Chapter I: II III IV (2)

Mix the aniline oil, potassium chlorate, and 26 parts of the water and heat in a capacious vessel, on the water bath, at a temperature of from 175° to 195° F., until the chlorate is entirely dissolved, then add one-half of the hydrochloric and continue the heat until the mixture begins to take on a darker color. Dissolve the copper chloride in the residue of the water, add the remaining hydrochloric acid to the solution, and add the whole to the liquid on the water bath, and heat the mixture until it acquires a fine red-violet color. Pour into a flask with a well-fitting ground-glass stopper, close tightly and set aside for several days, or until it ceases to throw down a precipitate. When this is the case, pour off the clear liquid into smaller (one drachm or a drachm and a half) containers.

This ink must be used with a quill pen, and is especially good for linen or cotton fabrics, but does not answer so well for silk or woolen goods. When first used, it appears as a pale red, but on washing with soap or alkalies, or on exposure to {406} the air, becomes a deep, dead black. The following is a modification of the foregoing:

«Blue Indelible Ink.»—This ink has the reputation of resisting not only water and oil, but alcohol, oxalic acid, alkalies, the chlorides, etc. It is prepared as follows: Dissolve 4 parts of gum lac in 36 parts of boiling water carrying 2 parts of borax. Filter and set aside. Now dissolve 2 parts of gum arabic in 4 parts of water and add the solution to the filtrate. Finally, after the solution is quite cold, add 2 parts of powdered indigo and dissolve by agitation. Let stand for several hours, then decant, and put in small bottles.

«Red Indelible Inks.»—By proceeding according to the following formula, an intense purple-red color may be produced on fabrics, which is indelible in the customary sense of the word:

1.—Sodium carbonate 3 drachms
Gum arabic 3 drachms
Water 12 drachms

2.—Platinic chloride 1 drachm
Distilled water 2 ounces

3.—Stannous chloride 1 drachm
Distilled water 4 drachms

Moisten the place to be written upon with No. 1 and rub a warm iron over it until dry; then write with No. 2, and, when dry, moisten with No. 3. An intense and beautiful purple-red color is produced in this way. A very rich purple color—the purple of Cassius—may be produced by substituting a solution of gold chloride for the platinic chloride in the above formula.

«Crimson Indelible Ink.»—

The following formula makes an indelible crimson ink:

Silver nitrate 50 parts Sodium carbonate, crystal 75 parts Tartaric acid 16 parts Carmine 1 part Ammonia water, strongest 288 parts Sugar, white, crystallized 36 parts Gum arabic, powdered 60 parts Distilled water, quantity sufficient to make 400 parts

Dissolve the silver nitrate and the sodium carbonate separately, each in a portion of the distilled water, mix the solutions, collect the precipitate on a filter, wash, and put the washed precipitate, still moist, into a mortar. To this add the tartaric acid, and rub together until effervescence ceases. Now, dissolve the carmine in the ammonia water (which latter should be of specific gravity .882, or contain 34 per cent of ammonia), filter, and add the filtrate to the silver tartrate magma in the mortar. Add the sugar and gum arabic, rub up together, and add gradually, with constant agitation, sufficient distilled water to make 400 parts.

«Gold Indelible Ink.»—Make two solutions as follows:

1.—Chloride of gold and sodium 1 part
Water 10 parts
Gum 2 parts

2.—Oxalic acid 1 part
Water 5 parts
Gum 2 parts

The cloth or stuff to be written on should be moistened with liquid No. 2. Let dry, and then write upon the prepared place with liquid No. 1, using preferably a quill pen. Pass a hot iron over the mark, pressing heavily.

«INDIA, CHINA, OR JAPAN INK.»

Ink by these names is based on lampblack, and prepared in various ways. Many makes flow less easily from the pen than other inks, and are less durable than ink that writes paler and afterwards turns black. The ink is usually unfitted for steel pens, but applies well with a brush.

I.—Lampblack (finest) is ground to a paste with very weak liquor of potassa, and this paste is then diffused through water slightly alkalized with potassa, 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, toward the end of the process; the mass is, lastly, molded into cakes, which are ornamented with Chinese characters and devices, as soon as they are dry and hard.

II.—A weak solution of fine gelatin is boiled at a high temperature in a digester for 2 hours, and then in an open vessel for 1 hour more. The liquid is next filtered and evaporated to a proper consistency, either in a steam- or {407} salt-water bath. It is, lastly, made into a paste, as before, with lampblack which has been previously heated to dull redness in a well-closed crucible. Neither of the above gelatinizes in cold weather, like the ordinary imitations.

«To Keep India Ink Liquid.»—If one has to work with the ink for some time, a small piece should be dissolved in warm water and the tenth part of glycerine added, which mixes intimately with the ink after shaking for a short time. India ink thus prepared will keep very well in a corked bottle, and if a black jelly should form in the cold, it is quickly dissolved by heating. The ink flows well from the pen and does not wipe.

«INK POWDERS AND LOZENGES.»

Any of these powders may, by the addition of mucilage of gum arabic, be made into lozenges or buttons—the “ink buttons” or “ink stones” in use abroad and much affected by travelers.

The following makes a good serviceable black ink, on macerating the powder in 100 times its weight of rain or distilled water for a few days:

I.—Powdered gallnuts 16 parts
Gum arabic 8 parts
Cloves 1 part
Iron sulphate 10 parts

Put into an earthenware or glass vessel, cover with 100 parts of rain or distilled water, and set aside for 10 days or 2 weeks, giving an occasional shake the first 3 or 4 days. Decant and bottle for use.

The following is ready for use instantly on being dissolved in water:

II.—Aleppo gallnuts 84 parts
Dutch Madder 6 parts

Powder, mix, moisten, and pack into the percolator. Extract with hot water, filter, and press out. To the filtrate add 4 parts of iron acetate (or pyroacetate) and 2 1/2 parts of tincture of indigo. Put into the water bath and evaporate to dryness and powder the dry residue.

