Black ink (I): Carbon ink

II Ink colours

The earliest known texts written with ink (the Egyptian hieroglyphs of Umm el-Qaab, circa 3200 B.C.E.) were written with «carbon ink».

As the name suggests, these inks are made from charcoal, usually of vegetable origin. The preparation of this ink type is very simple: the charcoal, once ground to a fine consistency, is mixed with gum Arabic dissolved in water. Although the most rudimentary formulas could be made using charcoal from domestic fireplaces or torches, the methods of obtaining and producing this type of ink became increasingly sophisticated over time. To obtain different shades and finishes, from Roman times and especially during the Arab Middle Ages, the formulas used a diverse array of raw materials, including the stones and pips of various fruits (such as peaches, cherries, and grapes), different types of wood, resins, and other substances. Furthermore, improvements were made to the burning techniques. One example is the utilisation of a slow-burning process in the absence of oxygen (to prevent the formation of ash), using sealed clay pots. Additionally, soot was employed, especially that produced in industrial activities such as glass furnaces (Dioscorides, De materia medica 5.161).

This profusion of products was accompanied by the emergence of imitations and adulterated goods. According to Pliny the Elder (1st century), good quality soot was adulterated with soot from the furnaces of public baths, and the valuable «ivory black» (made from charred ivory) was adulterated «with the charred remains of violated sepulchres» (Natural History 35, 43).