Apr 27, 2018 6:45 PM

What's Inside Blue Ballpoint Pen Ink?

Fatty acids, alcohol, and some other not-so-magical ingredients.

01
Ballpoint pen patents go back to the late 1800s, but it took half a century to perfect those smooth blue lines that have come to define our notes and doodles.
02
Synthetic Dyes
A cocktail of colorants is required for quality, fast-drying inks. The formula is heavily guarded, but it likely contains phthalocyanine blue, crystal violet—which was used in WWI to treat infections—and Prussian blue, a longtime favorite of painters.

03
Phenoxyethanol/Benzyl Alcohol
For the dyes to work effectively, they need to use one of these two compounds as a carrier. Benzyl alcohol is a sweet perfume produced by fruit and phenoxyethanol, and it’s used in everything from bug repellant to antiseptics.
04
Alkyl Alkanolamide
Dye can’t stick to paper on its own—it needs surfactants like alkyl alkanolamide to help lower the surface tension so it can sink into that Post-it note before the ink dries.

05
Oleic Acid
No one wants ink gunking up the pen’s brass point. This fatty acid lubricates the ball, making sure it’s always ready to roll.

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