Ink is one of the oldest technologies invented by man. Egyptian civilization had an advanced technology of inks, both in color and in black, as exemplified by Yuya Papyrus, dated 1390 BC; an image from this papyrus serves as a background of this website. Ink technology based on carbon black (soot), resins of plants and water, were known in China and Japan. According to Wikipedia, the traditional Chinese method of making the ink was to grind a mixture of hide glue, carbon black, lampblack, and bone black pigment with a pestle and mortar, then pouring it into a ceramic dish to dry. To use the dry mixture, a wet brush would be applied until it reliquified. As this ink technology was coming to Europe from India, it became known as India Ink. Many elements of the old ink technology were re-discovered with the advent on inkjet printing in 1990s. See also the excellent wikipedia article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ink
