Writing inks date from about 2500 BC and were used in ancient Egypt and China. They consisted of lampblack ground with a solution of glue or gums, molded into sticks, and allowed to dry. Before use, the sticks were mixed with water. Various coloured juices, extracts, and suspensions of substances from plants, animals, and minerals also have been used as inks, including alizarin, indigo, pokeberries, cochineal, and sepia. For many centuries, a mixture of a soluble iron salt with an extract of tannin was used as a writing ink and is the basis of modern blue-black inks. The modern inks usually contain ferrous sulfate as the iron salt with a small amount of mineral organic acid. The resulting solution is light bluish black and, if used alone on paper, appears only faintly. After standing it becomes darker and insoluble in water, which gives it a permanent quality. To make the writing darker and more legible at the outset, dyes are added. Modern coloured inks and washable inks contain soluble synthetic dyes as the sole colouring matter. The writing fades in strong light and rinses out of washable fabrics but lasts for many years if not subjected to such effects.

Modern printing inks are usually less fluid than writing inks. The composition, viscosity, density, volatility, and diffusibility of ink are variable.

In 1772 the first patent was issued in England for making coloured inks, and in the 19th century chemical drying agents appeared, making possible the use of a wide variety of pigments for coloured inks. Later, varnishes (varnish) of varying stiffness were developed to make inks for different papers and presses. Varnish was replaced by mineral oil in inks when high-speed newspaper presses were introduced. The oil base penetrated rapidly into newsprint and dried quickly. Water-based inks are also used, especially for screen printing. It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that ink-making became a complicated chemical-industrial process.