India ink

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"Indian ink" redirects here. For the play by Tom Stoppard, see Indian Ink (play).

India ink (or Indian ink in British English), also called Chinese ink, is a simple black ink once widely used for writing and printing, and now more commonly used for drawing, especially when inking comics and comic strips. Indian ink usually is not suitable for fountain pens, as it will readily clog the pen. An exception to this is Pelikan Fount India, which does not contain shellac, the substance which can cause clogging.

Contents

[edit] History

The ink used in early India since at least the 4th century BC was called masi, which was an admixture of several chemical components.[1] Indian documents written in Kharosthi with ink have been unearthed in Chinese Turkestan.[2] The practice of writing with ink and a sharp pointed needle was common in early South India.[3] Several Jain sutras in India were compiled in ink.[4] In India, the carbon black from which India ink is produced is obtained by burning bones, tar, pitch, and other substances.[5]

[edit] Uses other than writing

  • Hanetsuki (羽根突き, 羽子突き) is a Japanese traditional game, similar to badminton, played by girls at the New Year with a rectangular wooden paddle called a hagoita, and a brightly-colored shuttlecock. The shuttlecock must be kept in the air as long as possible. Girls who fail to hit the shuttlecock get marked on the face with Indian ink.
  • Indian ink can also be used for home-made tattoos (sometimes called "stick and poke" or "prison" tattoos), by repeatedly stabbing the skin with a sharp sewing needle wrapped in ink-soaked thread.
  • In pathology laboratories, Indian ink is applied to surgically removed tissue specimens to help maintain orientation and indicate tumor resection margins. To avoid having an inky mess, the painted tissue is sprayed with acetic acid, which acts as a mordant, "fixing" the ink so it doesn't track everywhere. This ink is used because it survives tissue processing, during which time samples of tissue are bathed in alcohol and xylene before being embedded in paraffin wax, as part of making glass microscope slides. When viewed under the microscope, the ink at the tissue edge informs the pathologist of the surgical resection margin or other point of interest. Distance from the tumor to the edge of the specimen is an important prognostic indicator that surgeons and oncologists use to decide follow-up treatment options.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Banerji, page 673
  2. ^ Sircar, page 206
  3. ^ Sircar, page 62
  4. ^ Sircar, page 67
  5. ^ "India ink." in Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.

[edit] References

  • Banerji, Sures Chandra (1989). A Companion to Sanskrit Literature. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 812080063X.
  • Sircar, D.C. (1996).Indian epigraphy. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 8120811666.