simactic - 23-10-2010 at 11:52
I've been looking everywhere on google. No one state exactly what elements or what main elements create pen ink. I wish to find out what element makes
the pen ink black, or any other color.
Nicodem - 23-10-2010 at 11:58
The only element I can think of that was ever used in liquid inks is carbon for black. Pen ink use organic compounds for dyes. Which ones I do not
know, but I guess you can find out by searching the MSDS sheets, or find some book or site on the topic.
simactic - 23-10-2010 at 12:34
Well I don't need to know the elements for every color, but how about blue?
Nicodem - 23-10-2010 at 13:03
Like I already said, it is organic compounds that are used as dyes in pen inks, not elements.
not_important - 23-10-2010 at 14:19
A Google search for "ink components"had several good references on the 1st page, including this PDF http://www.kerleyink.com/downloads_2/2009_ink_components_for...
Note that as with most trade/technical publications, common or industry names are used and you will have to do further research to discover what those
are. For instance that document states that one of their blue inks uses Alkali Blue, which is described in more detail here : http://stainsfile.info/StainsFile/dyes/42750.htm
I think you'll have to do a lot of hunting to find one source that gives breakdowns of particular inks to simple compounds, those making the inks are
happy using the dye or dye mixture names, those producing the dyes don't worry too much about specific applications and often use industry trade names
for the starting compounds they use to synthesize to dyes from.
DDTea - 24-10-2010 at 00:20
I know that thiodiglycol is used in pen inks...kind of neat if you're into that sort of thing 
fractional - 24-10-2010 at 01:13
A commonly used dye in blue inks is methylene blue. Interestingly, methylene blue is also a common microscopic stain and some reference books state
that ink from ink-cartridges can be used for staining objects for microscopy (in particular bacteria), giving "quite satisfactory results".
http://stainsfile.info/StainsFile/dyes/52015.htm
Rosco Bodine - 30-10-2010 at 09:14
Carbon as lampblack is a black pigment for India ink. Iron oxide as magnetite of nanocrystalline particles is a pigment for black ink, and there are
soluble iron containing ink formulations which oxidize during drying to form a black insoluble iron precipitate, for example the tannate which is then
trapped indelibly in the paper fiber, and these permanent waterproof after drying inks are useful for legal documents. There are other dye inks and
combination dye and pigment ink formulas.