Re: How is ink made?

Dear Ira,

Any type of ink is made up of three constituents: a colorant (about 1-5 
weight percent), a solvent (liquid vehicle, very often water) and a 
binder. Often further additives are used to prevent the ink from drying to 
quickly in the pen. 
The colorant can be either a dye (soluble molecules) or a pigment (colored 
powder, which needs to be finely dispersed). In magic markers, fluorescent 
dyes are often used. These convert the ultraviolet part of daylight into 
visible radiation, thus strengthening the color impression. The problem 
for you is that most colorants cannot simply be bought in shops. They are 
sold by the manufacturers directly to the ink-makers. You might be able to 
obtain Eosine, the stuff used to make red ink for marking wrongly spelt 
words.. It stains very efficiently and is also fluorescent. It is also 
used to stain microscopic preparations, so maybe your biology teacher has 
some of it. Historically, writing ink was made from extracts of tree galls 
(made by wasps) and iron salts. It was more durable than most modern inks.
Dye-based aqueous inks have the drawback of being easily washed away by 
rain- or teardrops. Markers for glass etc generally are solvent-based. The 
solvents are often less than beneficial for health and environment. 
I hope this made you curious enough to inquire further.

Best Regards
Werner Sieber