Interestingly, when they refer to the red ink coming off the parchment, it's is not an ink, but an illumination. Inks were historically gall inks that used lam

Interestingly, when they refer to the red ink coming off the parchment, it's is not an ink, but an illumination. Inks were historically gall inks that used lampblack for the first few weeks, and the ink gall to dissolve/burn the parchment. That's why inks were black: they were char. The colors though, were compounds painted on the manuscript to provide color. Malachite, lapis, lead, mercury, arsenic, and copper were all traditional pigments. So, when they say the red ink is flaking off, it's actually a red lead flaking. And yes, these methods last hundreds of years. And many of them are as vibrant as when they were created.