New to the business...could use some advice :)

[JPCalligraphy]

Hello! I am new here at WetCanvas and new to the calligraphy business. I have been a stay-at-home mom for 3 years now and really wanted to start my own business doing something I love...which also affords me the flexibility to still be involved with my little boys school and also with charities I hold dear to my heart. I am thankful for this forum, as I have a few questions I could use some help with...

I am trying to figure out what type of ink to use. I need something that is mixable but also WATERPROOF. I was using gouarche...but it was just brought to my attention (by my all-knowing father ) that the envelopes I send out MUST be waterproof. Well, through my experiments with gouarche, I now know it is not waterproof I offer my clients the option of matching colors (which gourche is great for mixing)...but what do I do about making sure it doesn't turn into an ink blob in the event the product gets wet?

Any feedback will be great! Thank you so so much!

Have a great weekend

[birdhs]

Many inks sold in stores and on-line are labeled as waterproof / permanent.

but always try them first

and the envelopes may determine which inks will work better.

wish you success, keep in touch, let us know how you do,

Greg

[Yorky]

Another option is try 2 coats of acrylic spray.

Doug

[salman.khattak]

How about rubbing a candle over the written part? I would expect the wax to ward off any wetness - it will not survive a soaking though.

Salman

[marie_d]

My friend is in an 'envelope exchange' group and sends very decorative envelopes all around the world. She uses acrylic ink for the address and then uses a colourful wax crayon to cover over the front of the envelope (much like Salmans idea with the candle) to help make it fair better in wet weather......

[JanetSmith]

Stick inks ground with water into an ink are mixable and waterproof (and delightful to write with!)
Janet

[Inky Quills]

I've used this before: http://www.utrechtart.com/Liquitex.utrecht?src=ink

The ink is a little thin for most paper, so I thicken it up with gum arabic and it seems to work pretty well and they offer a lot of colors.

I think with any kind of volume of work, doing extra steps like writing over the ink with wax is too time consuming - you probably want to find an ink that works.

Get a few different versions of colors you want, write a bit of each, then run the envelope under the faucet as a test.

[Hiraeth]

Hi, (didn't see your name)

I address envelopes every day and I use acrylic inks because they are waterproof. For black I use Sumi ink which is water resistant but not really waterproof.

As for brands of acrylic inks--there are many and I think I've probably used them all. Some work better on some papers than others. Some may offset when used on particular papers but not on others, so testing is always necessary. Liquitex, Dr Ph Martin and Ziller inks are mixable.

Pop in and let us know how you are getting along. If you have any questions, I may be able to help. I've developed a lot of tricks along the way and have learned a lot from others. I'd be glad to help.

Kim