McCaffery's Ivory – more bizzare behavior, this time: drying issues

[Estefa]

Hi guys, I wonder if anyone had this trouble too: I used the above ink for a rather big batch of (luckily private) envelope addressing. I know it's not waterproof, but what is really strange: a sheet I used for warm-up with this ink still is sort of wet (and that was before Christmas)! It sticks to other sheets and is also sticky to the touch.

Does anyone know if I got a bad batch (it also developed mold at some stage, which I just threw away and ignored)?? Or is that normal? I just ask because I am really hesitant now to use it, for example for place cards. The thought that they arrive at a client all sticking together!!

Any insight would be great – thanks already!

[Moya]

Oh, that's worrying! I've never had this trouble, but I'll keep a close eye on mine and tell you if anything happens. I have only used it for a few jobs - I didn't get any bad feedback, but it seemed to be dry?

But then that was in summer, and in summer Melbourne is very hot and very dry. Maybe that helped.

[Salman Khattak]

This can happen with some ink+paper combinations especially on heavily sized paper. I just hold the paper over a toaster for a a little while and the heat seems to set the ink. I suppose a couple of minutes in an oven at low heat would do the trick for larger batches.

- Salman

[Cecilia]

I purchased one in Fall 2014 and it developed mold in less than a week after opening.
I decided to throw the whole bottle away, but should have kept it to observe the behavior...


Never purchased it again after that time 

[jeanwilson]

yes - i have had mccaffrey's white stay sticky forever. i tried using a heat gun which is way hotter than a toaster and it did not solve the problem. i have had the same problem with the glossy black. mr mccaffrey is a very approachable person and i imagine he would be happy to discuss the sticky ink with anyone who had time to email him.

humidity can complicate any project.
paper can complicate any project.
it's not just bottles of ink.
the unexpected and head-exploding problems i have had with digital printing on paper that was supposed to be compatible with the type of printer (ink-jet or laser) have caused me to never do another digital project. just remembering some of the problems gets my head throbbing.
and it is not just me, i have offered my shoulder for crying to any number of people who have found themselves scrambling to resolve ink based disasters.

[Elisabeth_M]

Did the ink dry well on projects you had before you noticed the mold growth?  If so, then I would say that there is either still some mold in there (which can be slimy and is the thing that isn't drying) or that the mold secreted something into the ink that is causing the ink not to dry.  In either case, there isn't much you can do except to throw out the bottle of ink.

[sybillevz]

I remember another member had the same trouble and Amy (Neubauer) said she usually "bakes" her Mc Caffery Ivory calligraphy in the oven. I think it was around 80°-100°c for 10 minutes.
I did this for bookmarks and didn't have sticky problems.

[Estefa]

Thanks a lot to everybody who answered !

Oh, that's worrying! I've never had this trouble, but I'll keep a close eye on mine and tell you if anything happens. I have only used it for a few jobs - I didn't get any bad feedback, but it seemed to be dry?

But then that was in summer, and in summer Melbourne is very hot and very dry. Maybe that helped.

Moya – yes, maybe climate plays a role – I wrote them in winter, and that is rather humid here …

This can happen with some ink+paper combinations especially on heavily sized paper. I just hold the paper over a toaster for a a little while and the heat seems to set the ink. I suppose a couple of minutes in an oven at low heat would do the trick for larger batches.

- Salman

Salman, thank you! In that case I used a rather nice stationery paper with cotton content (Artoz 1001 series) which usually doesn't give trouble with any ink I've tried …

I purchased one in Fall 2014 and it developed mold in less than a week after opening.
I decided to throw the whole bottle away, but should have kept it to observe the behavior...

