

The thinnest among the three is the Sumi ink but you can make it a bit thicker just by decreasing the amount of water that you use to dilute the ink. When it comes to consistency, the thickest is the acrylic ink but the India ink is a very close second. However, the consistency will be quite thick and may not flow quite as smoothly. Sumi ink is the least black among the three, but you can make the color a bit more intense by not using too much water to dilute it. Note that it is just loose acrylic paint, so the acrylic ink goes on quite thick. If you use it straight from the bottle India ink is almost completely opaque.

Black SaturationĪmong the three types of ink, India ink has the most intense black color. You can understand what makes them different from each other and where you can use them. Here you will learn about the differences between the most popular kinds of ink used for ink paintings and calligraphy. There are many different brands of ink, and each brand usually makes several different kinds of ink. Pen calligraphy and general writing purposes Differences Between Sumi Ink vs India Ink vs Acrylic Inkīrush calligraphy and ink paintings usually As it is technically acrylic paint, acrylic ink shares the same properties, such as water resistance and quick drying. You can see it made from extremely fine pigments suspended in an acrylic emulsion. What is Acrylic Ink?Īcrylic ink is technically not ink at all but rather a very fluid and loose paint. They used to import their ink from India. The reason why it got such a name is that it is what European traders called it. India ink is much darker than Sumi ink and is very opaque.ĭespite being called India ink, its roots come from China. This will be mixed with a binder, usually shellac.Īfter that, manufacturers mix the pigment with water to make the liquid ink people are familiar with. In this case, India ink uses carbon black usually derived from the soot of burning wood or from a resin called lampblack. Just like Sumi Ink, India ink contains soot as a pigmenting agent.

Although this is not quite as black compared to the other inks on this list, it is ideal for creating ink washes and traditional Chinese and Japanese calligraphy. This ink is usually in the form of ink blocks and contains pine soot and some form of animal glue. Sumi ink is typically used for Chinese and Japanese brush painting and calligraphy. Here are short definitions of the three popular types of ink – Sumi, India, and acrylic, so you will know what to expect from each one: What is Sumi Ink? Three Types of Ink – Sumi, India, and Acrylic Inks Differences Between Sumi Ink vs India Ink vs Acrylic Ink.Three Types of Ink – Sumi, India, and Acrylic Inks.
