Ink Pen is a daily comic strip by Phil Dunlap that started in 2005 and is syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate.

This comic strip is about an employment agency for out-of-work cartoon characters. Some of the comic's characters include: Bixby, the former child star and now a dirty rat; Fritz, a dog and boss of the agency; Hamhock, a pig who is trying to get his 15 minutes of fame; Captain Victorious, a lazy super hero with too many sidekicks; Ralston, a rabbit who is just looking for a higher group of people, and Tyr, the Norse god of single combat, trying to pull his decent weight around anger management and Valhallan Attitude. There is also Dynaman, the rival of Captain Victorious; Mr. Negato, the enemy of Captain Victorious, and Scrappy Lad, the useless weak sidekick who is more interested in a girl named Moxie Gumption (a more streetwise version of Little Orphan Annie). Jenn Erica is a female filler character who tries repeatedly to get a lead character. Hela is the Norse goddess of the Underworld, with a surprisingly cheerful disposition. She claims to be related to Tyr, but their kinship is rather tenuous. Ms. Amazement gives the impression of being a parody of Wonder Woman, but her background is Celtic rather than Greek.

External links[link]

• Ink Pen

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Bottles of ink from Germany.

Ink is a liquid or paste that contains pigments or dyes and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, or quill. Thicker inks, in paste form, are used extensively in letterpress and lithographic printing.

Ink can be a complex medium, composed of solvents, pigments, dyes, resins, lubricants, solubilizers, surfactants, particulate matter, fluorescers, and other materials. The components of inks serve many purposes; the ink’s carrier, colorants, and other additives control flow and thickness of the ink and its appearance when dry.

Types[link]

Magnified line drawn by a fountain pen.

Ink formulas vary, but commonly involve four components:

• Colorants
• Vehicles (binders)
• Additives
• Carrier substances

Inks generally fall into four classes^[1]:

• Aqueous
• Liquid
• Paste
• Powder

Colorants[link]

Pigment inks are used more frequently than dyes because they are more color-fast, but they are also more expensive, less consistent in color, and have less of a color range than dyes.^[1]

Pigments[link]

Pigments are solid, opaque particles suspended in ink to provide color.^[1] Pigment molecules typically link together in crystalline structures that are 0.1–2 µm in size and comprise 5–30 percent of the ink volume.^[1] Qualities such as hue, saturation, and lightness vary depending on the source and type of pigment.

Dyes[link]

Dye-based inks are generally much stronger than pigment-based inks and can produce much more color of a given density per unit of mass. However, because dyes are dissolved in the liquid phase, they have a tendency to soak into paper, making the ink less efficient and potentially allowing the ink to bleed at the edges of an image.

To circumvent this problem, dye-based inks are made with solvents that dry rapidly or are used with quick-drying methods of printing, such as blowing hot air on the fresh print. Other methods include harder paper sizing and more specialized paper coatings. The latter is particularly suited to inks used in non-industrial settings (which must conform to tighter toxicity and emission controls), such as inkjet printer inks. Another technique involves coating the paper with a charged coating. If the dye has the opposite charge, it is attracted to and retained by this coating, while the solvent soaks into the paper. Cellulose, the wood-derived material most paper is made of, is naturally charged, and so a compound that complexes with both the dye and the paper's surface aids retention at the surface. Such a compound is commonly used in ink-jet printing inks.

An additional advantage of dye-based ink systems is that the dye molecules interact chemically with other ink ingredients. This means that they can benefit more than pigmented ink from optical brighteners and color-enhancing agents designed to increase the intensity and appearance of dyes. Because dyes get their color from the interaction of electrons in their molecules, the way the electrons can move is determined by the charge and extent of electron delocalization in other ink ingredients. The color emerges as a function of the light energy that falls on the dye. Thus, if an optical brightener or color enhancer absorbs light energy and emits it through or with the dye, the appearance changes, as the spectrum of light re-emitted to the observer changes.

