| Abstract: | SUMARRIES. Reading this text is possible because the black ink contrasts with the white paper it is printed upon. One can print a text or image upon other materials but not without ink, because this is what makes them visible due to the contrast with their carriers. Other ways to create such a contrast have been sought, such as cutting out letters or blind embossment. With the latter raking light causes the relief to throw a shadow which makes text or image visible. This is occasionally used in print-making and for visiting cards. Braille lettering enables the blind to read the raised dots. There are the idiosyncrasies of the several graphic techniques that require certain properties of their inks needed for printing successfully on a carrier. Oil-based printing ink on paper is the subject of this essay, their interrelation giving rise to a number of possible phenomena - like bleeding of the ink or browning of the paper - after printing. The emphasis will be on the printing ink. while the properties of paper are not under discussion here. This essay is limited to books and prints, images and texts on paper printed with an oil-based ink. It is likely that similar phenomena will be visible with other carriers and different kinds of objects. The little research done regarding printing ink on paper will be sketched first. Thereafter a brief survey of the principal graphic techniques and their history will be given, followed by a description of the properties and ingredients of printing inks. This is to create a better understanding of the phenomena described. Before continuing, a word on etymology. "Encre" (French), "ink" (English) and "inkt" (Dutch) can mean both the paste-like material used in printing as well as the watery material for writing: they are homonyms. In the context of the present article, the term "ink'' is used for the paste-like, oil-based material. "Printing", in English, means pressing an inked block, stone or plate (a printing form) and a carrier against each other. The more specific meaning of the term is "printing text", such as a printing press is a press for printing books. The term "printmaking" in English means making prints, i.e. printing images. More specifically it is used for printing works of art, thus not diagrams or reproductions. |
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