printing ink

noun

a type of ink that flows smoothly, dries quickly, and is of a consistency able to hold enough color to make printed matter legible: used to transfer the image on a press plate to the printing surface.

Nearby words

printer's ream, printery, printhead, printing, printing frame, printing ink, printing office, printing paper, printing press, printless, printmaker

Origin of printing ink

First recorded in 1670–80

Examples from the Web for printing ink

They found that it possessed an unlooked-for advantage in its quick absorption of printing-ink.
How To Write Special Feature Articles|Willard Grosvenor Bleyer
A printed book could not be read, because printing-ink contained impure matter.
The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India|R. V. Russell
The production of photographic pictures in printing-ink by means of the press is now receiving a great deal of attention.
Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art|Various
It will then be susceptible of being laid beautifully uniform on the stone with the ink-roller like printing-ink.
The Invention of Lithography|Alois Senefelder

The printing-ink has a tendency to keep off moths and other small insects.
Miss Leslie's Lady's New Receipt-Book|Eliza Leslie