«LITHOGRAPHIC INKS.»

These are for writing on lithographic stones or plates:

I.—Mastic (in tears), 8 ounces; shellac, 12 ounces; Venice turpentine, 1 ounce. Melt together, add wax, 1 pound; tallow, 6 ounces. When dissolved, add hard tallow soap (in shavings), 6 ounces; and when the whole is perfectly combined, add lampblack, 4 ounces. Mix well, cool a little, and then pour it into molds, or upon a slab, and when cold cut it into square pieces.

II. (Lasteyrie).—Dry tallow soap, mastic (in tears), and common soda (in fine powder), of each, 30 parts; shellac, 150 parts; lampblack, 12 parts. Mix as indicated in Formula I.

«MARKING OR LABELING INKS:»

«Black Marking Inks.»—

I.—Borax 60 parts
Shellac 180 parts
Boiling water 1,000 parts
Lampblack, a sufficient quantity.

Dissolve the borax in the water, add the shellac to the solution and stir until dissolved. Rub up a little lampblack with sufficient of the liquid to form a paste, and add the rest of the solution a little at a time and with constant rubbing. Test, and if not black enough, repeat the operation. To get the best effect—a pure jet-black—the lampblack should be purified and freed from the calcium phosphate always present in the commercial article to the extent, frequently, of 85 to 87 per cent, by treating with hydrochloric acid and washing with water.

II.—An ink that nothing will bleach is made by mixing pyrogallic acid and sulphate of iron in equal parts. Particularly useful for marking labels on bottles containing acids. Varnish the label after the ink is dry so that moisture will not affect it.

«COLORED MARKING INKS:»

Eosine Red.—

Eosine B 1 drachm Solution of mercuric chloride 2 drachms Mucilage of acacia 2 drachms Rectified spirit 4 ounces Oil of lavender 1 drop Distilled water 8 ounces

Dissolve the eosine in the solution and 2 ounces of water, add the mucilage, and mix, then the oil dissolved in the spirit, and finally make up.

Orange.—

Aniline orange 1 drachm Sugar 2 drachms Distilled water to 4 ounces

Blue.—

I.—Resorcin blue 1 drachm
Distilled water 6 drachms

Mix and agitate occasionally for 2 hours, then add: {408}

Hot distilled water 24 ounces Oxalic acid 10 grains Sugar 1/2 ounce

Shake well. This and other aniline inks can be perfumed by rubbing up a drop of attar of rose with the sugar before dissolving it in the hot water.

II.—A solid blue ink, or marking paste, to be used with a brush for stenciling, is made as follows: Shellac, 2 ounces; borax, 2 ounces; water, 25 ounces; gum arabic, 2 ounces; and ultramarine, sufficient. Boil the borax and shellac in some of the water till they are dissolved, and withdraw from the fire. When the solution has become cold, add the rest of the 25 ounces of water, and the ultramarine. When it is to be used with the stencil, it must be made thicker than when it is to be applied with a marking brush.

III.—In a suitable kettle mix well, stirring constantly, 50 parts of liquid logwood extract (80 per cent) with 3 parts of spirit previously mingled with 1 part of hydrochloric acid, maintaining a temperature of 68° F. Dissolve 5 parts of potassium chromate in 15 parts of boiling water; to this add 10 parts of hydrochloric acid, and pour this mixture, after raising the temperature to about 86° F., very slowly and with constant stirring into the kettle. Then heat the whole to 185° F. This mass, which has now assumed the nature of an extract, is stirred a little longer, and next 15 parts of dextrin mixed with 10 parts of fine white earth (white bole) are added. The whole is well stirred throughout. Transfer the mass from the kettle into a crusher, where it is thoroughly worked through.

«PRINTING INKS.»

Black printing inks owe their color to finely divided carbon made from lampblack, pine-wood, rosin oil, etc., according to the quality of the ink desired. The finest inks are made from flame-lampblack. There are, however, certain requirements made of all printing inks alike, and these are as follows: The ink must be a thick and homogeneous liquid, it must contain no solid matter but finely divided carbon, and every drop when examined microscopically must appear as a clear liquid containing black grains uniformly distributed.

The consistency of a printing ink must be such that it passes on to the printing rollers at the proper rate. It will be obvious that various consistencies are demanded according to the nature of the machine used by the printer. For a rotary machine which prints many thousands of copies an hour a much thinner ink will be necessary than that required for art printing or for slow presses. As regards color, ordinary printing ink should be a pure black. For economy’s sake, however, newspaper printers often use an ink so diluted that it does not look deep black, but a grayish black, especially in large type.

The question of the time that the ink takes to dry on the paper is a very important one, especially with ink used for printing newspapers which are folded and piled at one operation. If then the ink does not dry very quickly, the whole impression smudges and “sets off” so much that it becomes illegible in places. Although it is essential to have a quick drying ink for this purpose, it is dangerous to go too far, for a too quickly drying ink would make the paper stick to the forms and tear it. A last condition which must be fulfilled by a good printing ink is that it must be easy of removal from the type, which has to be used again.

No one composition will answer every purpose and a number of different inks are required. Makers of printing inks are obliged, therefore, to work from definite recipes so as to be able to turn out exactly the same ink again and again. They make newspaper ink for rotary presses, book-printing inks, half-tone inks, art inks, etc. As the recipes have been attained only by long, laborious, and costly experiments, it is obvious that the makers are not disposed to communicate them, and the recipes that are offered and published must be looked upon with caution, as many of them are of little or no value. In the recipes given below for printing inks, the only intention is to give hints of the general composition, and the practical man will easily discover what, if any, alterations have to be made in the recipe for his special purpose.

Many different materials for this manufacture are given in recipes, so many, in fact, that it is impossible to discover what use they are in the ink. The following is a list of the articles commonly in use for the manufacture of printing ink:

Boiled linseed oil, boiled without driers.

Rosin oil from the dry distillation of rosin.

Rosin itself, especially American pine rosin. {409}

Soap, usually rosin-soap, but occasionally ordinary soap.