A more recent development in dye-based inks are dyes that react with cellulose to permanently color the paper. Such inks are not affected by water, alcohol, and other solvents.^{[citation needed]} As such, their use is recommended to prevent frauds that involve removing signatures, such as check washing. This kind of ink is most commonly found in gel inks and in certain fountain pen inks.^{[citation needed]}

History[link]

Ink drawing of Ganesha under an umbrella (early 19th century). Ink, called masi, an admixture of several chemical components, has been used in India since at least the 4th century BC.^[2] The practice of writing with ink and a sharp pointed needle was common in early South India.^[3] Several Jain sutras in India were compiled in ink.^[4]

Many ancient cultures around the world have independently discovered and formulated inks for the purposes of writing and drawing. The knowledge of the inks, their recipes and the techniques for their production comes from archaeological analysis or from written text itself.

The history of Chinese inks can be traced back to the 18th century BC, with the utilization of natural plant (plant dyes), animal, and mineral inks based on such materials as graphite that were ground with water and applied with ink brushes. Evidence for the earliest Chinese inks, similar to modern inksticks, is around 256 BC in the end of the Warring States Period and produced from soot and animal glue.^[5]

The India ink used in ancient India since at least the 4th century BC was called masi, and was made of burnt bones, tar, pitch, and other substances.^[2][6] Indian documents written in Kharosthi with ink have been unearthed in Chinese Turkestan.^[7] The practice of writing with ink and a sharp pointed needle was common in early South India.^[3] Several Buddhist and Jain sutras in India were compiled in ink.^[4]

In ancient Rome, atramentum was used. In an article for the Christian Science Monitor, Sharon J. Huntington describes these other historical inks:

About 1,600 years ago, a popular ink recipe was created. The recipe was used for centuries. Iron salts, such as ferrous sulfate (made by treating iron with sulfuric acid), were mixed with tannin from gallnuts (they grow on trees) and a thickener. When first put to paper, this ink is bluish-black. Over time it fades to a dull brown.

Scribes in medieval Europe (about AD 800 to 1500) wrote principally on parchment or vellum. One 12th century ink recipe called for hawthorn branches to be cut in the spring and left to dry. Then the bark was pounded from the branches and soaked in water for eight days. The water was boiled until it thickened and turned black. Wine was added during boiling. The ink was poured into special bags and hung in the sun. Once dried, the mixture was mixed with wine and iron salt over a fire to make the final ink.^[8]

The reservoir pen, which may have been the first fountain pen, dates back to 953, when Ma'ād al-Mu'izz, the caliph of Egypt, demanded a pen that would not stain his hands or clothes, and was provided with a pen that held ink in a reservoir.^[9]

In the 15th century, a new type of ink had to be developed in Europe for the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg. Two types of ink were prevalent at the time: the Greek and Roman writing ink (soot, glue, and water) and the 12th century variety composed of ferrous sulfate, gall, gum, and water.^[10] Neither of these handwriting inks could adhere to printing surfaces without creating blurs. Eventually an oily, varnish-like ink made of soot, turpentine, and walnut oil was created specifically for the printing press.

Health and environmental aspects[link]

There is a misconception that ink is non-toxic even if swallowed. Once ingested, ink can be hazardous to one's health. Certain inks, such as those used in printers, and even those found in a common pen can be harmful. Though ink does not easily cause death, inappropriate contact can cause effects such as severe headaches, skin irritation, or nervous system damage. These effects can be caused by solvents, or by pigment ingredients such as p-Anisidine, which helps create some inks' color and shine.

Three main environmental issues with ink are:

• Volatile organic compounds
• Heavy metals
• Non-renewable oils

Some regulatory bodies have set standards for the amount of heavy metals in ink.^[11] There is a trend toward vegetable oils rather than petroleum oils in recent years in response to a demand for better environmental sustainability.

Writing and preservation[link]

The two most used black writing inks in history are carbon inks and iron gall inks. Both types create problems for preservationists.

Carbon[link]

Chinese inkstick; carbon-based and made from soot and animal glue.

