One of the simple joys of using a fountain pen is finding the perfect ink to express yourself. The sheer variety of inks to choose from means there is an ink for any mood or style you choose. But with over five thousand different inks available it makes finding that one ink a challenge. Where should a beginner start? Let's explore a few different scenarios and discuss recommendations to help you in your fountain pen hobby.
Along with the huge variety of colors there is a wide range of ink properties from which to choose. Does the ink shimmer, or shade, does it resist water, is it quick drying, or is it made for cheap paper. There are even inks specially formulated to resist freezing in very cold weather.
Everyday ink
It's best to start with choosing an everyday ink. Depending on how you use your pen will determine what ink would be ideal for you. Writing short quotes in fancy script demands a prettier ink, while the everyday ink should be one for pure utility. It should be dark, dry quickly, and resist smudges.
While black is a very popular color for an everyday ink I prefer to use blue, as it can give my writing a little bit of character, more so than just a dark line. However, you can choose a color other than these, it would ideal for you to choose a dark color, so that it is easy to read.
Some popular choices for an everyday ink are:
- Platinum Carbon Black
- Noodler's Eel Black
- Sailor Pigment Souboku
- Platinum Pigment Blue
Ink on cheap paper
Cheap paper is made for gel and rollerball pens. It has a loose connection of interlocking fibers, which make it good at soaking up liquids like a sponge. This is good paper when using gel or oil viscus based inks as it helps lock the ink into the paper.
However it not as useful when using liquid inks. Fountain pen inks quickly bleed into the fibers of cheap paper, feathering out form the line you write, creating little finger vines pointing off of your writing. At least it's distracting, at worst words and letters bleed into each other making them difficult to read.
Noodler's make a line of X-Feather inks that resist feathering. They are a little thicker and take a little longer to dry, but resist feathering on even the most absorbent of papers.
Waterproof ink
Most fountain pen inks have a measure of resistance to water but are not themselves waterproof. You will generally find two types of water resistant ink, those that resist water and those that are a mix of non-resistant ink and waterproof ink.
Water resistant ink will hold to the page as much as it can, but some of the ink will feather and wash away. Leaving some form of letters that can be read with some effort. These inks, along with non-resistant inks, are best kept as dry as possible. If there is a possibility of water these would be best avoided.
Then there are waterproof inks, these are formulated in a few different ways to hold fast to the paper. Some inks are pigment based, as the pigments bond to the paper as the ink dries. Other inks chemically bond to the paper as they dry, creating a mark that will not smudge or wash away in the presence of water.
Just make sure you are using waterproof specially formulated for fountain pens, and don't use calligraphy ink in your fountain pen. It's just bad news.
Dye based inks and Pigment inks
The two most popular types of inks are dye based, and pigment based, inks. Both types of inks contain very tiny particles that give the ink it's color. Though the exact differences between dye and pigment ink is more nuanced.
The difference is that dye based inks are water soluble, the dye particles will re-hydrate in the presence of water. While pigment based inks the particles are non-soluble in water. Most dye based ink will be water-resistant, and most pigment inks are waterproof, though there are exceptions to the rule.
It used to be that pigment inks could clog fountain pens, but that is no longer the case. Ink makers have improved their craft to such a point that it's difficult to really tell the difference between dye and pigment based inks.
Fountain pen inks
The best thing to do is start by buying ink samples. There are so many different kinds of inks and they even act differently in different pens. Buying a handful of samples will give you experience with lots of colors for a reasonable price.