ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

The aging and color development of writing in paper archives

Qinwen Wang, Xiaoshuang Guo, Zhi Xu, and Huiming Fan

State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, Research Center for the Conservation and Utilization of Ancient Books, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China

E-mail: qwwang@scut.edu.cn

Received: 28 December 2023  Accepted: 6 June 2024

Abstract:

The most important value of archives lies in the handwritten information they record. However, during the storage process, handwriting may change color or fade due to the influence of the storage environment, especially when writing in blue–black ink. Therefore, in response to the phenomenon that files with blue–black ink handwriting are prone to fading, α,α’-bipyridine with the ethanol solution was selected as a developer to perform color-developing treatment on naturally aged ink samples to assess the color-developing effect of faded blue–black ink handwriting. The results showed that the artificially aged ink sample had significantly faded. After being treated with a chromogenic agent, the color of the faded ink sample deepened, and the outline of the handwriting became clear. The yellow–blue color b value changed to −3.15, the residual ink amount increased by 41.74%, and the difference in absorbance curve area decreased by 296.75. Moreover, the chromogenic agent did not cause significant damage to the paper. This result indicates that the chromogenic agent has a good effect on the recovery of naturally aged blue–black ink blots, and this study has certain practical application value for the protection of the ancient literature.

Keywords: Protection of ancient books; Blue–black ink; Chromogenic agent

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-024-03554-8

Chemical Papers 78 (11) 6553–6562 (2024)