Printer Ink Facts That Will Amaze You

Printer ink seems to be a regular type of ink, but used by printers only. However, this liquid which is extremely popular in the entire world these days has a lot of interesting stories to tell to those who are curious. For example, did you know that a couple of decades ago, printer ink was tested in order to discover traces of lead? If this poisonous substance could be found in ink then the books were very dangerous for both kids and adults. Here are more interesting and informative facts about printer ink that will amaze you.

Your ashes can be turned into ink after you die

In ancient times, the first types of inks were created using ashes of bones and other similar items. Nowadays, the process of creating ink is totally different, but one can still transform his cremated ashes into ink if he really wants to. Obviously, this post-mortem service comes at a price and it is an interesting and rather intriguing way of departing from this world. In fact, one of the most popular writers hired by Marvel Comics, Mark Gruenwald, died in August 1996 and wanted his ashes to be mixed with the ink used in comic books. His request was honored.

Blood is not a top quality ink, but it still has been used by various famous personalities

In many cases, blood can produce nasty stains on clothes and it can be quite difficult to remove afterwards. This made a lot of people think that blood can be used as ink. However, this is not a very good idea because blood tends to oxidize fast and it will fade quickly. Still, many famous persons used ink in order to express themselves. For example, artists like Jordan Eagles and Vincent Castiglia used their own blood as ink in their creations.

Octopuses are "live" factories of ink

Just as the skunk can spray a victim if it feels threatened, an octopus has a similar defense mechanism which consists of releasing a dark-colored pigment mainly composed of melanin and mucus. This is also known as ink and it has been used by our ancestors for centuries. Additionally, this type of substance is actually a delicacy, it is served in luxurious restaurants and it tastes as salty iodine. Recent studies show that the ink sprayed by octopuses has therapeutic benefits and it can even fight cancer.

In some experiments, semen was used as ink as well

Various body fluids have been used in order to try to create an invisible ink, including semen. This substance is white and it is harder to discover, in comparison with blood or urine. However, tests showed that although semen can be a great candidate for an invisible ink, it possesses a certain odor which will betray its presence. The man who thought of using semen as an invisible ink was named George Mansfield Smith-Cumming and he was the first director of the British Secret Services.

Lemon juice was also used in an attempt to produce invisible ink

If lemon juice is mixed with a small amount of water, it creates a mixture that can be used to write words on a piece of paper. After a while, this mixture will dry and become invisible to the naked eye. However, if the paper is held up to a light bulb then the words written will quickly become visible. A certain person named McArthur Wheeler took this idea seriously. He even painted his face with this type of mixture and believed that this will make him invisible in front of security cameras, so he robbed two banks in one day. Unsurprisingly, he was caught by the police after just a few hours.

The incredible Hulk was actually grey at first, not green

These days, everyone knows about the incredible Hulk, a fictional character with immense strength and a vibrant green screen tone. However, back in the days, Hulk actually featured a nuance of grey because according to the words of his co-creator Stan Lee, Hulk shouldn’t be associated with any race. Everything was good until comic books featuring Hulk started to appear.

The creators of the character quickly discovered that it was impossible to preserve the same nuance of grey for Hulk throughout all the pages of a comic book. This fictional personage was either too light or to dark. Therefore, they decided to paint Hulk with green, a nuance which could be easily controlled in print.

As you can see, there are fascinating stories behind something as normal and overlooked as printer ink. In fact, if you run a business, printer ink is as important for you as your IT equipments and devices. If you don’t want to run out of printer ink, make sure that you explore our website and choose the printer ink you require. Our specialists can send you monthly printing supplies at reasonable prices and you will never have to worry about running out of printer ink when you expect the least!