Never purchased it again after that time 

Cecilia – haha, I understand.

yes - i have had mccaffrey's white stay sticky forever. i tried using a heat gun which is way hotter than a toaster and it did not solve the problem. i have had the same problem with the glossy black. mr mccaffrey is a very approachable person and i imagine he would be happy to discuss the sticky ink with anyone who had time to email him.

humidity can complicate any project.
paper can complicate any project.
it's not just bottles of ink.
the unexpected and head-exploding problems i have had with digital printing on paper that was supposed to be compatible with the type of printer (ink-jet or laser) have caused me to never do another digital project. just remembering some of the problems gets my head throbbing.
and it is not just me, i have offered my shoulder for crying to any number of people who have found themselves scrambling to resolve ink based disasters.

Jean, interesting points and you are of course right with that all things play a role in a project! Thanks .

Did the ink dry well on projects you had before you noticed the mold growth?  If so, then I would say that there is either still some mold in there (which can be slimy and is the thing that isn't drying) or that the mold secreted something into the ink that is causing the ink not to dry.  In either case, there isn't much you can do except to throw out the bottle of ink.

Elisabeth, what an interesting idea! I guess that could be it. I really just put out the slimy stuff, shaked the bottle and decided to go on using it. It did not smell badly … so admittedly I wasn't too disgusted by the mold problem.

I remember another member had the same trouble and Amy (Neubauer) said she usually "bakes" her Mc Caffery Ivory calligraphy in the oven. I think it was around 80°-100°c for 10 minutes.
I did this for bookmarks and didn't have sticky problems.

Sybille, I will give this a try, just out of curiosity, but I must say, taken all together from what everybody wrote, this is just too complicated an ink for me. So I'll mix my own ivory next time I need such a thing .

Again, thank you, guys!

[Elisabeth_M]

I remember another member had the same trouble and Amy (Neubauer) said she usually "bakes" her Mc Caffery Ivory calligraphy in the oven. I think it was around 80°-100°c for 10 minutes.
I did this for bookmarks and didn't have sticky problems.

If the problem is a clear, slimy mold, then baking it would dry out and destroy the mold, too, so it seems like you can't go wrong with this solution.  Although I might be a little worried about what baking would do to the paper. 

[handmadeletters]

If the problem is a clear, slimy mold, then baking it would dry out and destroy the mold, too, so it seems like you can't go wrong with this solution.  Although I might be a little worried about what baking would do to the paper.

Elisabeth, just curious, do you think a hair dryer would accomplish the same thing? I hadn't tried it, but it seems easier than sticking stuff in the oven. Perhaps, though, the hair dryer wouldn't get hot enough to destroy the mold.

[sybillevz]

I'm not sure mold is the trouble... I opened my jar more than a year ago, changed to smaller containers to be able to keep on dipping and the ink is not slimy at all in the bottle. But on the paper, I still have blobs of ink that dry incredibly slowly - or not at all.
I used it last week and it's still a dream to write with ! It was a rainy day and I had to bake it to allow it to dry.
Another day, the sun was out, and leaving the paper next to a window for a few hours was enough.

Also, this drying issue happened to me when the bottle was still fresh, on my first use...

[Estefa]

I also think it writes so dreamy! But sadly it's so unreliable in that regard ...

[Elisabeth_M]

If the problem is a clear, slimy mold, then baking it would dry out and destroy the mold, too, so it seems like you can't go wrong with this solution.  Although I might be a little worried about what baking would do to the paper.

Elisabeth, just curious, do you think a hair dryer would accomplish the same thing? I hadn't tried it, but it seems easier than sticking stuff in the oven. Perhaps, though, the hair dryer wouldn't get hot enough to destroy the mold.

A hair dryer wouldn't get it hot enough and I'd be nervous using one if the ink is really wet (don't want it to spread).  A heat gun might work better than a hair dryer at getting it dry, but I doubt it would get hot enough to kill the mold (if that is the problem).

[Inked botanicals]

I just realized that I have this problem too. My ink never developed mold, but it keeps being sticky. It seems to be dry when touching, and even erasing over it does nothing to the ink, but it keeps sticking to any paper you put over it. Damn! I loved that ink! Did you solve anything Sybille?

[Estefa]

That is it exactly, Alba! So sad, otherwise it's so lovely ...