Archival gel ink for my Sensa Stylist?

Today I picked up a Sensa Stylist pen, a large ergonomic heavy pen. I
am quite happy with it, but one of the things I wanted to check on was
the "Archival" quality of the Parker gel refills I am using with it.

I understand that the Pilot Dr. Grip style rollerball ink is "archival
quality" even though I haven't seen a real duration on this. I was
wondering if the Parker ink I am using in the Sensa is of the same
quality or not.

What I had read is that gel ink in general is archival quality, but I
would like to make sure. The idea of writing little bits of nonsense
that can be discovered and read five hundred years from now gives me a
warm fuzzy.

I read one negative review of the parker gel refills, but I wanted to
get some more opinions.

If anyone knows of a truely "archival" quality ink that fits inside a
Sensa Stylist pen, please let me know, or of the Parker Gel is fine, I
will just stick with what I have.

Thanks!

Mike Shea

In article ,
Mike Shea wrote:

What I had read is that gel ink in general is archival quality, but I
would like to make sure.

No, it's certainly not. Some _may_ qualify, often the black
ones, but some are very easy to fade to nothing.

I've made some informal tests, but only light and water, real
archival quality is more demanding (and requires archival
quality paper too):
http://www.canit.se/%7Egriffon/writing/#misc

If anyone knows of a truely "archival" quality ink that fits inside a
Sensa Stylist pen, please let me know, or of the Parker Gel is fine, I
will just stick with what I have.

You'll have to go with ballpoint refills which are
actually certificated as archival or at least marked "for
documents".
--
Urban Fredriksson http://www.canit.se/%7Egriffon/
To get rid of an enemy, make him a friend.

"Mike Shea" wrote in part:

| Today I picked up a Sensa Stylist pen, a large ergonomic heavy pen.
I
| am quite happy with it, but one of the things I wanted to check on
was
| the "Archival" quality of the Parker gel refills I am using with it.

They are NOT archival. They are NOT even close. And if a refill or
package is NOT marked archival, you can be assured it is NOT. This is
a great marketing factor, were it true it would be listed. The
slightest bit of water and the Parker gels are GONE.

| What I had read is that gel ink in general is archival quality, but I
| would like to make sure.

Not even remotely true. Some gel inks are. The most notable
illustration of the differences in gel ink in my book is that Pilot G2
05's and 07's are NOT archival whilst the similar looking Zebra Sarasa
gel pens ARE. The aforesaid Pilots are not even water resistant!

| The idea of writing little bits of nonsense
| that can be discovered and read five hundred years from now gives me
a
| warm fuzzy.

Not unless you also use archival paper. Otherwise, the paper may
disappear long before the ink. Even then, ideal storage conditions are
required. More likely, about 5000 seconds, or 500 days, or 20 years if
you are really exceptional, after your demise, your loved ones will
toss your scribblings in the nearest garbage can or sell them at a
rummage sale. Unless, of course, you are Mr. King of mystery fame.
Then they will sell them and take trips to Paris and such. And the
cycle will repeat with the new buyers, until eventually people say
Stephen who?
|
| I read one negative review of the parker gel refills, but I wanted to
| get some more opinions.

They are nice, but run out of ink quickly. The red starts out being
reddish tan and soon becomes reddish brown, at least in my experience.
I have gone back to using Pelikan's international style ballpen refills
in my Parkers.
|
| If anyone knows of a truely "archival" quality ink that fits inside a
| Sensa Stylist pen, please let me know, or of the Parker Gel is fine,
I
| will just stick with what I have.

No archival gels fit the Parker ballpens, to my knowledge. Not yet.
Given how small the barrel is, perhaps not ever.

john cline ii who hopes that helps

Mike Shea wrote:
Today I picked up a Sensa Stylist pen, a large ergonomic heavy pen. I
am quite happy with it, but one of the things I wanted to check on was
the "Archival" quality of the Parker gel refills I am using with it.

I understand that the Pilot Dr. Grip style rollerball ink is "archival
quality" even though I haven't seen a real duration on this. I was
wondering if the Parker ink I am using in the Sensa is of the same
quality or not.

What I had read is that gel ink in general is archival quality, but I
would like to make sure. The idea of writing little bits of nonsense
that can be discovered and read five hundred years from now gives me a
warm fuzzy.

I read one negative review of the parker gel refills, but I wanted to
get some more opinions.

