Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, or ABS, (
chemical formula (C8H8· C4H6·C3H3N)n) is a common
thermoplastic used to make light, rigid, molded products such as piping, musical instruments (most notably
recorders and plastic
clarinets), golf club heads (used for its good
shock absorbance), automotive body parts, wheel covers, enclosures, protective head gear, vballs [reusable paintballs], and toys including
LEGO bricks. In plumbing, ABS pipes are the black pipes (
PVC pipes are white) and also in
Plastic Pressure Pipe Systems. ABS plastic ground down to an average diameter of less than 1
micrometer is used as the colorant in some
tattoo inks.
Tattoo inks that use ABS are extremely vivid. This vividness is the most obvious indicator that the
ink contains ABS, as
tattoo inks rarely list their ingredients.
See more at Wikipedia.org...