You can find some amazing calligraphy inks at specialty stores, but one of my favorite “inks” is available at the supermarket: coffee. You can use coffee to write calligraphy that features a warm, antique-like hue. Today, I’ll explain how to achieve the perfect coffee:water ratio, provide tips for successful “coffee calligraphy”, and show you how to protect your work from the elements.
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To write today’s post, I combed through emails that I’ve received with questions about calligraphy ink. I’m glad to modify the article to include additional information, so if you have a question, please email or comment! Without further ado, here are answers to the queries — both little and big — that TPK readers have about inks:
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It is surprisingly difficult to find waterproof calligraphy ink. When Ziller inks came to my attention in 2015, I had come to the conclusion that no ink can truly be unaffected by water. It felt fabulous to be proven wrong! If you like to incorporate watercolor into your calligraphy and/or illustration work — or you want to make durable envelope calligraphy, I suspect you’ll love this ink as much as I do.
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In 2014, I wrote the original version of this post. In it, I made recommendations about which calligraphy inks to use and why! Fast forward five years, and I’ve had several chances to discover new inks. In this updated blog post, I’d like to discuss a few inks with you and why I think they’re so great! Keep in mind: there are so many inks out there, and I’ve only tried a smattering of them. If something isn’t on this list, it probably just means I’ve never used it. I highly recommend trying out any ink you come across and keeping your own list of favorites!
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I first picked up a dip pen in 2005. At that time, it seemed to be best suited to making squiggles because it was tough to write letters with! Fast forward a few years, though, and I saw other people using these mysterious instruments to create modern calligraphy. Flowy alphabets with a beautiful contrast abounded, and I wanted to know how to do that myself!
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If you’re new to calligraphy, it’s easy to feel terrified at the prospect of modifying your supplies. Ideally, they should arrive ready to use — no need to change anything! In practice, that sometimes isn’t the case. In today’s blog post, you’ll learn why, when, and how to dilute ink to make it more user-friendly!
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