How to Make Ballpoint Pen Ink
HOW-TO GUIDE

How to Make Ballpoint Pen Ink?

How to Make Ballpoint Pen Ink

How to make ballpoint pen ink? If you are a creative person, or the one that wants to maximize the functionality of a pen, you might be asking the same question.

People go to the online sources searching for an answer. But the really more profound question is whether or not pen inks can be made manually. Well, the answer is yes.

The truth is, you can make your own ballpoint pen ink at home using ingredients that you already have around the house. The good news is that this will not cause you a dime.

So, how can you make a ballpoint pen ink?

In this post, we will share with you the steps and basic ingredients you need in making a ballpoint pen ink. Without further ado, let’s dive into the process.

Making ballpoint pen ink using plants or fruits:

Step 1. Picking the ingredients

How to Make Ballpoint Pen Ink

Let us begin with the most common ingredient in making ballpoint pen ink. What we love to use are ripe berries. These fruits have a very strong and vibrant color. You can use the different varieties of berries including the blackberries, cherries, raspberries, and blueberries.

Step 2. Squeeze the berries and strain

Smash the berries until the juices come out of the fruit. Then strain the juice. Pummel and smash the berries against the strainer until only the bigger parts of the fruits remain. Make sure that the juices have drained.

Step 3: Add vinegar and salt

The amount of vinegar and salt you put in the liquid (berries juice) depends on the number of berries. In this example, suppose that we had a handful of berries. The amount of vinegar you have to mix is a ½ teaspoon. Then add another ½ teaspoon of salt. The salt and vinegar will boost and preserve the color of the mixture.

Step 4: Use a syringe to fill the cartridge

Making the ink is way easier than filling the ink cartridge. The best solution though is to use a syringe or a pipette. Retrieve an ample amount of ink and release it inside the empty cartridge.

That’s it. You have an old pen with a newly filled ink cartridge. In this way, you maximize the usability of your pen.

By the way, we would like to add that berries are not the only ingredient you can use to make ballpoint pen ink. You can also make pen ink using charcoal.

For thousands of years, people in the past had used charcoal to make ink. That is right. Charcoal is not only used for barbecue grills. You can use it to make ballpoint pen ink.

Making a ballpoint pen in using charcoal

How to Make Ballpoint Pen Ink

To make ink from charcoal, you need some materials and household utensils. The following tools will be needed:

  • A fire pit or barbecue pit
  • Distilled water
  • Charcoal briquettes
  • Metal whisk
  • Kitchen scale
  • Glass Jar
  • Bowl
  • White vinegar

Step 1

Burn the charcoal in a fire pit until it turns into ashes. Let the ashes cool down. Then, retrieve about 1 oz. of the ash and put the ash in the glass bowl. Just make sure that the ashes are clean.

If you burned the charcoals in the ground pit, chances are there may be soil in it. You have to get the pure ash not the mixture of soil and ash.

Step 2

Add an oz. of distilled water to the bowl that contains 1 oz. of charcoal ash.

Step 3

Using the whisk, stir the mixture thoroughly until the ash and the water completely mixed. At this point, you will notice that the mixture becomes pure black. But at this phase, there may be ash clumps. This suggests that you need to stir more until the mixture turns into a liquid.

You need to be careful though. Stirring strongly may spill the mixture outside the bowl that could stain your cloth. Control the stir to avoid unnecessary mess.

Step 4

Now, add a certain amount of vinegar. A drop of white vinegar will do. Then stir it again until it mixes thoroughly. The vinegar will make the mixture more stable and permanent. You will appreciate it later when you start using your pen.

Step 5

Use a syringe to extract a small amount of ink from the bowl. Then fill the ink cartridge by injecting the syringe into the cartridge.

Step 6

Store the remaining ink in the glass jar. But make sure that the jar has a tight-fitting lid. This keeps the ink liquid and stable.

Keep the jar in places away from sunlight or hot place in your home. Or you can wrap it with a cloth to make sure that it will not get dried.

There you go. You have our basic and quick tips on how to make ballpoint pen ink using free materials you can find at home.

We hope you enjoy the process.