I want to start this post off by saying that if you experience a lot of calligraphy ink problems, there may be a simple culprit. The first may be that you have not prepared your nib for use; or you might be holding your pen too upright. If you have addressed those issues and continue to experience problems, then this post will be helpful! In it, we’ll go through four common calligraphy ink problems and how to fix them.
1. Ink Skips on Upstrokes
Depending on your calligraphy ink’s ingredients, it may have a tendency to be thick. While thick ink can be nice because it’s opaque, it also can be temperamental. For example, Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleedproof White Ink generally arrives looking like this:
See that big glob on the upper right 1/4 of the rim? That’s paint that has separated from the watery part of the ink. Try to use a super thick ink as-is, and you’ll get upstrokes that are barely there (and not in a good way). In the photo below, you can see the result of trying to use too-thick ink to write calligraphy. Notice that a few of the upstrokes and horizontal strokes just look like a series of tiny dots!
To fix that, simply stir some water into the ink! I usually start with 1/4 teaspoon and keep adding until the ink has a smoother consistency. You should stir white and metallic inks to the consistency of cream. Go a bit thinner with colored inks and black inks — you want them to be more watery. I officially recommend that you dilute the ink with distilled water, but I always just use water from the tap.
Once you stir in water, the ink should write like a dream! As a side note, if you add too much water and the ink is no longer opaque, that’s an easy fix. Just let the ink sit overnight with the cap off, and a lot of the water will evaporate out!
2. The Ink Bleeds
There’s nothing more frustrating than writing a beautiful letter, then watching the ink blossom out into a fuzzy mess! As far as calligraphy ink problems go, bleeding ink is something nearly all beginners experience. The problem is nearly always the paper and ink combination. If the ink is thin and the paper tends to absorb liquid quickly, then you’ll get bleed! A lot of times, the problem can be fixed by switching out your paper. Instead of cheap printer paper, for example, use 32# laserjet paper. Sometimes, though, you absolutely have to write on a certain paper (for commissioned wedding calligraphy, etc.). In cases like those, add some gum arabic to the ink!
It doesn’t matter whether you use liquid or powder. Just stir some into to the ink a little bit at a time (increments of 1/8 tsp. are good), and continually test the ink by writing with it. Gum arabic is a thickener, so eventually your ink will become too thick to bleed — but not so thick that you can’t write with it!
If you don’t have gum arabic, you can always spray a fixative on your paper and try writing on the paper then. A fixative will lessen the absorbency of your paper, which helps you to write on it! That said, the compromised surface doesn’t allow for super crisp strokes, so I do recommend using gum arabic instead of the fixative if you have a choice.
3. Ink Globs on Downstrokes
So, you’ve just dipped your nib in ink, and you start writing your calligraphy. Instead of a nice, smooth downstroke, however, all of your ink dumps onto the paper as you pull your pen down! What’s up with that?
If all your ink has a tendency to rush down onto the paper, you may have too much ink on your nib. Every time after you dip your nib in ink, give the nib one firm shake over your cleaning water. Doing this should encourage any excess ink to drip off! If that doesn’t help, try slowing down your pace. If you apply pressure to the nib very quickly and try to make a fast downstroke, the tines of the nib tend to splay apart and deposit everything they have onto the paper. Writing slowly and consistently should fix the problem!
4. Ink Won’t Flow from the Nib
If you’ve ever tried using a flexible nib like the Brause EF66 or the Brause Rose, then you probably can relate to this issue. You dip your nib in ink, then put the nib on the paper and attempt to write … but nothing happens!
If you experience this problem, try gently wiggling the nib on the paper exactly where you want to start writing. Don’t apply so much pressure that the tines splay apart! The goal is to get one dot of ink to appear on the paper. Once that one dot of ink appears, you will be able to write starting at that dot!
If that doesn’t make sense, then I would suggest watching this video from the Getting to Know the Brause Rose Nib blog post. At 2:00, I start to explain the concept behind getting a dot down on the paper.
I know that there are other common calligraphy problems besides those detailed in this post. So — if you have any questions about them, please feel free to comment! I’ll be glad to offer any feedback that I can or point you in the direction of a blog post that can help. 🙂 Thanks very much for reading TPK, and enjoy the rest of your day!
Warmly,
Hi Lindsey!
This was helpful! Thank you for this blog post!
I have run into an encounter with Dr. Ph Martin’s Bleed proof white ink, where after I watered it down it just flows off my nibs, as if they were straight-out-of-the-package/still covered in the manufacturer’s oils. Have you encountered this before? If so, do you have any tips? Thanks so much!
I have a very texturized gold envelope that I am lettering – the client wats it black black –
I find my Sumi black just isn’t drying as black as I want it – any suggestions
Today, I bought a Zebra G nibs. When I tried writing it, although it produces thick strokes, the nib does not produce thin strokes. 🙁 I am new to dip pens so this is frustrating. What to do?
Hi Adrian! Calligraphy just takes practice — it’s unfortunately not something that’s easy to master in a day. 🙂 Try starting by reading The Beginner’s Guide to Modern Calligraphy! If you can take the Beginner’s Modern Calligraphy Online Course, that would be ideal.
Thank you for the ever-informative posts!
I have a question regarding ink after it dries. I find that my black ink always smudges and transfers if pieces are stacked (e.g. envelopes, cards), even after letting them dry for over 24 hours. This happens with both Ziller Soot Black and Kuretake Sumi 60 (so it’s not an issue of waterproof-ness), and is especially a problem when shipping pieces. Has anyone else experienced this?
Hey there! When I do envelope jobs, I always cut pieces of regular printer paper to the size of the envelopes (using a paper cutter), and put them in between the envelopes. That way, if the ink rubs off, it does so on a piece of paper that doesn’t matter. 🙂 You also might try spraying your envelopes with a matte fixative (as per this blog post)!
Hey Lindsey, I find your blog extremely helpful. I am facing problems with PH Martin’s Gold ink and it seems that it is drying too fast. I have to dip the pen again and again due to this and shake the bottle each time since the gold color sinks to the bottom. Am I doing something wrong or is this common?
Thanks
Garima
Hi Garima! That’s common. 🙂 I like the Dr. Ph. Martin’s gold because it’s really easy to dip your nib in and use, but I think in the long run, Finetec is easier to control because you dictate the amount of water in it and you can always make sure it’s mixed well.
Hi Lindsey,
I’ve been using the Nikko G nibs but frequently come across this problem where my first stroke after dipping in ink and shaking off the excess, always comes out as a bead of ink on the page, and then two lines from the tines going down. Doing any calligraphy means that I always have to do “pre strokes” multiple times on a different piece of paper and I don’t draw on my calligraphy piece until I’ve got a proper line on my practice paper. I also seem to have to re-dip fairly often. I’ve perused almost every single troubleshooting post and advice post on your blog and have tried everything that I can think of (potato, alcohol, cleaning the nib with water every minute or so, changing the nib to a new one, changing the angle that I write, dot method, watering down my ink etc., but the problem still persists. I have pages and pages of “practice strokes” with this weird little bead and two tine lines, every time I try to do any calligraphy. Please help!
Also, I wanted to ask if gum arabic works for india inks as I read somewhere on the internet that although it works for sumi inks that it can become a gummy/tacky mess when used with india ink.
Thank you!
Hi Ally – I’m not Lindsey but hopefully I can help since I’ve had this issue before! It sounds like the ink is emptying out of the nib too quickly so it might be too watery (and its surface tension too high). I also find this issue occurs more with my new nibs; older nibs are more “used” to holding onto ink properly, so I would try sticking with one nib for a while to see if it improves.