We Tend To Take Promotional Pen Ink For Granted
Promotional pens rely off course on ink. No ink. No pen and we are not just talking about the inks used in screen printing to apply your branding to a preferred promotional pen. Here we are discussing the inks used within your pens. So what is ink and how is it made?
Ink is a liquid but one that contains pigments and/or dyes, solvents, resins, lubricants, solubilizers, surfactants, particulate matter, fluorescers, and other materials. The general formula for an ink will include colarants, vehicles (or binders), additives and carrier substances.
As you move the pen across a surface, the ink is released from its holder (normally a straw-like stick or cartridge). For screen-printing branding onto promotional pens, thicker inks or even pastes are used. It is a matter of application and process but the principle is the same. It is the make-up constituents of the ink that control its flow and thickness, and to a great degree its appearance when dry. We know from promotional pens that there are many types of pen available and the ink within them can generally be grouped into four classes: aqueous, liquid, paste and powder.
Ink has off course been around for thousands of years and ancient cultures independently discovered and formulated their own inks based on local materials and processes, for writing and drawing. The ink we know today generated in the 12th century BC in China, where it was derived from sources including natural plants, animals and minerals such as graphite that were ground down and mixed with water. In India ink originated around the 4th century BC and comprised burnt bones, tar and pitch. By contrast in acient Rome Atramentum was used.
In more moden times ink fountain pens were the norm until their popularity was displaced by the invention of the ballpoint pen. Printing itself took another dimension with the advent of the personal computer as it opened up the potential of self-printing to a wider audience who could produce professional looking documents using ink-based jet printers.
Today the popular promotional pens are ballpoint pens and these are generally available with either black and blue ink. Gel pens are a good alternative but have a price premium by comparison.
Posted in Promotional Pens