Carbon inks were commonly made from lampblack or soot and a binding agent such as gum arabic or animal glue. The binding agent keeps the carbon particles in suspension and adhered to paper. The carbon particles do not fade over time even when in sunlight or when bleached. One benefit of carbon ink is that it is not harmful to the paper. Over time, the ink is chemically stable and therefore does not threaten the strength of the paper. Despite these benefits, carbon ink is not ideal for permanence and ease of preservation. Carbon ink has a tendency to smudge in humid environments and can be washed off a surface. The best method of preserving a document written in carbon ink is to ensure it is stored in a dry environment (Barrow 1972).

Recently, carbon inks made from carbon nanotubes have been successfully created. They are similar in composition to the traditional inks in that they use a polymer to suspend the carbon nanotubes. These inks can be used in inkjet printers and produce electrically conductive patterns.^[12]

Iron gall[link]

Iron gall inks became prominent in the early 12th century; they were used for centuries and were widely thought to be the best type of ink. However, iron gall ink is corrosive and damages the paper it is on (Waters 1940). Items containing this ink can become brittle and the writing fades to brown. The original scores of Johann Sebastian Bach are threatened by the destructive properties of iron gall ink. The majority of his works are held by the German State Library, and about 25% of those are in advanced stages of decay (American Libraries 2000). The rate at which the writing fades is based on several factors, such as proportions of ink ingredients, amount deposited on the paper, and paper composition (Barrow 1972:16). Corrosion is caused by acid catalysed hydrolysis and iron(II)-catalysed oxidation of cellulose (Rouchon-Quillet 2004:389).

Treatment is a controversial subject. No treatment undoes damage already caused by acidic ink. Deterioration can only be stopped or slowed. Some^[who?] think it best not to treat the item at all for fear of the consequences. Others believe that non-aqueous procedures are the best solution. Yet others think an aqueous procedure may preserve items written with iron gall ink. Aqueous treatments include distilled water at different temperatures, calcium hydroxide, calcium bicarbonate, magnesium carbonate, magnesium bicarbonate, and calcium phytate. There are many possible side effects from these treatments. There can be mechanical damage, which further weakens the paper. Paper color or ink color may change, and ink may bleed. Other consequences of aqueous treatment are a change of ink texture or formation of on the surface of the ink (Reibland & de Groot 1999).

Iron gall inks require storage in a stable environment, because fluctuating relative humidity increases the rate that formic acid, acetic acid, and furan derivatives form in the material the ink was used on. Sulfuric acid acts as a catalyst to cellulose hydrolysis, and iron (II) sulfate acts as a catalyst to cellulose oxidation. These chemical reactions physically weaken the paper, causing brittleness.^[13]

Indelible ink[link]

Indelible means "un-removable". Some types of indelible ink have a very short shelf life because of the quickly evaporating solvents used. India, Mexico, Indonesia and other developing countries have used indelible ink in the form of electoral stain to prevent electoral fraud. The Election Commission in India has used indelible ink for many elections. Indonesia used it in their last election in Aceh. In Mali, the ink is applied to the fingernail. Indelible ink itself is not infallible as it can be used to commit electoral fraud by marking opponent party members before they have chances to cast their votes. There are also reports of 'indelible' ink washing off voters' fingers.^[14]

See also[link]

References[link]

• "Think Ink!" by Sharon J. Huntington, Christian Science Monitor, September 21, 2004, retrieved January 17, 2006.
• "A History of Technology and Invention" by Maurice Audin, page 630.
• Ainsworth, Mitchell, C., "Inks and Their Composition and Manufacture," Charles Griffin and Company Ltd, 1904.
• Martín-Gil J, Ramos-Sánchez MC, Martín-Gil FJ and José-Yacamán M. "Chemical composition of a fountain pen ink". Journal of Chemical Education, 2006, 83, 1476–78
• Banerji, Sures Chandra (1989). A Companion to Sanskrit Literature. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 81-208-0063-X.
• Sircar, D.C. (1996).Indian epigraphy. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 81-208-1166-6.

