How is calligraphy ink made? What ingredients do they use to make calligraphy ink? How is Chinese ink made? Let’s find all of these answers in this article.

How is Calligraphy Ink Made? Calligraphy ink is made by mixing together various compounds such as Dye/ pigment, binder, solvents. These compounds are mixed with supporting elements such as water or alcohol. And those ingredients are mixed without a definite ratio. Ratio is deferred upon purpose of using ink, and companies.

Read more below to get more information.

How is Calligraphy Ink Made?

Now let’s get in depth. There are mainly two types of ink we want to consider here. First is Water-based ink and second is oil-based ink.

At first there was only one type of ink available in the market. Which is a general type of ink, oil-based ink.

These days it’s a common ink. And people used to use it normally. It is made with pigment (compound) and alcohol. The supporting ingredient here is alcohol. 

So all of the ink basically contains pigment and alcohol. Even nowadays.

But then a new invention happened. And water-based ink came on the market.

In water-based ink they replaced alcohol with water. The alcohol is flammable, so ink could also catch fire. Therefore to reduce this risk, people invented water-based Ink.

Water-based inks are free from harsh chemicals. It is environmentally friendly. And also they get washed easily from hand.

There are no any harmful chemicals or solvents used in water-based ink. It’s just pigment and water. Therefore it is a lot safer.

So now in the market there are two types of ink: water-based and oil-based (non-water-based). The difference in making both is water-based ink is made from water rather than alcohol, plastic/PVC. And it does not have harmful chemicals in it.

Also inks can be dye based or pigment based. Means if ink is water-based and pigment based then the water is mixed with pigment. or if it’s dye based then the water is mixed with a dye. 

Dyes are made from liquid solutions. Pigments are made from finely ground particles suspended in a medium.

It is not easy to produce an ink and it is not hard to become an ink. For this you have to get some best formula and methods for it. You can get the formula from the needham-ink.

And there are also other types of ink like waterproof ink. But it is not much different from oil-based ink, therefore I didn’t cover it in this article.

If you want to get more information about inks, visit this article. It has answers to all the questions about inks.- Ultimate Calligraphy Ink Master Guide

Is Calligraphy Ink Different From Normal Ink?

Calligraphy ink is very different from normal inks. Every ink has its purpose to use. Calligraphy ink has to be thick and normal inks are not thick comparatively Calligraphy ink. Chemical compounds are also different in every ink.

Every ink is made for different purposes, therefore its characteristics are different.

For example: Calligraphy ink is made for writing on paper, therefore hygiene here is not that important. Also It has to be thick because it is made for work with dip pens also. If ink is thick then it will work great with dip pens.

So every ink is made for a different purpose, therefore the ratio of ingredients are different according to the purpose of the ink. But all of the ink contains pretty much the same ingredients that we mentioned above.

All the ink contains pigment, dye, binder, solvent and either water or alcohol (Sometimes Plastic/ PVC). The ratio is deferred depending on the purpose of the ink. Whether ink has to be thick, thin, whether it has to be dry quick or slow, and the color of ink. 

Also one more thing is to consider while making ink i.e Hygiene. It is the most important factor in tattoo ink. 

Tattoo inks have to be very hygienic because tattoo ink gets injected to our skin. Therefore hygiene there is very essential.

Other inks are made for writing on the paper, therefore hygiene doesn’t matter here. And you can use any chemical in it.

But for tattoo ink, it has to be hygienic and does not contain harmful chemicals. 

Is Calligraphy Ink Oil Based?

Is Calligraphy Ink Oil Based? Most calligraphy inks are oil based. But some companies sell water-based ink for calligraphy. You should look at the bottle to see whether your ink is oil based or water based. We made a list for it. You can check the list below to see whether your ink is oil based or water based.

There are both types of water based and oil based ink available in the market for calligraphy. Some ink is water based and some is oil-based.

If ink mentioned it is water-based then it is water based. Otherwise if nothing is mentioned on the bottle or by the company then it is oil based ink.

Oil based ink consists of pigment suspended in an oil vehicle, usually plate oil. Water based ink consists of water for base. It is made with mixing water and pigment. 

You can check the chart below for specific ink models. Checking whether it is water based or oil based.

ZIG KURETAKE Calligraphy SUMI Ink	Water-based
Yasutomo Sumi Ink	Oil-based
DALER ROWNEY Calligraphy Ink	Acrylic-based
Speedball calligraphy ink	Oil-based
CRETACOLOR Calligraphy Ink	Oil-based
Winsor & Newton Calligraphy Ink	Water-based
Isomars Calligraphy Dip Pen Ink	Water-based
Zig Sumi ink	Water-based
Pilot Calligraphy Ink	Oil-based
Dr. Ph. Martin’s	Water-based
Dry sumi ink	Oil-based
Noodle’s water-based ink	Water-based

There are some commonly used ink, and whether they are water-based or oil-based.