Lampblack and various other pigments.

By the most time-honored method, linseed oil was very slowly heated over an open fire until it ignited. It was allowed to burn for a time and then extinguished by putting a lid on the pot. In this way a liquid was obtained of a dark brown or black color with particles of carbon, and with a consistency varying with the period of heating, being thicker, the longer the heating was continued. If necessary, the liquid was then thinned with unboiled, or only very slightly boiled, linseed oil. Lampblack in the proper quantity was added and the mixture was finally rubbed up on a stone in small quantities at a time to make it uniform.

«Boiling the Linseed Oil.»—This process, although it goes by the name of boiling, is not so in the proper sense of the word, but a heating having for its object an initial oxidation of the oil, so that it will dry better. Linseed oil is a type of the drying oils, those which when exposed in thin coats to the air absorb large quantities of oxygen and are thereby converted into tough, solid sheets having properties very similar to those of soft India rubber. The process goes on much faster with the aid of heat than at the ordinary temperature, and the rate at which the boiled oil will dry in the ink can be exactly regulated by heating it for a longer or shorter time. Prolonged heating gives an oil which will dry very quickly on exposure in thin coats to the air, the shorter the heating the more slowly will the ink afterwards made with the oil dry.

Linseed oil must always be boiled in vessels where it has plenty of room, as the oil soon swells up and it begins to decompose so energetically at a particular temperature that there is considerable risk of its boiling over and catching fire. Various contrivances have been thought out for boiling large quantities of the oil with safety, such as pans with an outlet pipe in the side, through which the oil escapes when it rises too high instead of over the edge of the pan, and fires built on a trolley running on rails, so that they can at once be moved from under the pan if there is any probability of the latter boiling over. The best apparatus for preparing thickened linseed oil is undoubtedly one in which the oil offers a very large surface to the air, and on that account requires to be moderately heated only. The oil soon becomes very thick under these conditions and if necessary can be diluted to any required consistency with unboiled oil.

In boiling linseed oil down to the proper thickness by the old method there are two points demanding special attention. One is the liability of the oil to boil over, and the other consists in the development of large quantities of vapor, mostly of acroleine, which have a most powerful and disagreeable smell, and an intense action upon the eyes. The attendant must be protected from these fumes, and the boiling must therefore be done where there is a strong draught to take the fumes as fast as they are produced. There are various contrivances to cope with boiling over.

«Savage’s Printing Ink.»—Pure balsam of copaiba, 9 ounces; lampblack, 3 ounces; indigo and Prussian blue, each 5 drachms; Indian red, 3/4 ounce; yellow soap, 3 ounces. Mix, and grind to the utmost smoothness.

«Toning Black Inks.»—Printers’ inks consisting solely of purified lampblack and vehicle give, of course, impressions which are pure black. It is, however, well known that a black which has to a practiced eye a tinge of blue in it looks much better than a pure black. To make such an ink many makers mix the lampblack with a blue pigment, which is added in very fine powder before the first grinding. Prussian blue is the pigment usually chosen and gives very attractive results. Prussian blue is, however, not a remarkable stable substance, and is very apt to turn brown from the formation of ferric oxide. Hence an ink made with Prussian blue, although it may look very fine at first, often assumes a dull brown hue in the course of time. Excellent substitutes for Prussian blue are to be found in the Induline blues. These are very fast dyes, and inks tinted with them do not change color. As pure indigo is now made artificially and sold at a reasonable price, this extremely fast dye can also be used for tinting inks made with purified lampblack.

«To Give Dark Inks a Bronze or Changeable Hue.»—Dissolve 1 1/2 pounds gum shellac in 1 gallon 65 per cent alcohol or cologne spirits for 24 hours. Then add 14 ounces aniline red. Let it stand a few hours longer, when it will be ready for use. Add this to good blue, black, or other dark ink, as needed in quantities to suit, when if carefully done {410} they will be found to have a rich bronze or changeable hue.

«Quick Dryer for Inks Used on Bookbinders’ Cases.»—Beeswax, 1 ounce; gum arabic (dissolved in sufficient acetic acid to make a thin mucilage), 1/4 ounce; brown japan, 1/4 ounce. Incorporate with 1 pound of good cut ink.

«INKS FOR STAMP PADS.»

The ink used on vulcanized rubber stamps should be such that when applied to a suitable pad it remains sufficiently fluid to adhere to the stamp. At the same time the fluidity should cease by the time the stamp is pressed upon an absorbing surface such as paper. Formerly these inks were made by rubbing up pigments in fat to a paste. Such inks can hardly be prevented, however, from making impressions surrounded by a greasy mark caused by the fat spreading in the pores of the paper. Now, most stamping inks are made without grease and a properly prepared stamping ink contains nothing but glycerine and coal-tar dye. As nearly all these dyes dissolve in hot glycerine the process of manufacture is simple enough. The dye, fuchsine, methyl violet, water blue, emerald green, etc., is put into a thin porcelain dish over which concentrated glycerine is poured, and the whole is heated to nearly 212° F. with constant stirring. It is important to use no more glycerine than is necessary to keep the dye dissolved when the ink is cold. If the mass turns gritty on cooling it must be heated up with more glycerine till solution is perfect.

In dealing with coal-tar dyes insoluble in glycerine, or nearly so, dissolve them first in the least possible quantity of strong, hot alcohol. Then add the glycerine and heat till the spirit is evaporated.

To see whether the ink is properly made spread some of it on a strip of cloth and try it with a rubber stamp. On paper, the separate letters must be quite sharp and distinct. If they run at the edges there is too much glycerine in the ink and more dye must be added to it. If, on the contrary, the impression is indistinct and weak, the ink is too thick and must be diluted by carefully adding glycerine.

Aniline colors are usually employed as the tinting agents. The following is a typical formula, the product being a black ink:

I.—Nigrosin 3 parts
Water 15 parts
Alcohol 15 parts
Glycerine 70 parts

Dissolve the nigrosin in the alcohol, add the glycerine previously mixed with the water, and rub well together.

