An ink blotter is a device that is used to remove excess ink from a handwritten document in order to prevent smears and bleeds. People began using ballpoint pens, typewriters, and eventually personal computers to generate written material instead of traditional quill pens in the middle of the twentieth century, when ink blotters became obsolete. However, they have some uses, and some art and stationery supply stores sell them to customers who need them.
An ink blotter is typically fashioned from a curved block of metal, wood, bone, or plastic. With the use of a material like felt or a piece of blotting paper, which can be attached to the blotter using special clips, the surface is designed to absorb ink directly. The blotter is often designed to fit into a case to keep a desk tidy and prevent it from rolling around when not in use, and the top of the block has a handle that can be grasped to manipulate it.
To use this device, a writer would complete a document, pick up the blotter, and gently roll it across the document’s surface. As long as the user lifted the blotter cleanly at the end of a roll, the rolling motion would allow the absorbent portion to pick up excess ink without causing it to smear during the blotting process. It may take several passes to completely cover the document, at which point it is usually safe to touch without smearing.
The invention of the ink blotter was extremely beneficial to writers. Absorbent materials such as sand had to be scattered onto the paper before it could be developed, or loose sheets of blotting paper had to be carefully applied to finished documents. Using an entire sheet of paper could result in smears and bleeding, which would be unsightly and force the writer to start over. The rolling blotter sped up the process considerably.
Ink blotters are still used for their original purpose by people who work with traditional quill pens. Many art supply stores carry these utensils because they can be used to blot ink drawings, watercolors, and other wet media works of art. Vintage ones are also collected by some people, who see them as interesting relics from a bygone era.