If anyone knows of a truely "archival" quality ink that fits inside a
Sensa Stylist pen, please let me know, or of the Parker Gel is fine, I
will just stick with what I have.

Thanks!

Mike Shea

hm i think you need to make your own, try:-

Four gallons of linseed oil; two of cocoa-nut oil; one gallon of good
molasses; five pounds of loaf sugar; two pounds each of ground sacre seed,
ground cotton seed, Venice turpentine, ivory black, Antwerp black, finely
powdered burnt horns, tartar, pulverised gum-kino, and anacardium nuts; four
pounds each of very finely powdered charcoal, dried bullocks' blood and gum
arabic; one pound each of solution of caoutchouc, parchment shavings,
powdered seed lac and Indian borax; and three pounds each of Aleppo galls,
pomegranate, peel, fine glue and walnut skins - are mixed and boiled in a
large iron caldron. On the commencement of ebullition, the mixture is
ignited with a bar of red-hot iron, and the smoke which is liberated is
received into a capacious inverted cone made of the best sheet iron. As soon
as the whole of the oil is consumed, the carbon which adheres to the cone is
collected and carefully preserved. The residuum is then removed from the
boiler and rubbed down to an impalpable powder. One pound of carbon
collected from the cone and a similar quantity of the prepared residuum are
then mixed with a quart for the best French vinegar, two gallons of hot
water and four ounces of gum-lac and these ingredients are boiled for ten
minutes, when a pound of Aleppo galls in fine powder and two pounds of
logwood chips are added. The mixture is stirred until cold and is then
poured into large flat pans exposed to the atmosphere for three
weeks.2524Mitchell, C, Inks: their composition and manufacture, 1937 25
Family Tree 1989, vol. 5, no. 6, p. 32
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Page 16
14 Colouring-Iron Gall InksThe use of dyestuffs (usually of a blue colour)
such as logwood22, or indigo23, to strengthen the colour of the freshly made
iron-gall ink, was practised to a small extent during the 18th century. The
added dye has little or no influence on the fastness of writing to washing,
but gives an agreeably bold colour. William Lewis, a mid-eighteenth century
English scientist, experimented with the addition of various berry juices,
but found them detrimental to the colour of the writing when exposed to
sunlight. Logwood extract was found most satisfactory for this purpose but
was gradually replaced by other dyes. The use of indigo for ink, though
described in 1770, was only introduced into England by Dr Henry Stephens in
1836. During the nineteenth century, advances in the science of chemistry,
and the improved availability of dyes, allowed colouring alternatives to be
developed. One of the first ink factories was set up in 1834 to cater for
the new demand, and its proprietors, Messrs Stephens, advertised their new
patent writing fluids in bold terms in Robson's London Directory for 1834:
This iron-gall-dye mixture became the popular Stephens blue-black ink.... an
extract of 42 parts Alleppo galls and 3 parts of madder in 120 parts of
water, mixed with 11/5 parts of indigo solution, 5 parts of ferrous
sulphide, and 2 parts of metallic iron, dissolved in crude acetic
acid.2826Madder is obtained from the root of the madder plant Rubia
tinctorum. Madder was first extracted by the Egyptians and used for dyeing
textiles, it does not appear to have been important as a lake pigment until
the seventeenth or eighteenth century. 27Alzarine, in its true definition,
is an orange-red dye formerly prepared from madder. It is now produced
synthetically, the adjective referring to any of a number of dyes similar to
alizarin. It should not be confused with the ink synthesised by Leonardi in
1856 from indigo, to which he gave the name 'Alizarin'. 28 Mitchell, C,
Inks: their composition and manufacture, 1937 p. 130
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Page 17
15 During the nineteenth century there was much experimentation and complex
formulations of ink were tried. There are many recipes which consist of
carbon, iron gall and logwood and an example of the complexity of some of
the recipes is given by the following one found in Muspratt's Chemistry
published in 1860. If you go through this recipe you will find that it is
basically a mixture of the three types of ink described above, with some
resin added to make the ink waterproof. It is unlikely that this ink ever
went into mass production but it gives an example of Victorian ingenuity in
attempting to produce "better" quality inks. Unoxidised Gall InksUntil the
end of the 18th century inks were largely fluids which were more or less
oxidised before use, at which point a r a d i c a l change came about in the