Nigrosin is a term applied to several compounds of the same series which differ in solubility. In the place of these compounds it is probable that a mixture would answer to produce black as suggested by Hans Wilder for making writing ink. His formula for the mixture is:

II.—Methyl violet 3 parts
Bengal green 5 parts
Bismarck green 4 parts

A quantity of this mixture should be taken equivalent to the amount of nigrosin directed. These colors are freely soluble in water, and yield a deep greenish-black solution.

The aniline compound known as brilliant green answers in place of Bengal green. As to the permanency of color of this or any aniline ink, no guarantee is offered. There are comparatively few coloring substances that can be considered permanent even in a qualified sense. Among these, charcoal takes a foremost place. Lampblack remains indefinitely unaltered. This, ground very finely with glycerine, would yield an ink which would perhaps prove serviceable in stamping; but it would be liable to rub off to a greater extent than soluble colors which penetrate the paper more or less. Perhaps castor oil would prove a better vehicle for insoluble coloring matters. Almost any aniline color may be substituted for nigrosin in the foregoing formula, and blue, green, red, purple, and other inks obtained. Insoluble pigments might also be made to answer as suggested for lampblack.

The following is said to be a cushion that will give color permanently. It consists of a box filled with an elastic composition, saturated with a suitable color. The cushion fulfils its purpose for years without being renewed, always contains sufficient moisture, which is drawn from the atmosphere, and continues to act as a color stamp cushion so long as a remnant of the mass or composition remains in the box or receptacle. This cushion or pad is too soft to be self-supporting, but should be held in a low, flat pan, and have a permanent cloth cover.

III.—The composition consists preferably of 1 part gelatin, 1 part water, 6 parts glycerine, and 6 parts coloring matter. A suitable black color can be {411} made from the following materials: One part gelatin glue, 3 parts lampblack, aniline black, or a suitable quantity of logwood extract, 10 parts of glycerine, 1 part absolute alcohol, 2 parts water, 1 part Venetian soap, 1/5 part salicylic acid. For red, blue, or violet: One part gelatin glue, 2 parts aniline of desired color, 1 part absolute alcohol, 10 parts glycerine, I part Venetian soap, and 1/5 part salicylic acid.

The following are additional recipes used for this purpose:

IV.—Mix and dissolve 2 to 4 drachms aniline violet, 15 ounces alcohol, 15 ounces glycerine. The solution is poured on the cushion and rubbed in with a brush. The general method of preparing the pad is to swell the gelatin with cold water, then boil and add the glycerine, etc.

V.—Mix well 16 pounds of hot linseed oil, 3 ounces of powdered indigo, or a like quantity of Berlin blue, and 8 pounds of lampblack. For ordinary sign-stamping an ink without the indigo might be used. By substituting ultramarine or Prussian blue for the lampblack, a blue “ink” or paint would result.

«Inks for Hand Stamps.»—As an excipient for oily inks, a mixture of castor oil and crude oleic acid, in parts varying according to the coloring material used, is admirable. The following are examples:

_Black._—Oil soluble nigrosin and crude oleic acid in equal parts. Add 7 to 8 parts of castor oil.

_Red._—Oil soluble aniline red, 2 parts; crude oleic acid, 3 parts; castor oil, from 30 to 60 parts, according to the intensity of color desired.

_Red._—Dissolve 1/4 ounce of carmine in 2 ounces strong water of ammonia, and add 1 drachm of glycerine and 3/4 ounce dextrin.

_Blue._—Rub 1 ounce Prussian blue with enough water to make a perfectly smooth paste; then add 1 ounce dextrin, incorporate it well, and finally add sufficient water to bring it to the proper consistency.

_Blue._—Oil soluble aniline blue, 1 part; crude oleic acid, 2 parts; castor oil, 30 to 32 parts.

_Violet._—Alcohol, 15 ounces; glycerine, 15 ounces; aniline violet, 2 to 4 drachms. Mix, dissolve, pour the solution on the cushion, and dab on with a brush.

«Color Stamps for Rough Paper.»—It has hitherto been impossible to get a satisfactory application for printing with rubber stamps on rough paper. Fatty vehicles are necessary for such paper, and they injure the India rubber. It is said, however, that if the rubber is first soaked in a solution of glue, and then in one of tannin, or bichromate of potash, it becomes impervious to the oils or fats. Gum arabic can be substituted for the glue.

«Indelible Hand-Stamp Ink.»—

I.—Copper sulphate 20 parts
Aniline chlorate 20 parts

Rub up separately to a fine powder, then carefully mix, and add 10 parts of dextrin and incorporate. Add 5 parts of glycerine and rub up, adding water, a little at a time, until a homogeneous viscid mass is obtained. An aniline color is produced in the material, which boiling does not destroy.

II.—Sodium carbonate 22 parts
Glycerine 85 parts
Gum arabic, in powder 20 parts
Silver nitrate 11 parts
Ammonia water 20 parts
Venetian turpentine 10 parts

Triturate the carbonate of sodium, gum arabic, and glycerine together. In a separate flask dissolve the silver nitrate in the ammonia water, mix the solution with the triturate, and heat to boiling, when the turpentine is to be added, with constant stirring. After stamping, expose to the sunlight or use a hot iron. The quantity of glycerine may be varied to suit circumstances.

«White Stamping Ink for Embroidery.»—

Zinc white 2 drachms Mucilage 1 drachm Water 6 drachms

Triturate the zinc white with a small quantity of water till quite smooth, then add the mucilage and the remainder of the water.

«STENCIL INKS.»

I.—Dissolve 1 ounce of gum arabic in 6 ounces water, and strain. This is the mucilage. For _Black Color_ use drop black, powdered, and ground with the mucilage to extreme fineness; for _Blue_, ultramarine is used in the same manner; for _Green_, emerald green; for _White_, flake white; for _Red_, vermilion, lake, or carmine; for _Yellow_, chrome yellow. When ground too thick they are thinned {412} with a little water. Apply with a small brush.

