Ink Stains

Abstract:

Which Type of Ink will Stain the Worst

I had chose the question, which type of ink will stain cloth the worst. With the question, which ink will stain cloth the worst, I will figure out which of several inks will stain two types of fabrics the worst. I thought that the Authentic Models ink would stain the fabric the worst, staying on the cloth the longest, as it had once stained the metal end piece of a dip pen I use, but metal and cloth may stain differently. I thought that the feather ink would come off the quickest as it was a fairly cheap ink with no name brand.

The first fabric was a stretchier, almost sports-clothes-like piece of cloth, that had a blue color. The second was a normal piece of a plain white shirt. Both cloth scraps had been cut out of clothes I already owned and had grown out of. The inks used were mainly used for calligraphy so they had already been pre packaged in bottles, they include: Inchiostro Finissimo ink(blue), Speedball Calligraphy ink(silver), Authentic Models-pallet for pens(brown), “The Feather Pen ink”(brown), Gullor ink cartridges(brown), Pilot Varsity Disposable Fountain Pen(black), V301(black). The first thing I did to start off my project was to, write down abbreviated letters of each of the inks on a piece of cardboard laid between the fabrics to serve as a marker as to which ink is which. I then, marked the cloths following the order of the previously marked cardboard, I left them to dry after that.

When at least a day had passed I checked the fabrics to see how the ink has settled, it had bled through slightly on the stretchier fabric and absorbed mostly on the second. When washed under warm water all of the ink except the speedball calligraphy ink faded greatly on the first fabric. The total visibility of the inks decreased drastically from when they were originally marked. Some of the inks were still visible but they were not as much as they used to be. On the second fabric the inks definitely stayed on longer, as only one ink had faded almost entirely. I thought, after the first fabric, that the silver ink may stay on the longest underwater but may come off if scrubbed, the silver ink however had faded more on the second fabric, I know this is probably correct but I also think that if under the water longer, could be washed off nearly entirely. Still on the second fabric, the Speedball Calligraphy ink faded much more than it did on the first and was barely visible after the wash, the overall least visible is the Gullor ink cartridges ink though. The most apparent ink to stay on the fabric was the V301 ink, that result may be an effect from the fact that it was on the edge of the fabric and may have gotten the least water.

In this experiment I have learned that inks stain differently depending on the fabric it has been marked on. On stretchier fabrics like exorcise shirts or swim suits, the inks come off easier than on a normal fabric like a T-shirt or sweatpants. On them the ink soaks into the cotten and while it does wash off some, it won’t come off completely. My hypothesis was far from the truth when I was guessing which ink would stain worse, the Speedball ink was a cheaper one I had found at a Joann’s in South Carolina, so I had thought it would wash off the easiest but it stayed on longer than all the other inks I had tested on the stretchy fabric. My second hypothesis, that the ink staining would vary on the types of fabrics used, I was correct as my tests had different results than I had expected.

Board:

Graph:

(Blue=Before;Red=After)

Data:

(Fabrics on board.)

Fabric 1: Inks decreased most, Winner: Speedball Calligraphy Ink

Fabric 2: Inks stayed most visible, Winner: V301