2011-03-26

Ink archival standards

There are standards relating to pens and ink. ISO 12757 (which as I understand it has replaced DIN 16554) and 14145.
12757 is about the properties of ballpoint pens and refills and how to test them. 12757-1 is about the dimensions of refills (for example a G2 is a "Parker style" refill) and quality for general use. Part 2 is about the requirements (light fastness, water resistance and shelf life) for documentery (DOC) use. If you're looking for archival ballpoint ink, then it's ISO 12757-2 you want.
ISO 14145, part 1 and 2, are about the corresponding hings for rollerballs.
Doesn't seem to be one for fountain pens, which makes me suspect they aren't really approved for documentary use, although there likely are inks which could be if their makers insisted on it and ISO had a category for it.

Note that archival standards doesn't say anything about how the ink should look, just that it's legible, so fading and especially colour shifts are permissible. The last isn't really surprising when we consider the "original" archival blue-black ink, were the permanent component was invisible when writing and only appeared on the paper (pergament?) after its chemicals had done their job and a blue component was mixed in so you could see what you were writing and then fade with time.

2 comments:

  1. do you know of a website that i can buy a replacement for a red and a black ISO 12757-2 DOC GERMANY ,moms favorite goofy pen from disney long time ago just ran out of ink

    ReplyDelete
  2. True Blue-Black is an Iron Gall ink. Fountain Pen are approved for documentary use. England use a blue-black for that. You can also use Noodler's eternal, warden's or bulletproof series. It is made for that.

    ReplyDelete