
How Ink Is Made - bane
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Fypi6dAJB8E#!
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tomkinstinch
I enjoy videos like this, and was happy to discover there is a subreddit
dedicated to them:

<http://www.reddit.com/r/ArtisanVideos/>

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ajtaylor
Thanks for the pointer. Leave it to reddit to have niches for everything.
Subscribed!

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sharkweek
I love how when someone is passionate about what they do, that passion
permeates when they discuss their expertise. Beautiful video, I feel like I
learned something while being entertained at the same time.

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eisbaw
Next generation of TV commercials? At least I would hope so.

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itslogic
Search "how's it made" for full range of episodes about almost anything.

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pierlux
Available on Netflix™.

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rdl
Something like this video is vastly more effective in advertising any product
to me than spending 100x as much on banner ads, sponsoring a sports team, etc.
I'm probably not representative, though.

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sneak
For people who are willing to pay a premium for quality, I'd say you are
representative. It's not like "high quality bulk ink" is a middle-market
product.

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rlu
I really wish the video would have mentioned what the difference is between
ink and paint. Because if someone asked me what was in the video, I would have
guessed paint over ink. It just looks like paint!

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sturmeh
The granularity and consistency of the ink I suppose.

What I don't understand is I'm looking at my CISS tank next to my printer, and
the ink is an almost non-opaque liquid and it is not thick like paint at all.

My guess is that the ink in this video is not used for commercial computer
printers, but rather larger machines that are used to print news papers and
the like.

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speeder
Yes, that is industrial ink, to print packaging mostly.

The ink there is probably custom made, you send the factory the material that
you want to print on, and the moustached dude (the guy that is very fast with
two spatula) will figure how to get the colours the designer wants on the
material, and then they make the ink needed to mass printing on that material.

I've made a arcade machine once: <http://tinyurl.com/cnv4h88> it took very
hard work to get the colours right on the cabinet (and they actually, are
still not right! they are just "acceptable" and I had ran out of money to do
more experiments).

Each material reacts very differently to ink and paint (the arcade cabinet is
partly painted, partly printed), and the results vary a lot without testing.

Note on the video how he says that after some testing, they add wax for
example, this is a important part to make the ink reach some sort of desired
effect on the material, maybe the material is think and will be crumpled (like
candy wrapping or a t-shirt), then you need a very thin ink, that will not
break, or a thick but flexible ink, that will stretch out as needed before
breaking. But you might want to print on a very hard material (for example a
plastic marquee) then you might prefer a ink that sticks very well on the
material (try printing on metal...) and that is resilient (what happens if
someone throw a rock on your road sign?)

I always has been a coder, but I would never figure when I went to design
school (I am bachelor in design now) that I would find it fun :)

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mrtimo
fantastic use of classical music: Beethoven's﻿ Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat,
Op. 73 ("Emperor"), 2nd movement

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borlak
personally I thought it was a horrible choice. didn't fit the theme at all.
that music piece is incredibly sad, whereas the video has an
upbeat/interesting feel to it. the contrast was bad enough to almost make me
stop watching. the only thing that saved it was when the guy started talking.

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lifeformed
Is dust a problem? It looks like everything is uncovered, even when moving big
barrels of it around on a forklift. I would think that getting some dust in
there would reduce the quality of the ink.

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rjd
At a guess I'd say the whole place has really decent extractor fans as no one
really seemed to be wearing much protective gear... and I assume there would
be ample chemicals n the air. I'd also guess fans would do a lot for clearing
dust as well as stray chemical fumes.

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dakrisht
Fantastic video. Truly shows how passionate these guys are and the quality and
craftsmanship involved. If I ever need great ink, I know where to go.
Beautifully made video as well.

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jmilloy
How to make ink:

1\. Mix the ink powder and with the ink vehicle.

2\. Make sure you mixed the ink powder with the ink vehicle well enough.

3\. Oh and add some other stuff.

Anyone else feel like they still don't know how to make ink? The concerto
makes the process seem pure and reflective, which I don't really think it is;
odd choice. Although I will say I've never really thought of assembly line
management as being so inspirational and artistic, and I guess it can be. And
I _do_ want to know more now, which I didn't really before.

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JshWright
The title of the video wasn't "How to make ink," it was "How ink is made."

Those are similar, but fundamentally different ideas. With the former you
expect to come out the the process knowing how to make ink. The later is a bit
more vague. To me anyway, it doesn't imply any specific level of detail with
which the process will be described, and it's a perfectly appropriate title
for something that explains the process in very broad steps.

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minikomi
Maybe a little outdated but see also: How a crayon is made
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMU-wXsgyR8> .. I hope you're ready for the
nostalgia wave!

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ajtaylor
Thanks for the link. My dad used to build packaging machines like the ones in
the video. It always fascinated me as a young child to watch them at work.

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minikomi
No problem. It's amazing how much of the process was done by hand.

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jspark
His passion reminds me of Jiro in Jiro Dreams of Sushi. It amazes me how much
passion is given into products that I would have otherwise found mundane.

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jonemo
Great find! I am actually running a very simple website collecting videos like
this (and also shots of fabrication processes without narration) and added
this gem to the queue for publishing. The URL is
<http://www.manufacturingporn.com> :)

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syntaxgoonoo
Very cool. How is the ink used? I think I will go read about offset printing.
I mean we see the result every day, but just take it granted. Interesting

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fennecfoxen
If you'd like to use this sort of ink in a hands-on way, without a
multimillion dollar computerized commercial offset press or anything, look for
a local arts institution's course in letterpress or intaglio printmaking. (The
latter is more drawing-oriented than the former.) It's rather fun. You also
get to use some really nice paper, too.

You can find this sort of ink in squat little tins in the right art supplies
store.

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Aloisius
If anyone is in San Francisco, I highly recommend The Center For The Book for
their weeklong course on letterpress.

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Ensorceled
I _love_ learning from passionate people, that was an amazing video.

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seanlinehan
The video is interesting, but all I can think is, "Wow. They really just made
ink sexy for over half a million people."

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Shivetya
Amazed at how much is done in the open air, unprotected.

Incredible that something so simple in appearance has so much behind it.

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vicngtor
I am thoroughly impressed by his passion.

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cwilson
I love how all of their machines are clearly covered in various non-
traditional colors, especially the blue.

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rdl
That blue is the color I've seen for most metal presses and other industrial
equipment. It's usually blue like that, gray, or sometimes high-vis for
certain parts, or maybe sometimes powder green.

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Aardwolf
Is this what goes in this overly expensive HP inkjet cartridges?

The video sure shows a nicer side of this whole business.

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donw
This sort of ink is used for offset printing.

My brother used to own a print shop, and I worked for him over a summer, so I
got a lot of experience in cleaning this stuff out of offset presses.

It's very thick, with a consistency maybe a bit like runny peanut butter, and
has an incredibly distinctive smell. You pour it into a reservoir in the
press, and then a multitude of inking rollers homogenize the ink, removing air
bubbles, before transferring it to the plate.

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swah
Then you tell the computer that that ink reservoir has now a particular color
you ordered?

Curious how you tell a computer some colors are to be achieved by the regular
process (like any inkjets) and others should come from the "specific paint
reservoir for that color"

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Kerrick
No, this kind of printer isn't controlled by a computer, it's much more
analog. [http://visual.merriam-webster.com/arts-
architecture/graphic-...](http://visual.merriam-webster.com/arts-
architecture/graphic-arts/printing/lithographic-printing.php)

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alternize
impressive. but only leading to the next question: how are the pigments
produced?

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greenyoda
How It's Made - Inorganic Pigments

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKFs2qX-Fkc>

