墨は、煤（すす）を膠（にかわ）で固めて作られますが、その原材料、煤の種類によって3種類に大別されます。

1）松煙墨＝松の木を燃やして採る煤で作る墨。長い歴史を誇る煤ですが、現在日本で採煙を行っているのは「墨工房 紀州松煙」の堀池氏ただ一人。松煙は貴重で手に入りにくくなってしまいました。「にじみ」の表現の幅が広いので、水墨画で好んで使われます。

2）油煙墨＝菜種油、ごま油などの植物油を燃やして採る煤で作る墨。漢字、かな、水墨画など幅広く使われます。

3）重油などを燃やして採る煤で作る墨。お手軽な金額で手に入る墨はこの煤100%、あるいはかなり高い比率でこの煤を加えられた墨であることがほとんどです。

Soot, the raw material that determines the quality of sumi ink, can be broadly classified into three types.

1）Pine soot (called ”SHOEN” in Japanese) = soot gathered from burning pine trees. Although pine-soot has a long history, it is precious and hard to find nowadays. Mr. Horiike is the only one who currently produces it in Japan. Thus we rarely find pine-soot Sumi ink made of 100% pine-soot. This type of Sumi ink sticks are favored for its wide range of expression "NIJIMI".

2）Oil-soot (called ”YUEN” in Japanese) = soot made from burned vegetable oils such as colza and sesame oil. They range in price from affordable to expensive. Good for Calligraphy and Suiboku painting.

3）Others = soot of burned heavy oil. Most of the affordable sumi inks are made of this type of this soot, 100% or with a very high percentage of this kind of soot.