Mention the work "ink" in a conversation at the office today and most people immediately think of computer printers and fax machines. Ink is a popular term considering how many pictures and documents are printed around the world every day using a computer printer, both at home and in a business environment. It almost seems we're always running low on ink. Printing of this nature has become a daily occurrence since personal computers have become part of our daily lives. There is obviously no sign of computer printers going away any time soon. Aside from printer ink though, there are other interesting types of ink in existence today, with some forms of ink dating back centuries.

Ink is defined as a liquid or semi-viscous substance pigmented to various colors and used for writing, drawing, marking, and printing. Composition and consistency of inks are varied according to their specific use. Every ink however, must have two basic components, the pigment, or coloring, and the vehicle, the liquid with which allows the ink to be dispersed. Some of the most commonly used inks are writing ink, printing ink, drawing ink, and even invisible ink. Ink happens to be remarkably similar to paint with its only difference being its actual use.

Some of the earliest inks were composed of a substance called lampblack which is a form of soot or carbon material typically black in color. This was mixed with a glue or gum along with water to form a sort of ink-paste. These inks were labeled as india inks and could be a form of the first permanent ink because the carbon like material is inert and cannot be bleached or faded by direct sunlight. There are many color variants for these india inks but they use artificial dyes instead of the lampblack or carbon substances.

The most permanent of permanent inks however is a version called iron gall ink. It is made using iron salts and gallic acid, a complex phenolic substance called tannin, and of course, some water. This type of ink actually does not show up well when applied to paper until it dries. At this time, the ink actually oxidizes and changes state with the black color as a result. This type of ink may even include some blue dye if it is used for writing or printing because is it difficult to see until it has oxidized. This type of ink could be found in some early fountain pens. Colors were introduced to the ink-making process in the early eighteenth century and the process of manufacturing ink has only gotten more elaborate since then.

The twentieth century brought about many more complexities regarding ink production. A wide variety of synthetically produced colored dyes and a laundry-list of chemicals are used today in ink manufacturing. Ink is flexible, it can be used in countless fashions and in a wide assortment of printers and printing presses. There are permanent inks and there are even inks which are erasable using a standard pencil eraser. Aside from the common ink pen, there are inks sold in jars and inks sold in plastic cartriges. Where will we see ink next? It's obvious, the technology involved in ink manufacturing as well as the way we market it will continue to evolve based on the needs of the human race.