Marker Remix – Experiment and Experience
Refilling markers not only protects the environment but also saves money, as everyone knows. But mixing your own colors and experimenting a bit is also really fun!
You can mix virtually any imaginable (or at least printable) color. Basically, four bottles of RefillOne are all you need. Numbers 301 , 704 , 501 , and 100 correspond almost exactly to the four colors used to print magazines, for example: cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (which means black). Since we only wanted vibrant, rainbow-like colors and were also feeling a bit lazy, we omitted black (100) from our experiments – it's very intense, and the resulting color often becomes not only darker but also a bit "dirty." And off we go: Mixing possible!
Mixing possible: Starter set for your color experiments
Jump into the deep end
The photo of our "experimental setup" shows not only many empty markers and a handful of refill bottles, but also other things, which we'll discuss in more detail later. To begin, we mixed pure colors. We wanted to add a fresh green, a deep blue, and a warm reddish-orange to the three primary colors. Can't be that difficult, right?
So we filled an empty marker with a dose of yellow (501), followed by an approximately equal dose of cyan (301). Ta-da! After a short time, we had a wonderful shade of green. Next, we mixed a warm red tone using equal doses of yellow and magenta (704). It worked, and we thought, "That's easy!" But it isn't. Because when we filled the marker with cyan and magenta in the same way, we got a dark magenta that was about as far removed from blue as we could possibly imagine.
Photos and drawings: Thies Thiessen
And this is how it's done correctly
Learned something new again: Mix the colors first , then fill the marker. To get a deep blue, you need more cyan than magenta. And that means experimenting. You should also always note down how much of each primary color is needed to create "your" color. If you want to be absolutely precise, you could even use a syringe with a scale, but counting drops works too. Because we didn't do any of that, our attempt to mix a gray from the three primary colors also failed; instead, we ended up with some muddy, whatever-it-was color. So here's the simple rule again:
1. Measure and mix
2. Check if the color is correct.
3. Only then fill the markers.
(To interpret the rule realistically: 1. Measure and mix, 2. Check, 3. Measure and mix again, 4. Check, 5. Measure and… – until you finally get your desired tone. This takes time and is a bit frustrating, but we were lazy and curious about the second attempt anyway… ;))
Three colors, infinitely many mixtures. What does your color look like?
Time to experiment
Next, we filled the empty markers with liquids not normally used for this purpose. Would coffee produce a nice brown color? Would beetroot be deep red or more of a pink? What about red wine? And: Could we perhaps create a magic marker that can only be read by those who know its secret?
To put it simply: coffee would have to be very, very strong to be visible on paper at all. Beetroot produces a pinkish, almost skin-colored tone. Red wine is quite similar, except that the color becomes slightly browner and warmer as it dries.
Photos and drawings: Thies Thiessen
The invisible ink was a complete success. We filled the marker with freshly squeezed lemon juice, and sure enough: when we wrote a few words with it, not even we could see them. So we put the paper on a toaster… And after a while, the invisible writing turned first light, then a darker brown. And then our paper almost darkened too and nearly caught fire. So be careful! 😉 But apart from the near-fire, we had a fun-filled afternoon! So if you ever find yourself missing a color in the Neuland palette: just mix it yourself.
(Update one week later: The invisible ink marker no longer works because the freshly squeezed lemon juice is no longer fresh. Citric acid is a better option – you can find it at the drugstore. It doesn't spoil and works at least as well.)
Now it's your turn: We look forward to hearing about your personal Neuland remix.