II.—Triturate together 1 pint pine soot and 2 pints Prussian blue with a little glycerine, then add 3 pints gum arabic and sufficient glycerine to form a thin paste.

«Blue Stencil Inks.»—The basis of the stencil inks commonly used varies to some extent, some preferring a mixture of pigments with oils, and others a watery shellac basis. The basis:

I.—Shellac 2 ounces
Borax 1 1/2 ounces
Water 10 ounces

Boil together until 10 ounces of solution is obtained. The coloring:

Prussian blue 1 ounce China clay 1/2 ounce Powdered acacia 1/2 ounce

Mix thoroughly and gradually incorporate the shellac solution.

II.—Prussian blue 2 ounces
Lampblack 1 ounce
Gum arabic 3 ounces
Glycerine, sufficient.

Triturate together the dry powders and then make into a suitable paste with glycerine.

«Indelible Stencil Inks.»—I.—Varnish such as is used for ordinary printing ink, 1 pound; black sulphuret of mercury, 1 pound; nitrate of silver, 1 ounce; sulphate of iron, 1 ounce; lampblack, 2 tablespoonfuls. Grind all well together; thin with spirits turpentine as desired.

II.—Sulphate of manganese, 2 parts; lampblack, 1 part; sugar, 4 parts; all in fine powder and triturated to a paste in a little water.

III.—Nitrate of silver, 1/4 ounce; water, 3/4 ounce. Dissolve, add as much of the strongest liquor of ammonia as will dissolve the precipitate formed on its first addition. Then add of mucilage, 1 1/2 drachms, and a little sap green, syrup of buckthorn, or finely powdered indigo, to color. This turns black on being held near the fire, or touched with a hot iron.

«SYMPATHETIC INKS:»

Table of Substances Used in Making Sympathetic Inks.—

For writing and for bringing out the writing:

Cobalt chloride, heat.

Cobalt acetate and a little saltpeter, heat.

Cobalt chloride and nickel chloride mixed, heat.

Nitric acid, heat.

Sulphuric acid, heat.

Sodium chloride, heat.

Saltpeter, heat.

Copper sulphate and ammonium chloride, heat.

Silver nitrate, sunlight.

Gold trichloride, sunlight.

Ferric sulphate, infusion of gallnuts or ferrocyanide of potassium.

Copper sulphate, ferrocyanide of potassium.

Lead vinegar, hydrogen sulphide.

Mercuric nitrate, hydrogen sulphide.

Starch water, tincture of iodine or iodine vapors.

Cobalt nitrate, oxalic acid.

Fowler’s solution, copper nitrate.

Soda lye or sodium carbonate, phenolphthaleine.

A sympathetic ink is one that is invisible when written, but which can be made visible by some treatment. Common milk can be used for writing, and exposure to strong heat will scorch and render the dried milk characters visible.

The following inks are developed by exposure to the action of reagents:

I.—Upon writing with a very clear solution of starch on paper that contains but little sizing, and submitting the dry characters to the vapor of iodine (or passing over them a weak solution of potassium iodide), the writing becomes blue, and disappears under the action of a solution of hyposulphite of soda (1 in 1,000).

II.—Characters written with a weak solution of the soluble chloride of platinum or iridium become black when the paper is submitted to mercurial vapor. This ink may be used for marking linen, as it is indelible.

III.—Sulphate of copper in very dilute solution will produce an invisible writing, which may be turned light blue by vapors of ammonia.

IV.—Soluble compounds of antimony will become red by hydrogen sulphide vapor.

V.—Soluble compounds of arsenic and of peroxide of tin will become yellow by the same vapor.

VI.—An acid solution of iron chloride is diluted until the writing is invisible when dry. This writing has the property of becoming red by sulphocyanide vapors (arising from the action of sulphuric acid on potassium sulphocyanide in a long-necked flask), and it disappears {413} by ammonia, and may alternately be made to appear and disappear by these two vapors.

VII.—Write with a solution of paraffine in benzol. When the solvent has evaporated, the paraffine is invisible, but becomes visible on being dusted with lampblack or powdered graphite or smoking over a candle flame.

VIII.—Dissolve 1 part of a lead salt, 0.1 part of uranium acetate, and the same quantity of bismuth citrate in 100 parts of water. Then add, drop by drop, a solution of sal ammoniac until the whole becomes transparent. Afterwards, mix with a few drops of gum arabic. To reveal the characters traced with this ink, expose them to the fumes of sulphuric acid, which turns them immediately to a dark brown. The characters fade away in a few minutes, but can be renewed by a slight washing with very dilute nitric acid.

«TYPEWRITER RIBBON INKS.»

I.—Take vaseline (petrolatum) of high boiling point, melt it on a water bath or slow fire, and incorporate by constant stirring as much lamp or powdered drop black as it will take up without becoming granular. If the vaseline remains in excess, the print is liable to have a greasy outline; if the color is in excess, the print will not be clear. Remove the mixture from the fire, and while it is cooling mix equal parts of petroleum, benzine, and rectified oil of turpentine, in which dissolve the fatty ink, introduced in small portions, by constant agitation. The volatile solvents should be in such quantity that the fluid ink is of the consistence of fresh oil paint. One secret of success lies in the proper application of the ink to the ribbon. Wind the ribbon on a piece of cardboard, spread on a table several layers of newspaper, then unwind the ribbon in such lengths as may be most convenient, and lay it flat on the paper. Apply the ink, after agitation, by means of a soft brush, and rub it well into the interstices of the ribbon with a toothbrush. Hardly any ink should remain visible on the surface. For colored inks use Prussian blue, red lead, etc., and especially the aniline colors.

II.—Aniline black 1/2 ounce
Pure alcohol 15 ounces
Concentrated glycerine 15 ounces

Dissolve the aniline black in the alcohol, and add the glycerine. Ink as before. The aniline inks containing glycerine are copying inks.

