Letterpress ink8/16/2023 If you have a small amount of ink to store, place the excess ink inside aluminum foil or wax paper and fold the foil or wax paper over many times to protect the ink. This cuts down on the ink forming a skin. If you are storing oil-based ink (including metallics) in a can, try placing plastic wrap, wax paper, or anti-skin spray directly on the ink so it covers the ink’s surface. Don’t forget to label your mixture and whether it’s oil based or rubber based. If you have a substantial amount of ink, store your extra ink in an ink can to preserve it for long term use. Letterpress inks should last for several years if properly stored. Your ink knife should move smoothly through your ink mixture. 9 video on mixing ink at the top of this page. The motion is similar to scrambling eggs. Mix your ink completely so all colors are smoothly blended. If you are really adventurous, try your hand at mixing by eye or mix on the fly. Use a different piece of paper and clean your knife completely (all five sides!) for each new can of ink you use. Using an ink knife, put an ink color on the paper, weigh it, then scrape the ink off the paper and put a clean paper down on the scale again. Put a clean 5 x 5 square onto the scale and then zero the scale out on that piece of paper. In the cast of 5645U, we’ll need 4 squares. To keep the scale clean, we cut out 5 x 5 squares of paper ahead of time?we need as many squares as ink colors going into the mix. 2.3% Pantone Reflex Blue x 2 = 4.6% = 4.6 grams.Some would say if we use a formula with odd decimals (like 2.3%), we might mix up the ink incorrectly anyway and we’d have to throw it away. Multiplying by two means that we’ll end up with about 200 grams, more ink than we probably need, but we could always store the ink and use it again. In this case, we’ll multiply things by 2 to make the numbers easier to work with. 20 ? parts Pantone Trans White x 4 = 82.5 parts = 82.5 gramsĪlternatively, let’s take a look at the formula for Pantone 5645U using percentages.? part Pantone Black x 4 = 1.5 parts = 1.5 grams.½ part Pantone Reflex Blue x 4 = 2 parts = 2 grams.½ part Pantone Yellow x 4 = 2 parts = 2 grams.In the case of Pantone 5645U, we’d multiply the numbers by 4. We’ll going to multiple the above numbers by 2, or 4, or 6 until the numbers get nicer-keeping in mind the higher number you use, the more ink you’re going to make. Our scale does whole grams so we’re trying to get more whole numbers. Generally 100 grams is a good amount of total ink to shoot for. How do you turn these numbers into ink? You’re going to transform the parts into grams, with the goal of ending up with numbers more easily measurable on your scale. Let’s say you want to mix Pantone 5645U, a lovely lighter olive (the U is for uncoated). Turn the formula into grams so you can measure your ink. ![]() The newer PLUS formula guide has only percentages. Older formula guides will show both percentage and parts. If you’re printing on uncoated paper, use the uncoated guide. These guides are available on both coated and uncoated paper. Mixing inks starts with a Pantone Formula Guide. Your Pantone Formula Guide tells you how much of each Basic Color to mix together. For easier cleanup, put onto the glass a piece of wax paper, or freezer paper (with the glossy side up), or a large scrap of paper from your recycle pile. a smooth mixing surface, like a piece of glass (ideal size is 8 x 10).While not as accurate as a scale, it works. ![]() ![]() If you don’t have a scale, you could try a set of measuring spoons that have 1 tsp, ½ tsp, ¼ tsp and ? tsp. In the Boxcar shop, we use an Ohaus Triple Beam Scale.
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