Author Topic: Ink brands...Help?  (Read 1971 times)

Offline FirebirdArts

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Ink brands...Help?
« on: March 22, 2017, 09:40:10 PM »
I've never tried speedball calligraphy ink or liquitex professional ink...I'd like to hear feedback from anyone who's tried these...They're on sale and with a student budget I don't want to buy them without knowing they're going to be worth buying...

Offline Bianca M

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Re: Ink brands...Help?
« Reply #1 on: March 22, 2017, 10:43:41 PM »
I find them to be entirely unsuitable for pointed pen calligraphy purposes. I believe some people have had luck using speedball with broad pen; not sure about liquitex.

Offline neriah

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Re: Ink brands...Help?
« Reply #2 on: March 23, 2017, 05:11:28 AM »
If you need cheap ink, the best solution is to buy walnut crystals. I think I bought 250g for 10 euro but there are smaller bags. I got it on ebay, Van Dyke crystals, it was shipped from UK, arrived to me after a week. You mix it with distilled water, 1g on 15 ml and it is just wonderful. It works immediately, no need to add gum arabic, just stir and use. I got it few months ago and I am still on my first 30 ml bottle. I guess it will last forever  :D 

Offline AndyT

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Re: Ink brands...Help?
« Reply #3 on: March 23, 2017, 05:24:43 AM »
There should be some sort of prize for anyone who finishes a 250g bag of crystals.

Offline FirebirdArts

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Re: Ink brands...Help?
« Reply #4 on: March 23, 2017, 06:25:25 AM »
Omg!! Can you link me to that??? Walnut ink 250g for €10????

Offline AnasaziWrites

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Re: Ink brands...Help?
« Reply #5 on: March 23, 2017, 09:01:26 AM »
Omg!! Can you link me to that??? Walnut ink 250g for €10????
@FirebirdArts
Here's a source for you:
http://search.store.yahoo.net/yhst-141105795965626/cgi-bin/nsearch?catalog=yhst-141105795965626&query=walnut&x=0&y=0&vwcatalog=yhst-141105795965626&.autodone=http://www.paperinkarts.com/

I bought the two oz. size for $4.95 a couple of years ago and am nowhere close to finishing it. The four oz. size is $8.95 and would probably last a lifetime, unless your x-size is measured in inches and you are making posters or some such on a daily basis.

Just to add, if mixed per directions, 1 teaspoon to 1/2 cup of water, one oz. of crystals will make about 2 1/2 cups of ink, so 8 oz. of crystals will make about 5 quarts of ink. Yowser.
« Last Edit: March 23, 2017, 09:20:21 AM by AnasaziWrites »

Offline AAAndrew

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Re: Ink brands...Help?
« Reply #6 on: March 23, 2017, 09:09:17 AM »
And for those who wish to convert, 250 g is over 8 oz. Enough to last two lifetimes, unless, like me, you hand out little baggies of walnut crystals to anyone you are trying to get started in calligraphy. I'm about half-way through my 4 oz bag, but can only claim to have used about 1/3 of that at most.
Check out my steel pen history blog
https://thesteelpen.com/

Offline AnasaziWrites

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Re: Ink brands...Help?
« Reply #7 on: March 23, 2017, 09:33:19 AM »
There should be some sort of prize for anyone who finishes a 250g bag of crystals.
@AndyT
Possible uses for  a 250 g bag of walnut crystals:

House painting
Thank you notes to those who attended the Superbowl
Hand copying the OED
Transcribing the operating instructions for a new digital camera

Any others you can think of?
« Last Edit: March 23, 2017, 09:36:30 AM by AnasaziWrites »

Offline AndyT

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Re: Ink brands...Help?
« Reply #8 on: March 23, 2017, 09:39:26 AM »
Any others you can think of?

Um, not off the top of my head.  I was thinking that the prize could be a really nice wrist brace.  :)

Offline FirebirdArts

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Re: Ink brands...Help?
« Reply #9 on: March 23, 2017, 09:00:22 PM »
You could use walnut ink as a wash for a background to make the paper look more antique.  Especially if you're using traditional parchment paper (not that paper everyone's using for certificates and whatever) but rather the old school parchment paper.

Offline garyn

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Re: Ink brands...Help?
« Reply #10 on: April 15, 2017, 04:02:12 PM »
I used the Speedball Acrylic ink, and it was NOT fun. 
First.  If you were not lucky, the ink in the bottle will have separated, and you have to remix the ink to get the thin watery part mixed with the thick part of the ink.  You have to physically mix it with a stick, shaking the bottle did NOT work, the thick part of the ink was tooo thick.
Second.  The acrylic ink dried FAST on the nib, and it cakes, getting thicker and thicker, so requires constant cleaning of the nib.

But when you dip the nib in, it stuck to the nib, so you got a nice load of ink.
And I did like the colors that I used.
Gary