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An ink eraser is an instrument used to scrape away or chemically bleach
Metal ink erasers were generally used before chemical ink erasers were introduced, and when permanent writing was done in ink. The erasers were essentially small
The chemical ink eraser was invented by the German manufacturer
An ink eraser is an instrument used to scrape away or chemically bleach ink
Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. Thicker ...
from a writing surface. This is a more involved process than removing pencil markings. Pencil marks can be gradually adhered to natural rubber fragments by rubbing the mark with a pencil eraser (this action is what prompted Joseph Priestly
Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...
to give solidified latex
Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well.
In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...
its common name.) Ink, however readily penetrates the fibers of most papers and is therefore more difficult to extract by mechanical action.
Older ink erasers are therefore small knives designed to scrape off the top few microns of a sheet of paper, removing the ink that had penetrated. In concert with bladed ink erasers an eraser similar to those at the end of pencils was also used, with additional abrasives, such as sand, mixed into the rubber. Fibreglass ink erasers also work by abrasion. These erasers physically remove the ink and the paper it has marked from the larger sheet.
The chemical ink eradicator contains a substance that reacts with some inks removing their pigmentation and hiding the writing.
Metal ink erasers
Metal ink erasers were generally used before chemical ink erasers were introduced, and when permanent writing was done in ink. The erasers were essentially small knives
A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...
. This was the downfall of Metropolitan Life
MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, wi ...
office
An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...
boy George Millet, who fell on an ink eraser kept in his breast pocket while trying to evade the kisses of six steno girls on his 15th birthday. Millet was stabbed in the heart and died instantly.
Chemical ink erasers
The chemical ink eraser was invented by the German manufacturer Pelikan
Pelikan Holding AG is a German manufacturing company of writing, office and art equipment. Credited with the invention of the differential-piston filling method, the original company was founded in Hanover in 1838 before it went bankrupt and ...
in the 1930s and was introduced as a novelty in Germany in 1972 under the name ''Tintentiger'' (ink tiger).
Chemical ink erasers break down royal blue ink
Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. Thicker ...
by disrupting the geometry of the dye molecules in ink so that light is no longer filtered. The molecules are disrupted by sulfite or hydroxide
Hydroxide is a diatomic anion with chemical formula OH−. It consists of an oxygen and hydrogen atom held together by a single covalent bond, and carries a negative electric charge. It is an important but usually minor constituent of water. I ...
ion
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...
s binding to the central carbon
Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon mak ...
atoms of the dye.{{cite web, url=http://www.chemieunterricht.de/dc2/tip/09_03.htm, title=Prof. Blumes Tipp des Monats, work=chemieunterricht.de The ink is not destroyed by the erasing process, but is made invisible. It can be transformed back into a visible work with aldehyde
In organic chemistry, an aldehyde () is an organic compound containing a functional group with the structure . The functional group itself (without the "R" side chain) can be referred to as an aldehyde but can also be classified as a formyl grou ...
s.
The eradicator only works with certain inks. Erasable inks of various colors exist, but royal blue is the most common.
After applying the eradicator, erasable ink cannot be applied in the erased area of the paper, where the chemicals remain.
For this reason, eradicators usually include a permanent blue felt tip that allows the user to write in the erased area.
See also
*Deinking
Deinking is the industrial process of removing printing ink from paperfibers of recycled paper to make deinked pulp.
The key in the deinking process is the ability to detach ink from the fibers. This is achieved by a combination of mechanical ac ...
* Eraser
An eraser (also known as a rubber in some Commonwealth countries, including South Africa from the material first used) is an article of stationery that is used for removing marks from paper or skin (e.g. parchment or vellum). Erasers have ...
References