Feathering

[JanisTX]

I am working on a project for my church.  I am writing the names and dates of service for each pastor to be placed on mats with a picture of each pastor, back to the church's founding in 1880.  I have completed one and  I have glued the paper to the mat and am pleased with how it looks.  I am using Noodler's Black Swan ink, as it matches closely to the interior burgundy mat. (I am using a Brause EF66 nib.  I experimented with several burgundy inks & gouaches.  The Black Swan is the closest color match.  I know that Noodler's is fountain pen ink, but I use it often & like the flow.)  Now, using the same ink on the same paper with the same nib, it is feathering like mad.  Does anyone have a suggestion?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Janis

[AnasaziWrites]

What paper are you using?
Also, try thickening the ink.

[Erica McPhee]

Try using some gum arabic to thicken up the ink like Mike said. If that doesn't work, you can try spraying the paper with hairspray like aquanet. Or using a pounce bag of gum sandarac powder (available from John Neal or Paper & Ink Arts). Put some powdered gum sandarac in a cheesecloth and lightly tap it over the paper. Good luck! 

[K-2]

If the gum arabic or sadarac pounce or hairspray doesn't work, and you don't mind hitting it with some industrial chemicals, Krylon Matte spray usually does the trick for me.  You can spray it on very heavily and it won't clump or show once it's dry, but it's so effective, that the ink sometimes beads up on it.  It helps fountain pen inks with sheen show off their stuff too.

Hairspray!  Who knew?  I haven't tried hairspray, but then, I don't have much hair.

--yours, K

[JanisTX]

Thanks for the advice! I forgot about Aquanet!  I’m going to try that!  I have gum arabic & will also try that. I’m going to also order pounce!

Janis

[AnasaziWrites]

I know that Noodler's is fountain pen ink, but I use it often & like the flow.)  Now, using the same ink on the same paper with the same nib, it is feathering like mad.  Does anyone have a suggestion?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Janis

@JanisTX
In addition to the suggestions already received, several of which may work, the simplest solution may be to change the paper. Here is a scan of the word Feather--the blue ink is J. Herbin 1670 fountain pen ink, the black is Mccaffery's Penman's black (for dip pens, of course). The top words are written on cheap copy paper, the middle words are on premium 32 lb. laser copy paper, the bottom words are written on Strathmore smooth Bristol 100 lb. paper. Same pen for all (Gillott 604ef, similar sharpness to your Brause EF66).

[JanisTX]

@AnasaziWrites Thanks for the suggestions!  The paper that I am using is the closest that I could find to match the color of the mat that it is going on.  I took the picture mat with me to various stores & that paper is the closest match.  Sometime in the 1970s, the church had a fabulous calligrapher. - He/she wrote the names of the former pastors and their dates of service in beautiful Spencerian.  After he/she died, the most recent pastors had their framed pictures with their names just written with a Sharpie pen on the mat.  I offered to redo all of the names/dates in Copperplate, as there was a huge difference between the writing.  I was in awe of the original calligrapher, as the names/dates are perfectly centered on the mats.  Once I took one of the original framed pictures apart, however, I realized that the calligrapher had not written ON the mat.  He/she had instead written on a slip of paper, glued to the mat.  That made me feel a lot better about the project, as gluing paper centered on a mat is something that I think that I can accomplish!    I'm going to try again this weekend, to see if I can get better results.  I'm still not sure why I had no problem writing the information on the same paper the first time went smoothly, but last weekend I hit the wall. 

Janis

[AnasaziWrites]

@JanisTX
Here's another idea, if you want to exactly match the paper to the mat, if you have the tools.
1. Scan the mat (or take a photo of it)
2. Sample the color via a photo program, if you have such a program, or crop a piece of it to create a jpg of it.
3. Print this jpg (fit to fill the whole page) on the paper you are using to write the names.
The color should match the mat closely if not perfectly. One important thing, though, is to write the names on the blank white paper before you print the color of it over the sheet with the names, as if you print the color first, it will affect the writing adversely if you print the names on the colored sheet.
I've used this technique to print envelopes the exact color of the reddish/purple cancel marks that our local PO uses to hand cancel letters, and the result is that cancel literally disappears on the colored envelope.

ps. If you don't have a photo program to do this, send me a scan of a mat (a photo is the second choice) and I'll create a page you can print (assuming you have a color printer).

[TeresaS]

I wonder if weather... especially humidity... factored into last weekend’s feathering?