Ink Flow - ways you cope

[jde]

In another thread, the following question was posed:

I too love Diamine Syrah but found it to be slightly less lubricated then I normally like. I like very wet easy flowing inks. That being said Syrah is my favorite color period. Any idea on how to make this flow a hair easier????

Hope the OP aka AJ doesn't mind that I've reposted his (?) question here so as to no hijack the Diamine Syrah thread! (And is this a dry ink, btw? Haven't used it myself.)

While I've seen some discussion about ink flow and dry inks, thought it was an opportunity to add some more collective thoughts to the subject.

So, my friends, let's talk about how we cope with inks that are on the dry end of the scale. Assuming the pen is clean, functioning just fine, do you:

• Switch to a better flowing ink
• Add dishwashing liquid (and how much?)
• Add Photo Flo (say what? 'splain!)
• Add glycerin (huh?)
• Something else entirely

Me? I've mostly just switched to a better flowing ink. (Call me lazy if you must.) Since I have glycerin on hand I'd be inclined to try it first, if I needed to. Glycerin was recommended to me by Gerry Berg (a well-known Sheaffer vac-fill restorer & neat guy). His recommendation is 3 to 4 drops of pure glycerine for every 1 ounce of ink. (Also helps lube a piston pen, too.)

A lot of folks, I know, use the dishwashing liquid method. Richard Binder has recommended (in other places, other threads) against this because of the mold potential. Thoughts about that as well?

Cheers,
Julie

[Laura N]

I like dry inks, since so many of my pens seem very wet. But if I didn't, what I'd do is dilute the ink slightly with a little water. Dilution also works to make a wet ink more dry. I can't explain that, but in practice it works. If you dilute just a small amount, using a sample vial, you don't risk the rest of the ink bottle.

Photo-flo is used when washing black and white film after you've developed it, so the film dries without streaks. It basically is a very diluted and safe detergent solution made for film. You can order it online from B&H or Freestyle, and one bottle will last forever. Though I have Photo-flo, I still would try water first.

[KrazyIvan]

Adding to the "Something Else Entirely" column, I asked the following question on another forum and never received a response. On the instructions for JB's Perfect Pen Flush, it states:

"Finally, flush several times with fresh water. If you omit this final flushing step, the pen's flow will not be as it should be; J.B.'s Perfect Pen Flush contains wetting agents that will cause excessive flow."

So, would it not stand to reason that a few drops of the pen flush might help make a dry ink flow better? It is safe for pens so you should not be risking anything. I have a bottle of the stuff but have not tried it yet.

[AndyT]

So, would it not stand to reason that a few drops of the pen flush might help make a dry ink flow better?

Yeah, I was going to suggest doing a normal ammonia or detergent flush, and just not making a very good job of getting rid of it afterwards. That said, the Photo-flo idea is ideal for me should the need ever arise: thanks Laura.

[fncll]

I've used Glycerin a few times---cheaply obtained from the medicine/pharmacy area of a dept store---and it works well. It's much the same as you would get if you used a plain dishwashing liquid, but without the additional chemicals.

[jacksterp]

I pretty much accept whatever outcome the pen "gods" give me. If certain inks perform less than satisfactorily in certain pens - oh well. Hopefully they will exhibit better behavior in another. Although I try, and like, to pair inks with pens and their nibs - usually for aesthetic reasons - if I must use i.e. orange ink in a green pen, so be it.

I am, however, fun at parties.

[jde]

Thanks Laura, and everyone who weighed in! I think that sharing our experience in this way is very helpful to making this forum useful to newbies to our pen addiction.

Anyone approaching these solutions for the first time, should of course expect with any solution (water, glycerin, Photo Flo) it will take some experimenting to find the flow that works for the ink and the person.

Adding to the "Something Else Entirely" column, I asked the following question on another forum and never received a response. On the instructions for JB's Perfect Pen Flush, it states:

"Finally, flush several times with fresh water. If you omit this final flushing step, the pen's flow will not be as it should be; J.B.'s Perfect Pen Flush contains wetting agents that will cause excessive flow."

So, would it not stand to reason that a few drops of the pen flush might help make a dry ink flow better? It is safe for pens so you should not be risking anything. I have a bottle of the stuff but have not tried it yet.

Er... yeah! Although bear in mind that JB's Perfect Pen Flush contains some ammonia, and the flush is meant for cleaning, not as an additive to ink. Although, this alternative would be in line with AndyT's "just not making a very good job of getting rid of it..."

I guess no one here is using Photo Flo... one can always peruse FPN for details on that.

[ardgedee]

If glycerin and Photo-Flo work identically for pen purposes, there's probably no point in buying Photo-Flo. Photo-Flo can't really be used for anything except film processing and ink dilution*. Glycerin is easier to find and can be used for other things -- and if you never use it for anything else, a 100ml bottle is probably a lifetime's supply.

*(After writing that, I looked it up, and it sounds like some people use it for cleaning their vinyl records, so I guess it's useful as a general-purpose surfactant, as long as you're disinclined to lick the surface afterwards.)

[Newjelan]

I've used Glycerin a few times---cheaply obtained from the medicine/pharmacy area of a dept store---and it works well. It's much the same as you would get if you used a plain dishwashing liquid, but without the additional chemicals.

Sounds good, but how much ink is 1 ounce? I only know mls.

[earthdawn]

I've used Glycerin a few times---cheaply obtained from the medicine/pharmacy area of a dept store---and it works well. It's much the same as you would get if you used a plain dishwashing liquid, but without the additional chemicals.

Sounds good, but how much ink is 1 ounce? I only know mls.

1 ounce is just under 30 mls

[ac12]

I presume the problem is a DRY pen that is inked with a dry ink.

I would look at the pen first, not the ink.

First I would give the pen a GOOD cleaning.

A dry pen could simply be a pen where the feed channels are partially blocked with dry ink or other gunk.
I recently cleaned the feed channels of a pen that barely wrote. Now it is a WET pen with Waterman ink, and I need to switch to a dry ink.
The problem with this is you need to be able to get the feed out of the section to clean the feed channels.

Another problem could be the slit in the nib. I had another pen where there was enough paper dust and stuff in the slit that it blocked the flow of ink. Flossing the slit with a 0.001 sheet of brass to clean the slit cleared up the problem and the pen writes well again.

Only after I know the pen is in good shape, and if the pen is still dry, then I look at the ink.
I would try a wetter ink, such as Waterman, rather than doping the ink you have.
But if you ink with your own ink, then you have to do a complete flush of the old ink before putting Waterman (or other wet ink) into the pen.
To make thing faster, I might just take a short cut and load Waterman ink after I cleaned the pen, not bothering to go back to the original ink.

[jde]

Only after I know the pen is in good shape, and if the pen is still dry, then I look at the ink.

Yes, this is the presumption of this thread: that given a pen that is in good, clean health, what do you do when confronted with an ink on the dry side of the scale.

Thanks for chiming in.