==Sources== Spencer Johnson

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2009)

• N.a. (March 2000), "Bach Scores Turning to Dust in German Library", American Libraries: 24–25 
• Barrow, W.J. (1972), Manuscripts and Documents: Their Deterioration and Restoration, Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, ISBN 081390408 
• Reißland, Birgit; de Groot, Suzan (August 15–21, 1999), "Ink Corrosion: Comparison of the Currently Used Aqueous Treatments for Paper Objects", Preprint from the 9th International Congress of IADA, pp. 121–129 
• Rouchon-Quillet, V.; et al., C.; Bernard, J.; Wattiaux, A.; Fournes, L. (2004), "The Impact of Gallic Acid on Iron Gall Ink Corrosion", Applied Physics A 79 (2): 389–392, DOI:10.1007/s00339-004-2541-1 
• Waters, C.E. (1940), Inks, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards, United States Government Printing Office 

Further reading[link]

• Cueppers, Christoph (1989). "On the Manufacture of Ink." Ancient Nepal - Journal of the Department of Archaeology, Number 113, August–September 1989, pp. 1–7. [The Tibetan text and translation of a section of the work called, Bzo gnas nyer mkho'i za ma tog by 'Jam-mgon 'Ju Mi-pham-rgya-mtsho (1846–1912) describing various traditional Tibetan techniques of making inks from different sources of soot, and from earth, puffballs, dung, ser-sha - a yellow fungus, and the fruit of tsi dra ka (Ricinus communis).]

External links[link]

• Forty Centuries of Ink (David N. Carvalho); A detailed online textbook
• Roman ink article by Alexander Allen In Smith's Dictionary Greek and Roman Antiquities (1875), in LacusCurtius
• Ancient and Modern Ink Recipes (David N. Carvalho)
• Gorgeous Portrayal Of How Ink Is Made - video at The Huffington Post
• The Iron Gall Ink Website

ind:स्याही

A ballpoint pen

A pen (Latin penna, feather) is a device used to apply ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Historically, reed pens, quill pens, and dip pens were used in ancient period, with a nib of some sort to be dipped in the ink. Ruling pens allow precise adjustment of line width, and still find a few specialized uses, but technical pens such as the Rapidograph are more commonly used. Modern types also include ballpoint, rollerball, fountain, and felt or ceramic tip pens.

Modern pens[link]

The main modern types of pens can be categorized by the kind of writing tip or point:

A mark made on paper with a rollerball pen, and the tip of that pen

• A ballpoint pen dispenses viscous oil-based ink by rolling a small hard sphere, usually 0.7–1.2 mm and made of brass, steel or tungsten carbide.^[1] The ink dries almost immediately on contact with paper. The ballpoint pen is usually reliable and inexpensive.^{[citation needed]} It has replaced the fountain pen as the most common tool for everyday writing.
• A crowquill pen is a favorite instrument of artists, such as David Stone Martin and Jay Lynch, because its flexible metal point can create a variety of delicate lines, textures and tones with slight pressures while drawing.
• A fountain pen uses water-based liquid ink delivered through a nib. The ink flows from a reservoir through a "feed" to the nib, then through the nib, due to capillary action and gravity. The nib has no moving parts and delivers ink through a thin slit to the writing surface. A fountain pen reservoir can be refillable or disposable, this disposable type being an ink cartridge. A pen with a refillable reservoir may have a mechanism, such as a piston, to draw ink from a bottle through the nib, or it may require refilling with an eyedropper. Refill reservoirs, also known as cartridge converters, are available for some pens to use disposable cartridges.

A fountain pen

• A marker, or felt-tip pen, has a porous tip of fibrous material. The smallest, finest-tipped markers are used for writing on paper. Medium-tip markers are often used by children for coloring. Larger markers are used for writing on other surfaces such as corrugated boxes, whiteboards and for chalkboards, often called "liquid chalk" or "chalkboard markers." Markers with wide tips and bright but transparent ink, called highlighters, are used to mark existing text. Markers designed for children or for temporary writing (as with a whiteboard or overhead projector) typically use non-permanent inks. Large markers used to label shipping cases or other packages are usually permanent markers.
• A rollerball pen dispenses a water-based liquid or gel ink through a ball tip similar to that of a ballpoint pen. The less-viscous ink is more easily absorbed by paper than oil-based ink, and the pen moves more easily across a writing surface. The rollerball pen was initially designed to combine the convenience of a ballpoint pen with the smooth "wet ink" effect of a fountain pen. Gel inks are available in a range of colors, including metallic paint colors and glitter effects.

