla.s.s. Used with a clean quill to write on zinc labels. It almost immediately turns black, and cannot be removed by washing. The addition of gum and lampblack, as recommended in certain books, is unnecessary, and even prejudicial to the quality of the ink.

2. Verdigris and sal ammoniac, of each 1/2 oz.; levigated lampblack, 1/2 oz.; common vinegar, 1/4 pint; mix thoroughly. Used as the last, for either zinc, iron, or steel.

3. Blue vitriol, 1 oz.; sal ammoniac, 1/2 oz. (both in powder); vinegar, 1/4 pint; dissolve. A little lampblack, or vermilion, may be added, but it is not necessary. As No. 1; for iron, tin, or steel plate. Some of the preparations described below under '_Incorrodible ink_' are also used by gardeners and nurserymen.

=Ink, Incorro"dible.= This name has been given to several preparations of a resinous character, capable of resisting the action of damp and acids.

_Prep._ 1. Boiled linseed oil, ground with lampblack and Prussian blue, of each q. s. to impart a deep black colour. It may be thinned with oil of turpentine.

2. Good copal or amber varnish, coloured with either plumbago or vermilion.

3. Trinidad asphaltum (genuine), 1 part; oil of turpentine, 4 parts; colour (as last) q. s.

4. (Close.) Cobalt (in powder), 25 gr.; oil of lavender, 200 gr.; dissolve by a gentle heat, and add of lampblack, 3 gr.; indigo 1 gr. (both in impalpable powder); or vermilion, q. s.

5. (Hausmann.) As No. 3 (nearly). Resists the action of iodine, chlorine, alkalies, and acids.

6. (Sheldrake.) Asphaltum dissolved in amber varnish and oil of turpentine, and coloured with lampblack.

Coa.r.s.ely powdered anacardium nuts (the fruit of the _Anacardium orientale_) are macerated in a well-closed bottle with petroleum ether, for some time. Upon allowing the latter to evaporate spontaneously, a syrupy residue is left, and this, when applied to linen or cotton cloth, imparts to them a brownish-yellow colour, which instantly changes to a deep black on the addition of ammonia or lime water. (Bottger.)

_Obs._ The above are also frequently called 'indelible' or 'indestructible inks.' They are employed for writing labels on bottles containing strong acids and alkaline solutions. The last five are very permanent, and are capable of resisting the action of iodine, chlorine, alkaline lyes, and acids, together with all the operations of dyeing and bleaching, and at once offer a cheap and an excellent material for marking linen, &c., as they cannot be dissolved off by any menstrua that will not destroy the fabric. They must be employed with stamps, types, or stencil plates, by which greater neatness will be secured than can be obtained with either a brush or pen. See HORTICULTURAL INK, INDELIBLE INK, &c.

=Ink, Indel'ible.= _Syn._ INDESTRUCTIBLE INK. _Prep._ 1. Lampblack (previously heated to dull redness in a covered vessel), 1/4 oz.; triturate with good black ink (gradually added), 1 pint. Resists chlorine, weak acids, and weak alkaline lyes, in the cold.

2. (Bezanger.) Lampblack ground in a lye of caustic soda, combined with a mixture of gelatin and caustic soda. Said to be indelible, and to resemble genuine China ink.

3. (Braconnot.) Dantzic potash, 4 parts; tanned leather parings, 2 parts; sulphur, 1 part; water, 20 parts; boil them in an iron vessel to dryness, then raise the heat (constantly stirring with an iron rod) until the whole forms a soft ma.s.s, observing that it does not ignite; next dissolve the ma.s.s in water, q. s., and filter the solution through a cloth. Flows freely from a pen, and resists the action of many chemical substances.

4. (CARBON INK.) Genuine Indian ink, rubbed down with good black ink until it will flow easily from a pen. Resists chlorine, oxalic acid, and ablution with a hair pencil or sponge.

5. (Coathupe.) Borax, 1 oz.; sh.e.l.l-lac, 2 oz., water, 18 fl. oz.; boil in a covered vessel until dissolved, strain, add of thick mucilage, 1 oz., and triturate it with levigated indigo and lampblack, of each q. s., to give a good colour. After 2 hours' repose, decant it from the dregs, and bottle for use. Resists moisture, chlorine, and acids.

6. (FRENCH.)--_a._ From Indian ink, diffused through water acidulated with hydrochloric acid. For quills.--_b._ From Indian ink diffused through water slightly alkalised with liquor of pota.s.sa. For metallic pens.

7. (Herberger.) Wheat gluten (free from starch), q. s., is dissolved in weak acetic acid of good pure vinegar, 4 fl. oz.; lampblack (best), 10 or 12 gr.; indigo, 2 or 3 gr.; and oil of cloves, 1 or 2 drops, are then added, and the whole is thoroughly incorporated together. The product is inexpensive, has a beautiful black colour, and resists the action of water, chlorine, and weak acids.

_Obs._ The products of the above formulae, though called 'indelible ink'

and 'indestructible ink,' are in reality only indelible as compared with common writing ink, as they may all be removed with more or less facility by chemical reagents, a.s.sisted by mechanical means. They are intended chiefly for paper, pasteboard, and parchment. No 5 is also used for gla.s.s and metal. See MARKING INK.

=Ink, In'dian.= _Syn._ CHINA INK; ATRAMENTUM INDIc.u.m, L. _Prep._ 1.

Lampblack (finest) is ground to a paste with very weak liquor of pota.s.sa, and this paste is then diffused through water slightly alkalised with pota.s.sa, after which it is collected, washed with clean water, and dried; the dry powder is next levigated to a smooth, stiff paste, with a strong filtered decoction of carrageen or Irish moss, or of quince seed, a few drops of essence of musk, and about half as much essence of ambergris being added, by way of perfume, towards the end of the process; the ma.s.s is, lastly, moulded into cakes, which are ornamented with Chinese characters and devices, as soon as they are dry and hard.

2. A weak solution of fine gelatin is boiled at a high temperature in a Papin's digester for 2 hours, and then in an open vessel for 1 hour more; the liquid is next filtered and evaporated to a proper consistence, either in a steam or salt-water bath; it is, lastly, made into a paste, as before, with pure lampblack which has been previously heated to dull redness in a well-closed crucible. Neither of the above gelatinise in cold weather, like the ordinary imitations.

3. (Gray.) Pure lampblack made up with a.s.ses'-skin glue, and scented with musk.

4. (Merimee.) Dissolve superfine glue in water, add a strong solution of nut-galls, and wash the precipitate in hot water; then dissolve it in a fresh solution of glue, filter, evaporate to a proper thickness, and form it into a paste as before, with purified lampblack.

5. (Proust.) As No. 1 (nearly).

6. Seed-lac, 1/2 oz.; borax, 1-1/2 dr.; water, 1/2 pint; boil to 8 oz., filter, and make a paste with pure lampblack, as before. When dry, it resists the action of water.

_Obs._ The Chinese do not use glue in the preparation of their ink, but an infusion or decoction of certain seeds abounding in a glutinous transparent mucilage, which at once imparts brilliancy and durability to the colour. Starch converted into gum by means of sulphuric acid, or 'British gum,' has been recommended as a subst.i.tute. (M. Merimee.) Indian ink is chiefly employed by artists, but it has been occasionally given as a medicine, dissolved in water or wine, in haemorrhages and stomach complaints.--_Dose_, 1 to 2 dr.

[_For continuation of the article on Inks, see Vol. II._]

END OF VOL. I.