The history of writing is a long one and many different inks and other kinds of writing media have been used. This section covers the more common types of material and gives an assessment of their archival qualities and preservation problems.

Inks based on carbon black pigment

These can be called India ink or China ink. The pigment used is highly stable carbon black. The vehicle used is water, with additions to assist with adhesion, eg gum arabic or gelatine, and to ensure the ink doesn’t dry out in the bottle and flows easily, eg glycerine. Permanent inks of this type generally have a material such as shellac added which imparts insolubility to the dried ink. Even when not formulated to be especially water-resistant the inks tend to become water-resistant over time. Carbon black inks are highly resistant to fading and can be displayed for long periods with little concern.

Iron gall inks

These inks produce their colour through a chemical reaction between an iron salt and tannin from oak galls. They vary greatly in formulation and can include dyes and other additives such as gum arabic. Iron gall inks generally change from a rich black when new to a sepia colour over time. The inks are often quite acidic in nature and under the right conditions can eat right through paper causing what is known as ‘lacing’. Iron gall ink documents are fairly light fast and can be displayed for short periods with little danger.

Sepia ink

Traditionally ‘sepia’ is a red-brown ink made from the ink sacs of cuttlefish, which are dried and ground to a fine powder, then mixed with shellac. However in more recent times inks have been formulated from other pigments and dyes to replicate its desirable colouring. Iron gall ink, as it ages, also comes to resemble sepia ink. Traditional sepia ink is quite permanent and can be safely displayed for short periods. Other inks resembling sepia ink are of variable permanence depending on their makeup.

Coloured ink

Inks other than black can be created using various pigments and dyes. Examples are red inks based on Alizarin (a synthetic dye) or vermilion (a natural pigment) and blue inks based on Prussian blue (a dye) or ultramarine (a pigment). As with India ink, the vehicle is generally water with additives such as shellac, gum arabic or gelatine. Coloured inks vary greatly in permanence and, as a general rule, it is recommended that documents bearing such inks not be displayed for long periods.

Ballpoint / rollerball pen ink

These inks generally use a carrier of a quick-drying oil or similar liquid. Colours are dye-based and can vary with blue, black and red being the most common. In general the inks tend to have poor permanence, although there are exceptions. Display of documents bearing these inks is not recommended.

Fibre-tipped / felt-tipped pen ink

Fibre-tipped pens use a piece of synthetic sponge or felt to deliver their ink to the page from the ink reservoir. Inks used tend to be very thin, ie with a high carrier-to-dye ratio, to prevent them drying out within the fibre sponge. Thin pens of this type tend to use water-based inks in a variety of colours. Permanence of these inks tends to be poor and display is not recommended. Thicker fibre-tipped pens, often called ‘markers’ or ‘marking pens’, tend to use solvent-based inks. Certain of these, generally black in colour, can be quite permanent but this is not always the case, particularly for colours other than black.

Gel ink

Gel inks appeared on the market relatively recently. The carrier for the ink is a gel rather than a simple liquid. A gel is a colloidal dispersion in water, for example jelly. In the case of gel inks, the gel is made from natural gums and synthetic acrylics. The colouring materials in gel inks are generally pigments and the gel medium allows for a great variety of pigments to be used, including many vibrant colours, as well as metallic powders. This colour variety and strength makes gel pens very popular with children and scrapbookers. Although some gel pens are marketed as permanent, gel inks are generally classed as non-permanent, and display of documents bearing them is not recommended.

Stamping ink

Stamping inks are specially formulated not to dry out on stamp pads, but to dry quickly on use. Common colours are black, violet and red. Depending on the formulation, the inks can be water soluble and fugitive – this is particularly the case with violet and red. Display of documents bearing such inks is not recommended.

Lead pencil / graphite pencil

Pencils commonly called ‘lead’ pencils do not contain lead but rather use graphite, a naturally-occurring variety of carbon. The graphite is mixed with clay and fired at high temperatures to produce rods that are sandwiched between wood to produce pencils. Images produced using these pencils are extremely permanent, although they can be easily smudged or rubbed away. Pencil images are highly resistant to fading and can be displayed for long periods with little concern.

Coloured pencil

Coloured pencils are much like graphite pencils only with a coloured dye or pigment instead of the graphite. They may also have other additives to improve their working properties, such as synthetic resins, wax, kaolin, talc or chalk. Coloured pencils are of variable permanence depending on the pigments and dyes used, and care in displaying documents bearing them is recommended. A particular variety of the coloured pencil is the ‘copy pencil’ which has a highly water-soluble dye added to the lead – writing produced using these pencils is definitely not water resistant.

If you are creating a new document that you wish to last a long time it is important that the inks, pens and pencils you use are as permanent as possible. This section aims to give some guidance in choosing the best inks, pens and pencils to use.

There are many pens and inks on the market, and they vary significantly in quality. Although not always to be relied on, it is best to purchase an ink that is marketed as high quality and bears one or more of the terms: permanent, archival, indelible or lightfast.

It is difficult to make specific recommendations about pens and inks to use, but listed below are some currently-available pens, inks and pencils that are known to be permanent. There will be many others of similar quality available and this listing should be classed as indicative rather than exhaustive. It is not an endorsement of these products or a criticism of products not named.

Permanent inks, pens and pencils

• Pentel Document Pens (Permanent MR205), Staedtler Pigment Liners and Sakura Pigma® Micron pens are widely recognised as producing a permanent image. They are only available in black.
• Artline produce a range of fibre-tip marker pens classed as permanent, for example the Artline 50, 70, 90, 100 and 170 (in black, blue, green and red).
• An India ink manufactured to be permanent and waterproof is one of the best ways of producing a longlasting image. Examples of such inks on the market are Koh-I-Noor Ultradraw waterproof ink, Winsor & Newton waterproof India ink, and Higgins eternal permanent black ink. The inks can be purchased in a bottle and used with a nib pen or fountain pen. Rotring also produce a permanent black ink of this type which comes in a sealed cartridge for use in a cartridge pen such as the Rotring Rapidograph.
• Certain reliable manufacturers produce coloured inks which are classed as highly permanent or permanent (‘AA’ or ‘A’ – see definition for ‘permanent ink’ above). Examples are the range of calligraphy inks produced by Winsor & Newton, the eternal inks produced by Noodler’s and the Penman inks produced by Scribblers.
• A standard graphite pencil is inexpensive and produces an extremely permanent image.