Two further developments ultimately revolutionised writing and its durability in Europe: paper and iron gall ink. Although the Chinese had already invented paper in 100 BC, it was not introduced to Europe until the 13th century. And even the invention of the most durable ink to date – iron gall ink –, which the Romans already knew, did not begin its triumphal procession until the Middle Ages. However, it is still the only ink that is considered "indelible" today. The most important works written with iron gall ink include the Magna Carta, the American Declaration of Independence of 1776, some drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, van Gogh and scores by Johann Sebastian Bach.
However, iron gall ink also has one or two disadvantages: for example, when it ages, it releases sulphuric acid which decomposes the paper – a catastrophe for Bach's scores, for example. Another disadvantage came to light when, from the middle of the 18th century onwards, the nibs were no longer made of goosequills but of steel nibs. The original recipe of iron gall ink resulted in the steel nibs rusting within a very short time.
Yet the further development of the ink recipe also failed to solve another problem: the blot. The use of the nib along with the inkpot usually, or very likely every time, resulted in ugly blots on written documents. The New York insurance salesman Lewis Edison Waterman, who invented the “fountain pen” in 1883, finally found a remedy. However, the invention was not intended for charitable purposes, given that Waterman had previously lost a customer because of an ink blot on a contract document.