method of manufacture. The new process consisted in protecting the ink from
oxidation as far as possible, so that the formation of the insoluble pigment
would take place within the fibres of the paper. In addition indigo was
added to give the fluid a provisional colour. An unoxidised ink of this type
was patented by Leonhardi of Dresden, in Hanover, in 1856 when a small
proportion of madder26was incorporated in addition to the indigo, hence the
term "alizarine"27which had been accepted as a descriptive title for this
type of ink. 29 An ink without any extra acid added, known as a 'non-acid'
iron ink, was first produced in 1908 by Silberman and Ozorovitz of Rumania.
The new ink, composed of iron, ammonia and gallic acid, is technically known
as diammonium hydroxyferrugallate, and is less corrosive that the
traditional iron-gall ink. However this gallic acid lacked 'body' and did
not penetrate the fibres of the paper so readily as acidified gallotannic
inks, so was never successfully marketed. 30 Sodium or potassium hydroxide,
or an alkaline solution of potassium carbonate from the leaching of wood
ash.
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Page 18
16 Leonhardi subsequently omitted the madder as superfluous, making the ink
alzarine free, but the more suitable name of "isatin" inks never met with
popular acceptance. Owing to the absence of gum in the recipe, the inks flow
more readily from the pen, and are less liable to clog. However they did not
suit the new steel pens nibs as the presence of free acid in considerable
proportions rapidly corroded the nib.29 Other Types of Black InkSepiaSepia
was used first by the Romans, but its greatest popularity was between 1780
and the end of the nineteenth century. It is the black or dark brown
secretion from the "ink sac" of the common cuttlefish or squid, sepia
officinalis, and other allied cephalopods. Genuine sepia ink is an extract
obtained from the mollusc containing mineral and organic substances which
are insoluble in water. For preparation the ink sacs are removed, dried,
pulverised and boiled in a solution of lye30. The extract, which is dissoved
in the lye, is then precipitated out by the addition of hydrochloric acid.
It is washed, dried at a low temperature, ground very finely with gum arabic
and made into cakes. The colouring matter is a complex nitrogenous compound,
which, in thin washes, is fugitive to light. Bistre31 Other examples are
brasil wood (Caesalpinia spp.) and madder roots (shrub Rubia Tinctorium) for
the red dyes and pigments; logwood (Haematoxylon campechianum) for
purple-red colours; saffron (Crocus sativus) for yellow dyes; woad (from the
plant Isatis tinctoria) for indigo, the blue dye-stuff.32 Other examples are
the egg-bearing kermes insect (Coccus ilicis) for the pink dye and pigment
known as kermes; larvae of the insect Coccus lacca, for the red dyestuff
known as gum lac. 33 Other examples include the mineral earth Crocus Martis
for the yellow pigment known as saffron of Mars; Red clays containing iron
oxides for red ochres etc.; colloidal forms of gold,, made by reducing gold
salts with tin and iron salts, which gave the purple cassius; verdigris, a
hydrated copper acetate, made by reacting copper or brass with vinegar, for
green colours; coppers sulphate (blue stone) for blue colours; iron salts
dissolved in beer (beer black) for blacks.
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Page 19
17 Bistre is the yellowish brown tarry soot collected from the burning of
wood (most commonly beech) very close to a flame. The colour varies from
saffron yellow to b r o w n -b l a c k depending upon the source and
treatment of the raw material. Its precise history of usage is unclear; its
use probably began during the fourteenth century although it was only
commonly seen from the eighteenth century. It is composed of carbon black
and a high proportion of tars; these are complex aromatic hydrocarbons. The
tars oxidise over time and there may be a shift in tone of the ink. Although
both these inks have been used as writing inks they were (and are) more
popular as drawing inks. Coloured Writing InksColoured inks for writing and
painting were available from the earliest times, the most common being red,
green, purple and yellow. This broad range of coloured inks and paints was
the outcome of widespread geographic experimentation using local materials
together with inorganic chemical substances, linked with the spread of
chemical knowledge. Colours and pigments might be obtained from plant
sources, such as logwood (Haematoxylon campechianum) for purple-red
colour31; animal sources, such as the egg bearing Coccus cacti beetle which
was used for the Take urine and keep it for a long while and afterwards make
it boil until half of it is evaporated upon a slow and clear fire, skimming
