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Colored Inks

Gold Ink.

Mosaic gold, 2 parts, gum Arabic, 1 part, are rubbed up with water until reduced to a proper condition.

Silver Ink.

Triturate in a mortar equal parts of silver foil and sulphate of potassa, until reduced to a fine powder; then wash out the salt, and mix the residue with a mucilage of equal parts of gum Arabic and water.

Brown Ink.

Digest powdered catechu, 4 parts, with water, 60 parts, for some hours; filter, and add sufficient of a solution of bichromate of potassa, 1 part in 16 of water.

Yellow Ink. ter, 24 parts.

Blue Ink.

Triturate best Prussian blue, 6 parts, with a solution of 1 part of oxalic acid in 6 of water, and towards the end of of an hour or so add gradually gum Arabic, 18 parts, and water, 280. Pour off clear.

Red Inks. 1. Pernambuco-wood, 4 parts; alum and cream of tartar, each 1 part, with 30 of water; boil down to 16 parts, let stand, pour off, filter, and dissolve in the liquid gum Arabic, 1½ parts; white sugar, 1 part. 2. Digest powdered cochineal, 8 parts, and carbonate of potash, 16 parts, in 144 of water, for 24 hours; then boil up with powdered alum, 4 parts, and add 24 of cream of tartar, with 3 parts of tartaric acid, and, when effervescence has ceased, another part of the acid, or enough to produce the color; let cool, filter, and boil the residue on the filter with 12 parts of water; filter again, mix the liquids and dissolve in them 24 parts of gum Arabic, and lastly part of oil of cloves. No iron vessels must be used in this process. 3. Digest powdered cochineal, 16 parts; oxalic acid, 2 parts; dilute acetic acid, 80 parts; distilled water, 40 parts, for 36 hours; then add powdered alum, 1 part; gum Arabic, 1 to 10; shake up, let stand for 12 hours, and strain. 4. Dissolve 1 part of carmine in 8 to 10 parts of aqua ammonia, and add mucilage of gum Arabic sufficient to reduce it properly.

Violet Ink.

Eight parts of logwood and 64 parts of water; boil down to one-half, then strain and add 1 part of chloride of tin.

Green Inks. 1. Digest 1 part of gamboge with from 7 to 10 parts of the blue ink. 2. To powdered bichromate of potassa, 8 parts, contained in a porcelain dish, add oil of vitriol, 8 parts, previously diluted with 64 of water; then heat, and, while evaporating, add gradually 24 parts of alcohol, and reduce to 56 parts, which filter, and in the clear liquor dissolve 8 parts of gum Arabic.

Crimson Ink.

A beautiful crimson ink is made by mixing red ink No. 1 with the violet ink; about equal parts will answer.

The parts given are those of weight, not measure. The mucilage of gum Arabic prevents the fine particles of color falling to the bottom in the form of a sediment. Sugar gives to inks a glossy appearance, but very little of it should be used, as Macerate gamboge, 1 part (or 1½); alum, part; it is liable to make the ink sticky.