Test: Inks Vs Water

Problem:

Inks are very difficult to get out of paper if they are absorbed. Many of the components are dyes and finely ground particulates. Their removal may need a multi stage approach to wash them from paper.

Method:

To test the best solvents for inked cards and paper I user a recipe card and marked it with a number of pends markers and even a pencil

Image 1. Recipe card 'before' From left to right, blue permanent marker, black permanent marker, pencil, red pen, blue pen, black ballpoint pen, black ballpoint pen, pink highlighter, black ballpoint pen.

Placing this in a room temperature water bath of filtered water, I let it sit for exactly 1 hour.

Image 2. Recipe card 'after' From left to right, blue permanent marker, black permanent marker, pencil, red pen, blue pen, black ballpoint pen, black ballpoint pen, pink highlighter, black ballpoint pen.

Results:

The hilighter was almost completely removed and was only about 5-10% visible. A longer wash or a suction table may be more effective.

None of the other inks were soluble in filtered water. Although the blue pen and red pen did lighten slightly likely due to some of its composition being water soluble it was still approximately 90% visible.