Historic pens[link]

These historic types of pens are no longer in common use:

• A dip pen (or nib pen) consists of a metal nib with capillary channels, like that a fountain pen, mounted on a handle or holder, often made of wood. A dip pen usually has no ink reservoir and must be repeatedly recharged with ink while drawing or writing. The dip pen has certain advantages over a fountain pen. It can use waterproof pigmented (particle-and-binder-based) inks, such as so-called India ink, drawing ink, or acrylic inks, which would destroy a fountain pen by clogging, as well as the traditional iron gall ink, which can cause corrosion in a fountain pen. Dip pens are now mainly used in illustration, calligraphy, and comics.
• The ink brush is the traditional writing implement in East Asian calligraphy. The body of the brush can be made from either bamboo, or rarer materials such as red sandalwood, glass, ivory, silver, and gold. The head of the brush can be made from the hair (or feathers) of a wide variety of animals, including the weasel, rabbit, deer, chicken, duck, goat, pig, tiger, etc. There is also a tradition in both China and Japan of making a brush using the hair of a newborn, as a once-in-a-lifetime souvenir for the child. This practice is associated with the legend of an ancient Chinese scholar who scored first in the Imperial examinations by using such a personalized brush. Calligraphy brushes are widely considered an extension of the calligrapher's arm. Today, calligraphy may also be done using a pen, but pen calligraphy does not enjoy the same prestige as traditional brush calligraphy.
• A quill is a pen made from a flight feather of a large bird, most often a goose. Quills were used as instruments for writing with ink before the metal dip pen, the fountain pen, and eventually the ballpoint pen came into use. Quill pens were used in medieval times to write on parchment or paper. The quill eventually replaced the reed pen.
• A reed pen is cut from a reed or bamboo, with a slit in a narrow tip. Its mechanism is essentially similar to that of a quill. The reed pen has almost disappeared but it is still used by young school students in some parts of India and Pakistan, who learn to write with them on small timber boards known as "Takhti". Popular belief has it that writing with a reed pen improves handwriting.^{[citation needed]}

History[link]

Ancient Indians were the first to use the pen. According to ancient text the earliest of pens made in India used bird feathers, bamboo sticks, etc. The old literature of Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharta used this kind of pen roughly 500 BC.^{[citation needed]} Ancient Egyptians had developed writing on papyrus scrolls when scribes used thin reed brushes or reed pens from the Juncus maritimus or sea rush.^[2] In his book A History of Writing, Steven Roger Fischer suggests that on the basis of finds at Saqqara, the reed pen might well have been used for writing on parchment as long ago as the First Dynasty or about 3000 BC. Reed pens continued to be used until the Middle Ages although they were slowly replaced by quills from about the 7th century. The reed pen, generally made from bamboo, is still used in some parts of Pakistan by young students and is used to write on small boards made of timber.^{[citation needed]}

The Quill pen was used in Qumran, Judea to write some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which date back to around 100 BC. The scrolls were written in Hebrew dialects with bird feathers or quills. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Europeans had difficulty in obtaining reeds^{[citation needed]} and began to use quills. There is a specific reference to quills in the writings of St. Isidore of Seville in the 7th century.^[3] Quill pens were still widely used in the 18th century, and were used to write and sign the Constitution of the United States in 1787.

A copper nib was found in the ruins of Pompei showing that metal nibs were used in the year 79.^[4] There is also a reference to 'a silver pen to carry ink in', in Samuel Pepys' diary for August 1663.^[5] 'New invented' metal pens are advertised in The Times in 1792. ^[6] A metal pen point was patented in 1803 but the patent was not commercially exploited. A patent for the manufacture of metal pens was advertised for sale by Bryan Donkin in 1811. ^[7] John Mitchell of Birmingham started to mass produce pens with metal nibs in 1822,^[8] and thereafter the quality of steel nibs had improved enough that dip pens with metal nibs came into generalized use.^[9]

M. Klein and Henry W. Wynne received US patent #68445 in 1867 for an ink chamber and delivery system in the handle of the fountain pen.

