Everything you need to know about Indian ink
The sooty black pigment in India ink has an extreme fineness of less than 2 microns (1 micron = 1 /1000 mm). These particles are in constant motion in the ink, colliding and repelling each other. Due to the special ink preparation method, they do not clump together. However, if a large amount of water is added to the ink too quickly, the binder (shellac) surrounding the particles dissolves. The particles then clump into larger particles and sink to the bottom. When diluting the ink, the water should therefore be added and mixed little by little to avoid this phenomenon.
No, Talens India ink and Talens Drawing ink are not suitable for tattoo application. These products are exclusively formulated and intended for application on paper. These products have not been tested for tattoo application, either in terms of technical aspects or health aspects. In addition, more and more countries have legislation on tattoo dyes. The Talens products mentioned do not meet these requirements. For the above reasons, the labels of these products bear the text "not for tattooing".
In principle, all somewhat absorbent and grease-free surfaces are suitable for working with ink, although the choice depends on the technique used. If only a drawing pen is used, a harder and smoother type of paper is recommended. The pen may otherwise get caught in the fibres or structure of the paper. If the ink is applied with a brush or washed with (a lot of) water, water colour paper can prevent too much bulging of the ground.