it continually until it is perfectly purified. Then strain it through a
linen cloth and put 4 lbs of it into a glazed jar of the said urine and 1 lb
of raw lac well ground, and add to it sufficient quantity of alumine
zuccarion (alum which has been heated and ground with rose water, sugar and
white of egg and allowed to harden on standing) and put it by and keep it
for use 34.34 Reed, R, Ancient skins, parchments and leathers, 1972. p.
16235Aniline is an oily liquid, moderately soluble in water and obtained by
the reduction of nitrobenzene derived from coal or coal tar, although it was
first obtained by destructive distillation of indigo. Its name is taken from
the specific name of the indigo-yielding plant Indigofera anil (Indigofera
suffruticosa). It is toxic, colourless when freshly made, and turns a dark
yellow in the presence of oxygen. 36A blue black dye stuff.
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Page 20
18 crimson dye known as cochineal (introduced into Europe from Mexico in the
sixteenth century)32; or from inorganic mineral and clay substances, such as
lapis lazuli which when ground gave the blue pigment ultramarine or azure33:
Most colours were ground in the same way as the black colourants, first
milled dry and then ground in the form of a paste with water. Red ink was
greatly used in medieval manuscripts for headings, running titles and
initials, for rubrics (hence the word) in liturgical manuscripts, and for
red-letter days (hence that term also) in Calendars. An example of a recipe
to make lake (red dye from insect larvae known as gum lac) as follows:
Aniline InksA major development in the manufacture of ink was the use of
aniline35dyes, not merely for coloured writing fluids but also for taking
the place of indigo in the black inks. In 1856 William Henry Perkins, an
English chemist, discovered the synthetic dye mauveine. It came into general
use as a base for synthetic or artificial dyes in 1856 with the advent of
fuchsines, dyestuffs that dissolve in water to form violet and
Bismarck-brown solutions. Unfortunately, early aniline inks were very
sensitive to exposure to light and air. However, the higher quality of the
modern varieties gives them greater strength and stability. The first
British patent for the employment of these aniline dyes as ink was granted
to Croc of Paris in 1861 and it was followed by several others. Thus under
the name
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Page 21
19 If inks are mixed indiscriminately, precipitates can form that cause the
fountain pen to clog. For this reason, pen manufacturers tend to recommend
their own inks and caution users about mixing ink colours and brands. The
first satisfactory free-flowing ball-point pen inks were based on a solution
of dye in oleic acid with special oils and resins added to give the pen
proper flow characteristics (c. 1945)37. These inks had a common problem -
they never quite dried on the paper and consequently would offset from one
paper to another. Also the dyes used in these oil-based inks, as they were
called, had very poor resistance to light, particularly direct sunlight.
Modern ball-point inks are the result of the development of lightfast
organic dyes and improved selection and blending of solvents. These inks
have a viscosity of about 10,000 times that of water, are quick drying, do
not smear, have good to excellent lightfastness, and will remain legible
under proper storage conditions for the life of the paper on which they are
written. Typically, modern ball-point inks may contain up to ten
ingredients, each serving a specific purpose. The final product is a very
expensive fluid as compared with aqueous ink, but gram for gram it will
produce many times more writing. Normal dye inks, formerly called aniline
inks, are usually aqueous solutions of anionic dyes (acidic dyes). Because
of this composition they are also easily washed out. Of the usual hues
(blue, black, green and red), the blue is predominant, and the modern
fountain-pen inks with the designation Royal Blue account for about 95% of
the total ink market consumption. The proprietary blue ink types usually
contain triarylmethane dyes. The inks that have better light- and
waterfastness are based on water-soluble anionic direct dyes, such as
phthalocyanine dyes. 37The first patent for a ball-type dispenser was issued
on October 30th 1888 to John. H. Loud, an American. Loud's pen was designed
for marking on rough surfaces and not for handwriting, but its operation was
quite similar to todays pen. The improved methods for grinding and measuring
balls for ball bearings, developed during World War II, proved adaptable to
ball-points and Lazlo Biro, a Hungarian living in Argentina, was the first
