A Question about \"Printer\'s Ink\"...

[awong]

Hello all,
I hope someone on this list can help me with this question...although I hear this is mostly used by the Historical Painters...

What is Printer\'s Ink? And more importantly, why is a brand name never mentioned?

Everyone mentions \"...Citadel Somesuch White...\" or \"...Vallejo Whatjama Red...\" but Printer\'s Ink is always just \"...Printers Ink...\".

Does it come in a tube? Tin? Pot? Who\'s brand is best (or is this a Brand?)? I hear it\'s \"expensive\" which is a relative term. Has anyone bought some recently and would be willing to offer up their numbers?

Please, if anyone can help, you\'ve got my ear!

Many Thanks from a befuddled guy.

-AW

 

[Dragonsreach]

It is exactly that Printers ink the same stuff used in Newsprint and or some screen printing processes.

Somem Art shops made hold stocks of it.

 

[Springbok]

I\'m a screen printer! Yayyy! Ehem... sorry about that.lol

I mostly use Sericol plastisol ink, it comes in 1 and 5 litre tubs and costs about £65 for 1 litre and about £110 for 5

 

[awong]

Thanks guys!

Springbok, does this ink thin with normal paint thinners or turps?

I\'m seeing 1 quart tubs at $15.00 but this is a Plasisol textile ink. Is this the same thing?
Have you ever attempted to paint minis with your metallic inks?

I\'ll also have a look in our local art supply shops.

thanks
AW

 

[Springbok]

The plastisol textile stuff sounds similar to mine, good price too!
The make-up of the ink makes it almost useless if thinned, its also an oil based product.
The ink is designed for application onto cotton and man made fibres, so that would be problem #1 if you were planning to paint miniatures with it, #2 would be that you need to heat the ink up to a 190 degrees celsius for about 20 seconds before it cures.

Hope that helps

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Check the \'lightfast\' rating. This is how well does the color hold up when exposed to light. Some can fade A LOT.

 

[Mark Yungblut]

I am a historical painter/ sculptor and I have been using metallic printers inks for years. The thing I REALLY like about them is the versatility.

I treat them like any other pigment that needs a carrier. For quick drying I use Humbrol clear and the carrier. For extended painting times I mix them with linseed oil and basically make an oil paint. The benefit to the metallic printers inks are how fine the grain of the pigment is and that is nearly no grain. It is satin smooth.

Cheers,

Mark

 

[awong]

Thank you Mark,
Do you recall the brand name of your inks? Do you remember where you purchased these and would you know how much they might cost these days?

Thanks
AWhang

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Some oil colors can be good for glazing.....some. There\'s a transparency to them and they go on SO THINLY. I\'ve ocassionaly used an oil based alykid black which you can pull a REAL FINE line with for a long way - that is, using the right brush. Some watercolor brushes can be good for lines....but I stray!!

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by awong
Do you recall the brand name of your inks?

Meant to post to this thread earlier: most hobbyists don\'t get their printers\' ink in the original container (for good reason, the small tubs are huuuge by our standards) but repackaged in some way. So few people know what the original brand name is.

The type of ink generally referred to is a type of offset lithography / offset litho ink, not for other kinds of printing. It is usually a thick paste in consistency, sometimes a little less viscous, like oil paint.

Some dry by themselves if painted on thinly enough (by brushing out or via dilution) but this may take a number of days, others either won\'t dry properly or seemingly at all unless blended with something like gloss varnish, alkyd medium (e.g. Liquin) or a drying oil such as linseed.

Best of luck finding a supplier as in a lot of cases you\'ll never see a better metallic finish! But do be aware these vary so the results might not be as good as some examples you\'ve seen. Personally I don\'t think they\'re worth it for silver, steel, iron etc., only for the yellow metals.

Incidentally these can usually be airbrushed if thinned sufficiently.

Einion

 

[awong]

Thanks to everyone for their replies!

Einion, I came to the very same conclusion when I checked out michtoy.com and saw pictures of what was being offered...it was a quantity shipping in a plastic 35mm film canisterlol.

I went to my local art supply shop and found some Speedball Acrylic Printing Ink (Gold and Silver) and I\'m starting to experiment with that. My first attempt is using it mixed with Liquitex Matte medium, later glazed with Tamiya Smoke and clears.
Promising, but hardly \"grainless\".

Thanks again to everyone for their time and expertise!

-AW

 

[Mike S.]

Originally posted by awong
Thanks to everyone for their replies!

Einion, I came to the very same conclusion when I checked out michtoy.com and saw pictures of what was being offered...it was a quantity shipping in a plastic 35mm film canisterlol.

-AW

As a Historical Miniatures artist, I can confirm that a full 35mm film canister is all you will need for a lifetime, or very nearly.

 

[awong]

Hello MikeS.

Would you be able to give me a few pointers on how best to use the stuff?
I\'ve read that it needs to be mixed with either binders or other paints.
Does that mean that it would be safe to mix with acrylic medium and /or acrylic paints?

Do you dilute it down and just float layers onto the surface?

Any hints and tricks to use this would be greatly appreciated.
or...
If you have links to good articles on how best to work with Printer\'s Ink, would you mind sending those?

Many Thanks
-AW

P.S. would you recomment one \"brand\" over another?

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by awong
I\'ve read that it needs to be mixed with either binders or other paints.
Does that mean that it would be safe to mix with acrylic medium and /or acrylic paints?

It\'s oil-based, so it\'ll only mix with the right type of organic solvents or oils.

You can of course use acrylics/vinyl paints under or over it.

Originally posted by awong
Do you dilute it down and just float layers onto the surface?

Any hints and tricks to use this would be greatly appreciated.

Generally you mix it with Liquin or another alkyd medium or a drying oil, then thin down with spirits or turps if you want to (some people paint it on thicker and brush it out, other people thin it down to a fluid consistency and sort of float it on).

If you do a search on planetFigure for the words \'printers\' and \'liquin\' or \'linseed\' you should find most of the many threads that mention it.

Einion

 

[awong]

Thanks Einion,
I\'ll have a go at planetFigure.
-AW

 

[BloodFather of Kharnath]

I know I am rezzing this, but I can't let confusion reign. The OP, it seems, ended up purchasing an ACRYLIC based printer's ink. The stuff that Einion was talking about was an oil based ink. Thus the advice he provides in his last post is inapplicable. The OP bought Speedball Acrylic Printers Ink, but Einion and other oil guys were talking about offset litho ink, which incidentally is not an acrylic based product.

Hope me this is meaning full to anyone that reads this years later.