Sunday Mailbag: Ink Flow Problems?

Q: I have a question that involves pen and ink. I’m having trouble keeping the flow going on my nibs.  doesn’t take too long before it “jams up” and becomes unworkable.  This happens with most and different sizes.  I’m thinking the paper I’m using might have something to do with it (using cheap paper to practice on), or the brand of ink, or, I don’t know.  I’m also wondering if anybody else runs into this situation.

A: To answer the last part of that question: yes, EVERYONE has that problem. It happens a lot, but not with every other line. There can be a lot of causes for it.

Since you mentioned you are using cheap paper, that’s the first thing I would look at. Is there pulpy matter on the end of your pen nib after you go over a line that’s still wet, or as you work? If the fibers of the paper you are working on are loose/badly pressed they will come off and get pulpy in the ink. This will stick to the end of your pen and make a mess. I understand the need to use cheaper paper to practice on but if it’s really bad stuff it won’t help to practice on it. I’d recommend at least 400 series Strathmore Bristol for practicing. Pads are okay for that.

The ink can also be the problem. If your ink is too thick it will not flow off the end of the pen properly. Gravity has nothing to do with ink flow. It’s surface tension that cause the ink to be pulled off the pen nib and on to the surface of the paper. If the ink is too thick, it just sticks to the pen nib surface and won’t flow on to the page. Different inks have different levels of viscosity, and some are thicker than others. Leaving ink in an open inkwell will thicken it up over time with exposure to air. If you think your ink is too thick, try a different or fresh ink and see if that is better. I use a small inkwell and dispense just enough ink in it to work with. I actually think my ink (Pelikan’s Drawing Ink A) is a little too thin straight out of the bottle, so I leave the inkwell uncovered overnight for one night. Then after that one night I use some plastic wrap (the kitchen stuff, like Saran brand Clingwrap) and a rubber band to seal it up overnight. Adding a little more fresh ink to the inkwell as it get lower thins it a bit and keeps it from getting too thick while open all day while I use it. You can go for a long time this way, with the ink initially thickened up by the one overnight left open and then the gradual further thickening cut by small amounts of fresh ink as the ink levels go down when working.

If your ink is already too thick you can try adding a few drops of water to it, or a squirt of “Fantstik” cleaner. I was told by Joe Rubenstein that the Fantastik trick was what Wally Wood used to do with his ink. Joe was an assistant to Wood back in the day, and he told me Wally never covered up his inkwell. We used a big, shallow dish like a petri dish for his inkwell, so it had a large surface area and held a LOT of ink. He just left this open all the time, working or not. Then when he sat down to ink in the morning he’d spray a couple of squirts of Fantastik brand cleaner into the inkwell, and start inking. I guess the cleaner thinned the inks but the chemicals from it also did something to the ink that made it flow the way Wood liked. He’d add fresh ink to the dish as needed, but it held so much ink that he didn’t have to add to it every often. I have to believe a lot of the beautiful comic ink work he did over the years is actually loaded with cleaner chemicals. I hope it’s longevity is not compromised.

Another problem might be a bad nib. Every once and awhile a nib jut doesn’t work very well. Who knows why? Just one of those things. If I have a new nib that I cannot get to work very well I toss it and grab another. By the way I’ve heard some inkers say that nibs come with an oil coating on them, and you need to clean that off with either ammonia or by using lighter to heat up the pen nib and burn off the old before the ink flows right. That’s total BS.

Finally, the most common reason for ink flow to stop on your pen nib it that the surface of it is coated with old ink. The ink builds up and ink flows less well/consistently over old ink than it does over smooth metal. Every once and a while take a damp paper town and clean off the crusted inks from the nib until it is clean metal again. I probably do this once or twice and hour when steadily inking. Make sure you clean the bottom as well as the top surfaces. That usually fixes the ink flow problems until the buildup happens again.

Thanks to Eric Mikkelsen for the question. If you have a question you want answered about cartooning, illustration, MAD Magazine, caricature or similar, e-mail me and I’ll try and answer it here!