III.—Alcohol 2 ounces
Aniline color 1/4 ounce
Water 2 ounces
Glycerine 4 ounces

Dissolve the aniline in the alcohol and add the water and glycerine.

IV.—Castor oil 2 ounces
Cassia oil 1/2 ounce
Carbolic acid 1/2 ounce

Warm them together and add 1 ounce of aniline color. Indelible typewriter inks may be made by using lampblack in place of the aniline, mixing it with soft petrolatum and dissolving the cooled mass in a mixture of equal parts of benzine and turpentine.

«COLORING AGENTS:»

Red.—

I.—Bordeaux red, O. S. 15 parts
Aniline red, O. S. 15 parts
Crude oleic acid 45 parts
Castor oil enough to make 1,000 parts

Rub the colors up with the oleic acid, add the oil, warming the whole to 100° to 110° F. (not higher), under constant stirring. If the color is not sufficiently intense for your purposes, rub up a trifle more of it with oleic acid, and add it to the ink. By a little experimentation you can get an ink exactly to your desire in the matter.

Blue-Black.—

II.—Aniline black, O. S. 5 parts
Oleic acid, crude 5 parts
Castor oil, quantity sufficient to 100 parts.

Violet.—

III.—Aniline violet, O. S. 3 parts
Crude oleic acid 5 parts
Castor oil, quantity sufficient to 100 parts.

The penetration of the ink may be increased _ad libitum_ by the addition of a few drops of absolute alcohol, or, better, of benzol.

«Reinking.»—For reinking ribbons use the following recipe for black: One ounce aniline black; 15 ounces pure grain alcohol; 15 ounces concentrated glycerine. Dissolve the aniline black in the alcohol and then add the glycerine. For blue use Prussian blue, and for red use red lead instead of the aniline black. This ink is also good for rubber stamp pads. {414}

«WRITING INKS.»

The common writing fluids depend mostly upon galls, logwood, or aniline for coloring. There are literally thousands of formulas. A few of the most reliable have been gathered together here:

I.—Aleppo galls (well bruised), 4 ounces; clean soft water, I quart; macerate in a clean corked bottle for 10 days or a fortnight or longer, with frequent agitation; then add of gum arabic (dissolved in a wineglassful of water), 1 1/2 ounces; lump sugar, 1/2 ounce. Mix well, and afterwards further add of sulphate of iron (green copperas crushed small), 1 1/2 ounces. Agitate occasionally for 2 or 3 days, when the ink may be decanted for use, but is better if the whole is left to digest together for 2 or 3 weeks. When time is an object, the whole of the ingredients may at once be put into a bottle, and the latter agitated daily until the ink is made; and boiling water instead of cold water may be employed. Product, 1 quart of excellent ink, writing pale at first, but soon turning intensely black.

II.—Aleppo galls (bruised), 12 pounds; soft water, 6 gallons. Boil in a copper vessel for 1 hour, adding more water to make up for the portion lost by evaporation; strain, and again boil the galls with water, 4 gallons, for 1/2 hour; strain off the liquor, and boil a third time with water, 2 1/2 gallons, and strain. Mix the several liquors, and while still hot add of green copperas (coarsely powdered), 4 1/2 pounds; gum arabic (bruised small), 4 pounds. Agitate until dissolved, and after defecation strain through a hair sieve, and keep in a bunged cask for use. Product, 12 gallons.

III.—Aleppo galls (bruised), 14 pounds; gum, 5 pounds. Put them in a small cask, and add boiling soft water, 15 gallons. Allow the whole to macerate, with frequent agitation, for a fortnight, then further add of green copperas, 5 pounds, dissolved in water, 7 pints. Again mix well, and agitate the whole once daily for 2 or 3 weeks. Product, 15 gallons.

«Brown Ink.»—I.—To make brown ink, use for coloring a strong decoction of catechu; the shade may be varied by the cautious addition of a little weak solution of bichromate of potash.

II.—A strong decoction of logwood, with a very little bichromate of potash.

«Blue Ink.»—To make blue ink, substitute for the black coloring sulphate of indigo and dilute it with water till it produces the required color.

«Anticorrosive or Asiatic Ink.»—I.—Galls, 4 pounds; logwood, 2 pounds; pomegranate peel, 2 pounds; soft water, 5 gallons. Boil as usual; then add to the strained, decanted cold liquor, 1 pound of gum arabic, lump sugar or sugar candy, 1/4 pound; dissolved in water, 3 pints. Product, 4 1/2 gallons. Writes pale, but flows well from the pen, and soon darkens.

II.—Bruised galls, 14 pounds; gum, 5 pounds. Put them in a small cask, and add of boiling water, 15 gallons. Allow the whole to macerate, with frequent agitation, for 2 weeks, then further add green copperas, 5 pounds, dissolved in 7 pints water. Again mix well, and agitate the whole daily for 2 or 3 weeks.

«Blue-Black Ink.»—Blue Aleppo galls (free from insect perforations), 4 1/2 ounces; bruised cloves, 1 drachm; cold water, 40 ounces; purified sulphate of iron, 1 1/2 ounces; pure sulphuric acid (by measure), 35 minims; sulphate of indigo (in the form of a paste), which should be neutral, or nearly so, 1 ounce. The weights used are avoirdupois, and the measures apothecaries’. Place the galls, then bruised with the cloves, in a 50-ounce bottle, pour upon them the water, and digest, often daily shaking for a fortnight. Then filter through paper in another 50-ounce bottle. Get out also the refuse galls, and wring out of it the remaining liquid through a strong, clean linen or cotton cloth, into the filter, in order that as little as possible may be lost. Next put in the iron, dissolve completely, and filter through paper. Then the acid, and agitate briskly. Lastly, the indigo, and thoroughly mix by shaking. Pass the whole through paper; just filter out of one bottle into another until the operation is finished.

NOTE.—No gum or sugar is proper and on no account must the acid be omitted. When intended for copying, 5 1/2 ounces of galls is the quantity. On the large scale this fine ink is made by percolation.

