doodlewrite

Fact sheet · updated

WHAT CONSERVATORS SAY

Write it once,
read it for years.

Not every line you write is built to last.

Check your pen
A wooden desk by a window with an open notebook of blank cream pages, a graphite pencil, a ballpoint pen, a felt-tip pen and a small bottle of black ink
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

PIGMENTbeats dye for lasting

Library conservators sort writing media by what colours them: stable pigments such as carbon black, or dyes that fade in light and run when damp. That one difference decides whether a recipe card, a diary or a label is still readable decades later.

At a glance

c. 2500 BCE

Carbon black ink in use since

Carbon pigment ink is the earliest type of ink, first made from charcoal and later from soot. Good quality carbon inks do not discolour with age.

CARBON BLACK · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

4

Main ingredients in most recipes

Oak galls, iron sulfate, water and gum arabic. Recipes often used more iron than the chemistry needed, which led to ink corrosion through oxidation and acid hydrolysis.

IRON GALL · LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

The oldest ink
is still the steadiest.

One figure on the oldest ink we still use,
one on the recipe that damaged centuries of paper.

The ballpoint pen was patented in 1888 but was not widely available until the mid-1940s. For decades its inks used dyes, because pigments tended to clog the ball tip.

WILL IT LAST?

How well does
your pen hold up?

Pick a writing medium to see what preservation guides say about it. The bar shows how stable it is against light and damp.

Based on the University of Illinois Preservation Self-Assessment Program guide to inks and other media, and Library of Congress collections care advice.

Pen check

Choose a medium
Graphite pencilStable, but smudges

Graphite is a stable medium of carbon and clay, but it rubs and smudges. The Library of Congress advises pencil, not ink, for marks on works on paper.

Carbon black or pigment inkVery stable

Good quality carbon inks do not discolour with age, and coloured pigments are relatively strong against light and damp. Carbon ink can still smudge in high humidity.

Iron gall inkDark, but corrosive

Black-brown that fades to reddish brown. It contains sulfuric acid, and excess iron can lead to ink corrosion that makes paper brittle.

Ballpoint penFades in light

Ballpoint inks have poor light stability and dissolve in water. Black can fade to blue and red to pink.

Felt-tip or markerNot made to last

Dye-based and prone to fading. Pink, purple, violet and beige are most sensitive to light, some colours fade even in the dark, and the ink runs if wet.

Source: University of Illinois, Preservation Self-Assessment Program: Inks and Other Media; Library of Congress, Care, Handling and Storage of Works on Paper.

THE SHORT ANSWER

Pick the medium
before the words.

Preservation guides agree on the basics.
Stable colourants, little light, no damp.

PENCIL

The archivist's choice

Graphite is a stable medium, though it smudges. The Library of Congress advises using pencil, not ink, to make any marks or inscriptions on works on paper.

Check your pen

IRON GALL

The ink that eats paper

Made from oak galls and iron sulfate, it was the main Western writing ink from the 12th to 19th centuries. Too much iron leads to ink corrosion: brittle paper, sometimes riddled with holes.

See the numbers

EVERYDAY PENS

Dyes fade, pigments last

Ballpoint and felt-tip pens often use dye inks, with poor light stability. Pigment inks, especially carbon black, are far more stable.

What to use
A hand lightly marking the back corner of a sheet of paper with a sharp graphite pencil on a clean, hard table
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

FOUR HABITS FOR PAGES YOU WANT TO KEEP

Choose well,
then store well.

None of these needs special kit. They follow what preservation guides say about media, light and damp.

  1. Label in pencil

    For notes on the back of photos, drawings or papers, use pencil, on a clean, hard surface so the mark does not emboss through.

  2. Prefer pigment ink

    For writing you want to keep, choose a carbon black or pigment ink over a dye-based pen.

  3. Keep it out of the light

    All media can fade under extreme light. Give papers minimal light and no direct or intense light.

  4. Keep it dry

    Dye inks bleed or run when damp, and carbon ink can smudge in high humidity. Store papers away from damp.

PAPER MATTERS TOO

Why 500-year-old paper
can outlast 50-year-old paper.

Before the mid-19th century, Western paper was made from cotton and linen rags, with long, strong fibres. Wood pulp paper that replaced it has shorter fibres, and mechanical pulp keeps lignin, which promotes acid damage.

The Library of Congress notes that wood pulp paper from before the 1980s also tends to be acidic from the sizing added to stop inks bleeding. Light and oxidation damage paper too.

A small glass bottle of dark brown-black ink beside a pile of round oak galls and a feather quill on a wooden table
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

Questions

Questions people ask

Why has my old ballpoint writing turned blue?

Ballpoint inks have poor light stability. The University of Illinois preservation guide notes black ballpoint can fade to blue and red to pink.

Is pencil really more permanent than pen?

Graphite is a stable medium, so it does not fade like dye inks, but it can smudge and rub off. The Library of Congress advises pencil, not ink, for marks on works on paper.

Are permanent markers permanent?

Not for archives. The preservation guide says felt-tip pens and markers are not meant to be permanent, many colours fade in light and some fade even in the dark.

What is iron gall ink?

An ink made from oak galls, iron sulfate, water and gum arabic. It was the main Western writing ink from the 12th to 19th centuries, and too much iron can corrode the paper.

What is the most stable ink?

Preservation guides point to pigment inks, especially carbon black. Good quality carbon ink does not discolour with age, though it can smudge in high humidity.

Sources

Where the facts come from

  1. University of Illinois, Preservation Self-Assessment Program: Inks and Other Media
  2. Library of Congress Information Bulletin: Solutions for Treating Iron-Gall Ink Artifacts
  3. Library of Congress: Care, Handling and Storage of Works on Paper
  4. Library of Congress: The Deterioration and Preservation of Paper, Some Essential Facts

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