The earliest historical record of a pen employing a reservoir dates back to the 10th century. In 953, Ma'ād al-Mu'izz, the Fatimid Caliph of Egypt, demanded a pen which would not stain his hands or clothes, and was provided with a pen which held ink in a reservoir and delivered it to the nib.^[10] This pen may have been a fountain pen, but its mechanism remains unknown, and only one record mentioning it has been found. A later reservoir pen was developed in 1636. In his Deliciae Physico-Mathematicae (1636), German inventor Daniel Schwenter described a pen made from two quills. One quill served as a reservoir for ink inside the other quill. The ink was sealed inside the quill with cork. Ink was squeezed through a small hole to the writing point. In 1809, Bartholomew Folsch received a patent in England for a pen with an ink reservoir.^[11]

While a student in Paris, Romanian Petrache Poenaru invented the fountain pen, which the French Government patented in May 1827. Fountain pen patents and production then increased in the 1850s, especially steel pens produced by John Mitchell.

Waterman pen and fountain pens made for Air France’s Concorde

The first patent on a ballpoint pen was issued on October 30, 1888, to John J Loud.^[12] In 1938, László Bíró, a Hungarian newspaper editor, with the help of his brother George, a chemist, began to work on designing new types of pens including one with a tiny ball in its tip that was free to turn in a socket. As the pen moved along the paper, the ball rotated, picking up ink from the ink cartridge and leaving it on the paper. Bíró filed a British patent on June 15, 1938. In 1940 the Bíró brothers and a friend, Juan Jorge Meyne, moved to Argentina fleeing Nazi Germany and on June 10, filed another patent, and formed Bíró Pens of Argentina. By the summer of 1943 the first commercial models were available.^[13] Erasable ballpoint pens were introduced by Papermate in 1979 when the Erasermate was put on the market.^[14]

Modern marker pens

Slavoljub Eduard Penkala, a naturalized Croatian engineer and inventor of Polish-Dutch origin from the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia in Austria-Hungary, became renowned for further development of the mechanical pencil (1906) – then called an "automatic pencil" – and the first solid-ink fountain pen (1907). Collaborating with an entrepreneur by the name of Edmund Moster, he started the Penkala-Moster Company and built a pen-and-pencil factory that was one of the biggest in the world at the time. This company, now called TOZ-Penkala, still exists today. "TOZ" stands for "Tvornica olovaka Zagreb", meaning "Zagreb Pencil Factory".

In the 1960s, the fibre or felt-tipped pen was invented by Yukio Horie of the Tokyo Stationery Company, Japan.^[15] Papermate's Flair was among the first felt-tip pens to hit the U.S. market in the 1960s, and it has been the leader ever since. Marker pens and highlighters, both similar to felt pens have become popular in recent times.

Rollerball pens were introduced in the early 1970s. They make use of a mobile ball and liquid ink to produce a smoother line. Technological advances achieved during the late 1980s and early 1990s have improved the roller ball's overall performance. A porous point pen contains a point that is made of some porous material such as felt or ceramic. A high quality drafting pen will usually have a ceramic tip, since this wears well and does not broaden when pressure is applied while writing.

Although the invention of the typewriter and personal computer with the keyboard input method have changed how users write, the pen has not been entirely replaced.^[16] Higher end pens including types such as fountain pens are still a status symbol.^[17][18]

Manufacturers[link]

The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (November 2009)

United States[link]

Statistics on writing instruments (including pencils) from WIMA (the United States Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association) show that in 2005, retractable ball point pens were by far the most popular in the United States (26%), followed by standard ball point pens (14%). Other categories represented very small fractions (3% or less).^[19] There is however also a thriving industry in luxury pens, often fountain pens, sometimes priced at $1000 or more.^[20] Pens are also used as advertisements for business entrepreneurs. Companies use pens to advertise their company names to possible customers.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: pens

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Pens

Look up pen in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association