«Colored Inks.»—Inks of various colors 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-color cakes employed in drawing diffused through water may also be used for colored ink. {415}

«COPYING INK.»

This is usually prepared by adding a little sugar to ordinary black ink, which for this purpose should be very rich in color, and preferably made galls prepared by heat. Writing executed with this ink may be copied within the space of 5 or 6 hours, by passing it through a copying press in contact with thin, unsized paper, slightly damped, enclosed between 2 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, duly 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 flatiron over the paper laid upon the writing. The following proportions are employed:

I.—Sugar candy or lump sugar, 1 ounce; or molasses or moist sugar, 1 1/4 ounces; rich black ink, 1 1/2 pints; dissolve.

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

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

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.

«Alizarine Blue.»—In 20 parts of fuming sulphuric acid dissolve 5 parts of indigo, and to the solution add 100 parts of extract of aqueous myrobalous and 10.5 parts iron filings or turning shavings. Finally add:

Gum arabic 1.5 parts Sugar 7.5 parts Sulphuric acid, 66° B 10.5 parts Aniline blue 1.5 parts Carbolic acid 0.5 parts Mirobalan extract to make 1,000 parts.

This ink when first used has a bluish tint, afterwards becoming black.

«Alizarine Green.»—In 100 parts of aqueous extract of gall apples dissolve:

Iron sulphate 30 parts Copper sulphate 0.5 parts Sulphuric acid 2 parts Sugar 8 parts Wood vinegar, rectified 50 parts Indigo carmine 30 parts

«Copying Ink for Copying Without a Press.»—An ordinary thin-paper copying book may be used, and the copying done by transference. It is only necessary to place the page of writing in the letter book, just as one would use a leaf of blotting paper. The superfluous ink that would go into the blotting paper goes on to the leaf of the letter book, and showing through the thin paper gives on the other side of the leaf a perfect transcript of the letter. Any excess of ink on the page, either of the letter or of the copying paper, is removed by placing a sheet of blotting paper between them, and running one’s hand firmly over the whole in the ordinary manner. This ready transcription is accomplished by using ink which dries slowly. Obviously the ink must dry sufficiently slowly for the characters at the top of a page of writing to remain wet when the last line is being written, while it must dry sufficiently to preclude any chance of the copied page being smeared while subsequent pages are being covered. The drying must also be sufficiently rapid to prevent the characters “setting off,” as printers term it, from one page on to another after folding. The formula for the requisite ink is very simple:

Reduce by evaporation 10 volumes of any good ink to 6, then add 4 volumes of glycerine. Or manufacture some ink of nearly double strength, and add to any quantity of it nearly an equal volume of glycerine.

«Gold Ink.»—Mosaic gold, 2 parts; gum arabic, 1 part; rubbed up to a proper condition.

«Green Ink.»—A good, bright green, aniline ink may be made as follows:

Aniline green (soluble) 2 parts Glycerine 16 parts Alcohol 112 parts Mucilage of gum arabic 4 parts

Dissolve the aniline in the alcohol, and add the other ingredients. Most of the gum arabic precipitates, but according to the author of the formula (Nelson) it has the effect of rendering the ink slow-flowing enough to write with. Filter. {416}

«Hectograph Inks» (see also Hectograph).—I.—Black.—Methyl violet, 10 parts; nigrosin, 20 parts; glycerine, 30 parts; gum arabic, 5 parts; alcohol, 60 parts.

II.—Blue.—Resorcin blue M, 10 parts.

Dissolve by means of heat in a mixture of:

Dilute acetic acid 1 part Distilled water 85 parts Glycerine 4 parts Alcohol, 90 per cent 10 parts

III.—Green.—Aniline green, water solution, 15 parts; glycerine, 10 parts; Water, 50 parts; alcohol, 10 parts.

«Paste Ink to Write with Water.»—I.—Black.—Take 4 parts of bichromate of potash, pulverized, and mixed with 25 parts of acetic acid; 50 parts of liquid extract of logwood; 1/4 part of picric acid; 10 parts of pulverized sal sorrel; 10 parts of mucilage; and 1/4 part of citrate of iron, and mix well. The liquid extract of logwood is prepared by mixing 3 parts of an extract of common commercial quality with 2 parts of water.

II.—Red.—Take 1 part of red aniline mixed with 10 parts of acetic acid; 5 parts of citric acid, and 25 parts of mucilage, all well mixed. For use, mix 1 part of the paste with 16 parts of water.

III.—Blue.—Take 2 parts of aniline blue mixed with 10 parts of acetic acid; 5 parts of citric acid, and 40 parts of mucilage, all well mixed. For use, mix 1 part of the paste with 8 parts of water.

IV.—Violet.—Use the same ingredients in the same proportions as blue, with the difference that violet aniline is used instead of blue aniline.

V.—Green.—Take 1 part of aniline blue; 3 parts of picric acid, mixed with 10 parts of acetic acid; 3 parts of citric acid, and 80 parts of mucilage. For use, 1 part of this paste is mixed with 8 parts of water.

VI.—Copying.—Take 6 parts of pulverized bichromate of potash, mixed with 10 parts of acetic acid and 240 parts of liquid extract of logwood, and add a pulverized mixture of 35 parts of alum, 20 parts of sal sorrel, and 20 parts mucilage. Mix well. For use, 1 part of this paste is mixed with 4 parts of hot water.

«Purple Ink.»—I.—A strong decoction of logwood, to which a little alum or chloride of tin has been added.

II. (Normandy).—To 12 pounds of Campeachy wood add as many gallons of boiling water. Pour the solution through a funnel with a strainer made of coarse flannel, or 1 pound of hydrate, or acetate of deutoxide of copper finely powdered (having at the bottom of the funnel a piece of sponge); then add immediately 14 pounds of alum, and for every 340 gallons of liquid add 80 pounds of gum arabic or gum senegal. Let these remain for 3 or 4 days, and a beautiful purple color will be produced.

