Description
UNDERSTANDING THE LIGHTFAST, PERMANENCE AND ARCHIVAL QUALITY OF INKS
Drawing inks are made from dyes and are very bright and transparent but most of them fade over time. They are not lightfast (the lightfastness of a colour is how permanent it is or how unaffected by the light it is). There are two exceptions, however, Liquid Indian Ink and Black Indian Drawing Inks which, although not officially classified, are archival which means they are permanent.
Liquid Indian Ink is the more traditional ink produced from Chinese Ink sticks of Lamp Black but is non-waterproof. Black Indian Ink is based on shellac and is water-resistant which means you can apply paint washes over it.
By comparison, most of the Professional Water Colours are classed as permanent but they do not give the same type of brightness. Artists usually choose drawing inks rated T for transparency on the drawing inks colour chart, to achieve high levels of brilliance and transparency. Winsor & Newton Calligraphy Inks, on the other hand, are pigmented so also offer greater permanence.
Good, old-fashioned drawing ink from our iconic little bottles. Fast-drying, water-resistant and transparent – they can be used with a brush, dip pen or airbrush. Winsor & Newton created 26 colours, including Liquid Indian Ink – a water-based solution of traditional Chinese stick ink. All the colours are intermixable and you can overlay different colours for new effects and shades.
Each label has been individually designed and contains a unique and whimsical illustration that features the colour itself. Many of Britain’s finest illustrators contributed to the series.
- 14 ml Bottles
- Includes: Black Indian Ink ( Waterproof) & Black Liquid Indian Ink ( Non-waterproof)
- Colour: Apple Green, Blue, Brick Red, Brilliant Green, Burnt Sienna, Canary Yellow, Carmine, Cobalt, Crimson, Deep Red, Emerald, Gold, Nut Brown, Orange, Peat Brown, Purple, Scarlet, Silver, Sunshine Yellow, Ultramarine, Vermilion, Violet, Viridian, White.
- Instructions are included
THREE WAYS TO MAKE AN IMPACT WITH INKS
MAKE SWEEPING LINES AND BOLD EDGES
Some things can’t be achieved with a modern pen, so if you want strong edges and tapered lines, turn to our Winsor & Newton Inks. Try brushes or dip pens for different effects in your drawing, or you might want to indulge in a spot of calligraphy. Our inks can even be used for airbrushing, but be sure to thin them first with deionised water.
CREATE LAYERS OF BEAUTIFUL COLOUR
We’re proud to say our inks are unsurpassed in strength and brilliance of colour. Except for Liquid Indian Ink, Gold and Silver, all our inks are fast-drying, water-resistant and transparent. That means you can overlay different colours to create texture and depth – think metallic earth tones meeting brilliant blue skies, that sort of thing.
HOW ABOUT A WATERCOLOUR EFFECT?
All Winsor & Newton Inks are fully intermixable and since most of them are also mixable with water, you can easily create a watercolour effect. Even better, the inks will still provide a strength of colour that you can’t achieve with paint.
DRAWING INKS AND WATER RESISTANCE
Winsor & Newton Drawing Inks are all water-resistant apart from Liquid Indian Ink, Gold and Silver. However, all the coloured inks are made from dyes that can bleed out into subsequent washes. The degree of bleeding varies from colour to colour and with the amount of water used so it is recommended that you test chosen colours before using them on your artwork.

Fooril (verified owner) –
These inks work really well with Quill pens and watercolor brushes. There is a good range of colours, but I find the colours aren’t as pigmented as I was hoping, the images of the colour swatches can be a bit misleading on how dark the colours are. To get a really dark/saturated colour you’ll need to go over the line two or three times.