to make a satisfactory ball-point pen. He was granted a patent for his
development in 1944.
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Page 22
20 Standards for Writing InksThere have been two main issues in setting
standards for modern writing inks. The first is that of technological
change. Since 1945, traditional iron gall inks have been replaced by
dye-based inks. Fountain pens have replaced dip pens which, in their turn,
have been superseded by ball point pens and, more recently, by felt and
roller ball pens. The second problem is one of enforcement. It is possible
to specify the use of permanent inks for formal records38, such as registers
of births, but it is impossible, and unnecessary, to insist that individuals
use such inks for their ordinary day-to-day writing. Attempts to produce
standards for writing inks date back to the 1879 Prussian law that only
iron-gall ink should be used officially. In 1888, rules for testing inks
were published and these were revised in 1912. These (Prussian) regulations
have profoundly influenced later standards and most standards for inks for
use in dip pens and fountain pens appear to be based on them. 38 BS
3484:1991 Specification for Blue-black record inks.
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Page 23
21 Barrow, W. J.Manuscripts and Documents, their De-terioration and
RestorationUniversity of Virginia Press, Char-lottesville, Virginia (1955)
Bologna, Giulialluminated Manuscripts: The Book be-fore GutenbergThames and
Hudson, London (1988)Clarke, AeliAn Introduction to Drawing Materials,
Binders and PigmentsChemistry Dept. (conservation) Sum-mer Short Courses
(1995) Camberwell College of Arts, London SE5Collings, T. J.The Creation and
Care of Documents, part two; Parchment, Vellum and InkFamily Tree (April
1989)Crespo, Carmen and Vinas, VicenteThe Preservaion and Restoration of
Pa-per Records and Books: a RAMP study with guidelines UNESCO, Paris
(1984)De Hamel, Christopher Medieval Craftsmen: Scribes and
Illumi-natorsBritish Museum Press, London 1992Harley, R.DArtist` Pigments
c.1600-1835ButterworthsFairbank, A. The Story of Handwriting: Origins and
DevelopmentFaber & Faber Ltd. (1970)Gettens, R. J. and Stout, G. L.Painting
Materials: a short encyclopediaDover Publications, Inc., New York
(1966)Hector, L. C.The Handwriting of English DocumentsEdward Arnold Ltd.
(1958)Jackson, DonaldThe Story of WritingBarrie & Jenkins Ltd., London
(1981)Jennett, SeanThe Making of Books, 5th edition Faber & Faber Limited
(1973) Mitchell, C. AinsworthInks: their Composition and Manufac-ture
including Methods of Examination and a full list of British patents, 4th
edi-tionCharles Griffin & Company Limited, London (1937)Reed, R.Ancient
skins, parchments and leathersSeminar Press, London and New York
(1972)Thomas, D. L.Survey onNnational Standards on Pa-perand Ink to be used
by the Admini-stration for Records Creation: a RAMP study with
guidelinesEncyclopedia Bri-tanniaUNESCO, Paris (1987)Whalley, Muriel E.The
Permance of InksResearch Plans & Publications Section, National Research
Council of Canada, Ottowa November 1939 NRC No 880SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY five
pounds of loaf sugar; two pounds each of ground sacre seed, ground
cotton seed, Venice turpentine, ivory black, Antwerp black, finely
powdered burnt horns, tartar, pulverised gum-kino, and anacardium nuts;
four pounds each of very finely powdered charcoal, dried bullocks' blood
and gum arabic; one pound each of solution of caoutchouc, parchment
shavings, powdered seed lac and Indian borax; and three pounds each of
Aleppo galls, pomegranate, peel, fine glue and walnut skins - are mixed
and boiled in a large iron caldron. On the commencement of ebullition,
the mixture is ignited with a bar of red-hot iron, and the smoke which
is liberated is received into a capacious inverted cone made of the best
sheet iron. As soon as the whole of the oil is consumed, the carbon
which adheres to the cone is collected and carefully preserved. The
residuum is then removed from the boiler and rubbed down to an
impalpable powder. One pound of carbon collected from the cone and a
similar quantity of the prepared residuum are then mixed with a quart
for the best French vinegar, two gallons of hot water and four ounces of
gum-lac and these ingredients are boiled for ten minutes, when a pound
of Aleppo galls in fine powder and two pounds of logwood chips are
added. The mixture is stirred until cold and is then poured into large
flat pans exposed to the atmosphere for three weeks.

see
http://www.pro.gov.uk/about/preserva...ritinginks.pdf

jolyon

Jolyon Wright wrote:
Four gallons of linseed oil; two of cocoa-nut oil; one gallon of good
loads of stuff

sorry - I didnt mean to send *all* that stuff; grr. computers

jolyon