«Red Ink.»—Brazil wood, ground, 4 ounces; white wine vinegar, hot, 1 1/4 pints. Digest in a glass or a well-tinned copper or enamel saucepan, until the next day; then gently simmer for half an hour, adding toward the end gum arabic and alum, of each, 1/2 ounce.

«Inks for Shading Pen.»—The essential feature in the ink for use with a shading pen is simply the addition of a sufficient quantity of acacia or other mucilaginous substance to impart a proper degree of consistency to the ink. A mixture of 2 parts of mucilage of acacia with 8 of ink gives about the required consistency. The following formulas will probably be found useful:

I.—Water-soluble nigrosin 1 part
Water 9 parts
Mucilage acacia 1 part

II.—Paris violet 2 parts
Water 6 parts
Mucilage acacia 2 parts

III.—Methyl violet 1 part
Distilled water 7 parts
Mucilage acacia 2 parts

IV.—Bordeaux red 3 parts
Alcohol 2 parts
Water 20 parts
Mucilage acacia 2 parts

V.—Rosaniline acetate 2 parts
Alcohol 1 part
Water 10 parts
Mucilage acacia 2 parts

«Silver Ink.»—I.—Triturate in a mortar equal parts of silver foil and sulphate of potassa, until reduced to a fine powder; then wash the salt out, and mix the residue with a mucilage of equal parts of gum arabic water.

II.—Make as gold ink, but use silver leaf or silver bronze powder.

III.—Oxide of zinc 30 grains
Mucilage 1 ounce
Spirit of wine 40 drops
Silver bronze 3 drachms

Rub together, until perfectly smooth, {417} the zinc and mucilage, then add the spirit of wine and silver bronze and make up the quantity to 2 ounces with water.

«Violet Ink.»—I.—For 2 gallons, heat 2 gills of alcohol on a water bath. Add to the alcohol 2 ounces of violet aniline, and stir till dissolved; then add the mixture to 2 gallons of boiling water; mix well, and it is ready for use. Smaller quantities in proportion.

II.—Another good violet ink is made by dissolving some violet aniline in water to which some alcohol has been added. It takes very little aniline to make a large quantity of the ink.

«White Ink» (for other White Inks see Blueprint Inks).—So-called white inks are, properly speaking, white paints, as a white solution cannot be made. A paint suitable for use as an “ink” may be made by grinding zinc oxide very fine on a slab with a little tragacanth mucilage, and then thinning to the required consistency to flow from the pen. The mixture requires shaking or stirring from time to time to keep the pigment from separating. The “ink” may be preserved by adding a little oil of cloves or other antiseptic to prevent decomposition of the mucilage.

White marks may sometimes be made on colored papers by the application of acids or alkalies. The result, of course, depends on the nature of the coloring matter in each instance, and any “ink” of this kind would be efficacious or otherwise, according to the coloring present in the paper.

«Yellow Ink.»—I.—Gamboge (in coarse powder), 1 ounce; hot water, 5 ounces. Dissolve, and when cold, add of spirit, 3/4 ounce.

II.—Boil French berries, 1/2 pound, and alum, 1 ounce, in rain water, 1 quart, for 1/2 an hour, or longer, then strain and dissolve in the hot liquor gum arabic, 1 ounce.

«Waterproof Ink» (see also Indelible Inks).—Any ordinary ink may be made waterproof by mixing with it a little ordinary glue. After waterproofing ink in this way it is possible to wash drawings with soap and water, if necessary, without the ink running at all.

«White Stamping Ink.»—

Zinc white 2 drachms White precipitate 5 grains Mucilage 1 drachm Water 6 drachms

Triturate the zinc white with a small quantity of water till quite smooth, then add the mucilage and the remainder of the water.

INK FOR THE LAUNDRY: See Laundry Preparations.

INK FOR LEATHER FINISHERS: See Leather.

INKS FOR TYPEWRITERS: See Typewriter Ribbons.

INK FOR WRITING ON GLASS: See Etching and Glass.

«INLAYING BY ELECTROLYSIS.»

See also Electro-etching, under Etching.

The process consists in engraving the design by means of the sand-blast and stencils on the surface of the article. The design or pattern is rendered conductive and upon this conductive surface a precipitate of gold, silver, platinum, etc., is applied, and fills up the hollows. Subsequently the surface is ground smooth.

«Insect Bites»

«REMEDIES FOR INSECT BITES.»

I.—Carbolic acid 15 grains
Glycerine 2 drachms
Rose water 4 ounces

II.—Salicylic acid 15 grains
Collodion 2 1/2 drachms
Spirit of ammonia 5 1/2 drachms

III.—Fluid extract rhus toxicodendron 1 drachm
Water 8 ounces

IV.—Ipecac, in powder 1 drachm
Alcohol 1 ounce
Ether 1 ounce

V.—Betanaphthol 30 grains
Camphor 30 grains
Lanolin cold cream 1 ounce

VI.—Spirit of sal ammoniac, whose favorable action upon fresh insect bites is universally known, is often unavailable. A simple means to alleviate the pain and swelling due to such bites, when still fresh, is cigar ashes. Place a little ashes upon the part stung, add a drop of water—in case of need beer, wine, or coffee may be used instead—and rub the resulting paste thoroughly into the skin. It is preferable to use fresh ashes of tobacco, because the recent heat offers sufficient guarantee for absolute freedom from impurities. The action of the tobacco ashes is due to the presence of {418} potassium carbonate, which, like spirit of sal ammoniac, deadens the effect of the small quantities of acid (formic acid, etc.) which have been introduced into the small wound by the biting insect.

«Insecticides»

(See also Petroleum.)

«The Use of Hydrocyanic Acid Gas for Exterminating Household Insects.»—Recent successful applications of hydrocyanic acid gas for the extermination of insects infecting greenhouse plants have suggested the use of the same remedy for household pests. It is now an established fact that 1 1/2 grains of 98 per cent pure cyanide of potassium volatilized in a cubic foot of space, will, if allowed to remain for a period of not less than 3 hours, kill all roaches and similar insects.