Welcome to the 2014 Copic “Earth Day” Blog Hop! Earth Day, April 22, marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. Over forty years later, Earth Day has become a global event with over 200 million people in over 141 countries getting involved in the effort to promote a clean environment.
Did you know that Copic markers and inks are environmentally friendly?
• Copic Various Inks are non-toxic, so there’s no worry about harmful chemicals getting into the environment.
• Because you can refill your Copic markers when needed, you never have to throw them away!
• Copic Various Ink bottles are recycle-able.
All that refilling and recycling means less garbage in landfills and less negative impact on the environment.
In celebration of Earth Day 2014, the Copic Education Team and Design Team has gotten together for a hop. Visit each person’s blog to learn personal tips and tricks for refilling and caring for your markers, and then be sure to visit the Copic Blog to enter the Copic Earth Week Giveaway!
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Debbie's Copic Marker Refilling Tips:
1. First, I know that Lori Craig is sharing her findings on filling Copic markers by weight, and that's how I have been handling it too. So be sure to see Lori's blog for her explanation of that process.
2. Remember the basics: if a marker has a pale tip and feels scratchy or even sounds louder than usual as you stroke it across your paper, chances are that you need to add ink. Besides not coloring as well, a dry marker nib is more fragile than a juicy one; so take care of those marker nibs-- keep them juicy!
3. When you refill a marker, be sure to take BOTH caps off. If you don't, the tight seal of the remaining cap will create an air lock, and the reservoir won't accept ink as well as it should.
4. When you refill your markers, don't forget cap-care. Excessive ink build-up inside a cap can keep the cap from sealing properly and cause your markers to dry out more quickly than they should. Occasionally marker caps need a spa day too! While I fill my markers, I drop the inky caps into a dish of 91% rubbing alcohol to soak for a minute or two. Next I drain them and dry them with a cotton swab before replacing them on the freshly filled marker.
5. Rarely--"once in a blue moon"-- I have a marker that is full enough (checked by weight), but ink still doesn't seem to be flowing freely from the tip. It is usually a darker color, and one that I have had uncapped for a while as I work. If my marker is full by weight, but I am still experiencing difficulties, I have found that cleaning the tip usually takes care of the problem.
When I clean a super brush tip, I usually put several drops of Colorless Blender into the corner of a plastic sandwich bag, and then I insert my marker, super brush end first, into the corner of the bag and squeeze/knead the super brush tip for a few seconds to dislodge dried ink particles from the nib before taking it out of the bag and squeezing the colorless blender out of the nib with a paper towel. Squeezing/kneading a tip will not hurt it, but tugging at it can break the inner tip from the outer tip. Never tug at a super brush tip. By the way, I don't remove super brush tips by hand. I use the Copic tweezers if I need to remove a super brush. Because the Copic tweezers have teeth, they can grip through both the inner and outer tip and remove them without damaging the tip.
Well, those are my best Copic ink refilling tips. I hope they are helpful to you! Be sure to check the blogs below for more useful tips and maybe some eye candy as well.
Debbie Olson (here)
When you’re finished hopping, head on over to the Copic Blog and sign up to be entered in the Earth Week Giveaway! Five lucky winners will each receive a 3-piece Blending Trio or Color Fusion set, one Various Ink refill, and a 5" x 7" sketchbook.
That's it for today--thanks for visiting,
Debbie
