Ink facts for kids
Ink is a special liquid used for writing, drawing, or printing. The word "ink" comes from Latin and means "colored water." You can find ink in pens, computer printers, and large printing presses. In some parts of the world, people even use ink with brushes to write. While black ink is very common, ink can actually be any color you can imagine! The very first inks were used a long time ago in Egypt, around 2600 BC.
What Is Ink Made Of?
The first inks ever made were called carbon inks. They were created from soot, which is mostly carbon, mixed with water and a sticky substance called gum arabic. If people wanted red ink, they would use iron oxide (like haematite) from ground-up rocks instead of soot.
Later, in Europe, people started using a different kind of ink called iron gall ink. Famous people like Johann Sebastian Bach and Leonardo da Vinci used this type of ink for their work. Today, most ink colors come from special man-made dyes.
How Ink Works in Pens
One challenge with many inks is that they can smudge if they get wet. This can ruin a drawing or writing! If you use water-based ink, it's best to write at a stable place, like a table.
However, the ink in a ballpoint pen is different. It's a type of gel that stays inside a thin, long cylinder (or tube) within the pen. This gel-like ink sticks to the sides of the tube, so it doesn't just fall out. This design means ballpoint pens can be used in many more situations than pens with water-based inks.
Images for kids
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Bottles of ink from Germany
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Writing ink and a quill
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Oak galls and iron(II) sulfate .
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Magnified line drawn by a fountain pen.
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A voter's thumb stained with indelible ink
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See also
In Spanish: Tinta para niños
