Ink has been used in India since at least the 4th century BC. This early Indian ink, called masi, was an admixture of several chemical components. The practice of writing with ink and a sharp pointed needle was common in early South India. Several Jain sutras were compiled using this medium. Ancient cultures around the world independently discovered how to formulate inks due to the need to write and draw. Recipes for production are derived from archaeological analyses or written texts themselves. The earliest inks from all civilizations appear to have been made with lampblack, a kind of soot collected as a by-product of fire. Ink was used in Ancient Egypt for writing and drawing on papyrus from at least the 26th century BC. Egyptian red and black inks included iron and ocher as pigments. These formulations also contained phosphate, sulfate, chloride, and carboxylate ions. Lead was sometimes used as a drier. The earliest Chinese inks may date to four millennia ago during the Neolithic Period. These included plant, animal, and mineral inks based on materials like graphite. They were ground with water and applied with ink brushes. Direct evidence for the earliest Chinese inks is found around 256 BC. This period marks the end of the Warring States era. These inks were produced from soot and animal glue. The preferred inks for drawing or painting on paper or silk came from the resin of pine trees between 50 and 100 years old. Indian documents written in Kharosthi with ink have been unearthed in Xinjiang.
Medieval Recipes And The Printing Press
About 1,600 years ago, a popular ink recipe was created that was used for centuries. Iron salts such as ferrous sulfate were mixed with tannin from gallnuts and a thickener. When first put to paper, this ink appeared bluish-black. Over time it faded to a dull brown. Scribes in medieval Europe wrote principally on parchment or vellum between AD 800 and 1500. One 12th century ink recipe called for hawthorn branches to be cut in the spring and left to dry. 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 product. In the 15th century, a new type of ink had to be developed in Europe for the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg. Gutenberg's dye was indelible, oil-based, and made from the soot of lamps mixed with varnish and egg white. Two types of ink were prevalent at the time: the Greek and Roman writing ink and the 12th century variety composed of ferrous sulfate, gall, gum, and water. 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. The reservoir pen dates back to 953 when Ma'ād al-Mu'izz demanded a pen that would not stain his hands or clothes.