Pelikan Fount India

[comfortableshoes]

Pelikan Fount India is a “drawing ink for fountain pens.” The bottle describes it as black, opaque and lightfast. I’ve read on various places on the internet that it is a pigmented ink and thus pen care should be a little more stringent- regular flushing and cleaning of the pen.

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Pelikan Fount India by lessherger, on Flickr

Initially I bought this ink because I read online that it was waterproof and as a cheap alternative for Noodler’s Black that my online students can find in Europe. (I teach online art classes and I’m in process of writing and shooting one on drawing in pen and ink with a strong focus on using cheap fountain pens.) I found the 30 ml bottle at my local Artist &Craftsman for just under $5. Which is a pretty typical price from what I can see at the online retailers. The bottle comes with an integrated eyedropper that works really well, just like the bottles we had in my HS art class so many years ago. Sadly the bottle is plastic, unlike the heavy glass bottles we had back then. Unlike true India ink this has no inky odor.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5280/6905758888_37a5a4ae07.jpg

Pelikan Fount India by lessherger, on Flickr

I’ve used it in a variety of pens- TWSBI 530 M, Serwex Special, Serwex 77TR, Platinum Preppy, and the Camlin 11R and it performed flawlessly in all of them. It was nicely lubricating and flowed well. The line is thick and dark in a pen. When put into a brush pen the line tends to gray out BUT when another layer of ink is... layered it is sufficiently black. When brushed over with water there is significant lifting of ink, at any point in time after writing but especially within the first hour. The good thing with this is that the gray that is created is neutral and when mixed with watercolors you are not left with a muddy mess. Yellow will look dirty but cerulean blue won’t look like muddy water. When rubbing an eraser over it some ink lifts but what is left behind is not gray. The interesting thing is that even when SCRUBBED with a brush there is a good line left behind, almost as if just the top layer of ink is moving but the ink down in the paper hasn’t budged at all.

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Pelikan Fount India by lessherger, on Flickr

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Pelikan Fount India by lessherger, on Flickr

I found it to be well behaved on most papers. Some feathering on really really cheap copy papers but it did well on inexpensive sketch paper which is where I use it the most. I forced myself to use it exclusively for a few weeks to determine if I could recommend it to my students and after a week of using it without a pen inked with Noodler’s Black, I can heartily do so. It’s a good black ink, that I really enjoy for both writing and drawing. After the forced week I’ve continued to use this ink for a month.

 

I haven’t yet tested it’s lightfast claims but it’s on my current test sheet in a sunny window.

 

Overall, this is a really nice dark black ink that I’d recommend to anyone who wants something really dark and even for drawing or writing.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5466/7051849139_6128273bda.jpg

Pelikan Fount India by lessherger, on Flickr

[Robert Alan]

Thank you so much for your wonderful review with terrific illustrations. This ink brings back so many memories! I used to use Pelikan Fount India exclusively back in the early 1970s, and it came in a glass bottle (exactly the same as the current 30ml bottle, but with a yellow & black label). Around 1972 or 1973, it cost a $1 at Seattle Art in downtown Seattle. I used it in my trusty Pelikan 120 ($10-also at Seattle Art) which I still have, and it still writes well. I never had any problems with clogging, etc., although I did periodically flush the 120 probably because I changed nibs from extra-fine to medium for either drawing, journaling, or letter-writing.

Regards, Robert

 

 

[wastelanded]

Great review, thanks very much!

[Uncle Red]

Wow, thank you. This is a great review. Do yo see any shading from the wider nibs?

[BobR]

Thanks for a great review and illustrations on an ink I've wondered about for a long while. Will have to order me a bottle soon.

[georges zaslavsky]

very interesting black ink from pel. Is it an iron gall ink ??

[comfortableshoes]

Wow, thank you. This is a great review. Do yo see any shading from the wider nibs?

The widest I"ve had it in is my TWSBI M which I've got running VERY wet, I've not seen any shading with that nib, but I do have it in a brush pen, and though it does flow heavily from it, there is some variation in depth of the black, so I suspect it woulde shade in a normal flow B nib.

 

very interesting black ink from pel. Is it an iron gall ink ??

I don't think it is. From what I've read it's simply India ink without the shellac.

[blazv]

Thank you for your great (and positive) review. I also have a bottle of this ink and I'm very pleased with it: the flow is generous (and therefore there is little feathering on lowest bidder paper. Also, my TWSBI M writes a B line with it - there hardly is any shading). It dries reasonably fast. The color is a real black and on better paper it dries with a glossy sheen. The best part is that the pigment (nano)particles provide extra gliding experience (i.e. great lubrication) - the nib dances across paper as a warm knife would through butter. The only noticeable (possible) drawbacks would be nib creep and that it is not friends with very fast writing. I can live with that.

Washout from a pen is quick and thorough with plain water and it is permanent on paper (not IG. Pigment particles settle between paper fibers). Great for my needs. Will be buying more.

[lapis]

A. Thanks a lot for this great review.

B. I like it too and have already used it a lot. Not yet seen any problems in any pen on any paper!

C. No, it is not an ion-gall ink.

 

Mike