inking

1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of ink

plural inkings

1. countableuncountableAn application of ink.

   In a rotary printing-machine, a cylinder carrying a single relief design, means for imparting successive complete inkings to said design […]

   1900, Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, page 175

2. countableuncountableWork done by an inker, one kind of commercial artist
3. countableuncountableInputting text or drawings into a computer, tablet, or similar apparatus using a stylus.
4. countableuncountableA defensive activity where ink is released by squids, cuttlefish, etc.

   1 more example

   Mucus-rich ink is supposedly a dangerous or annoying substance that interferes with fish gills and some cephalopods react adversely to their own inkings in small containers or in the lab. The blue-ringed octopus Hapalochlaena lunulata has tetrodotoxin, the deadly toxin it also releases in a bite, in their ink but the concentrations and effect in inking are not known.

   2017 August 9, Mark Carnall, “Why do cephalopods produce ink? And what's ink made of, anyway?”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 15 Mar 2023