Drawing Inks

Drawing Inks have been used by illustrators and designers since their introduction by Winsor & Newton in the 1890's, where the main requirement is brilliance of colour. A range of 26 water resistant colours are available offering outstanding brilliance and transparency.

The inks are made from soluble dyes combined with shellac binder, which imparts the water resistant characteristic and also gives a gloss finish when applied thickly. The colour is ready to use direct from the bottle but may be diluted with water to reduce strength or increase transparency. It is however important to use distilled water to avoid the dye separating from the binder. Because Drawing Inks contain dyes, they do not possess the lightfast properties of pigmented colours and should not be used in work which is intended for display in lighted areas.

The exceptions to this statement are blacks and white, which are pigmented and Gold and Silver which are metal based. Although metallic colours are lightfast they may show tarnishing in the long term. It should be noted that Liquid Indian Ink, a less intense black with a brown undertone is non-waterproof.

All colours are intermixable with each other, however Gold and Silver should be added to other inks in small quantities to avoid thickening, these mixtures should not be stored. Due to the differing binders used it is not recommended to mix Drawing Inks with other Winsor & Newton ranges. Dip pens and brushes are recommended for application of Drawing Inks. Clean with water during working.

Should the inks dry, mentholated spirits can be used to dissolve the colour, followed by thorough washing with soap and warm water. Due to the shellac binder Drawing Inks are unsuitable for use with fountain pens.

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