History of ink

In the ancient times, ink was comprised of various colored juices and exotic extracts including alizarin, indigo, pokeberries, cochineal, and sepia. In the late eighteenth century, the first patent was issued in England for making colored inks. In the 19th century, chemical drying agents appeared, giving rise to a wide variety of pigments. Then things got complicated. At the beginning of the 20th century, ink-making became a complex chemical-industrial process. The manufacture of modern ink takes into account dozens of factors, including "color, opacity, transparency, brilliance, lightfastness, surface hardness, pliability, wettability, purity, and odourlessness." Inks for low-speed letterpress printing are made up of of carbon black, a heavy varnish, and a drier to reduce the drying time. Most pen inks incorporate those three main ingredients in different ratios. Intaglio inks are composed of petroleum naphthas, resins, and coal-tar solvents.

-I'm sure a lot of people are curious as to see what makes up ink.