Red Inks For Grading

[EricaTX]

Teachers and professors (or anyone else who uses red...):

 

I'm looking for a unique red to grade. I've graded with J. Herbin Hematite Rouge, Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses, Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses, and currently am using Noodler's Black-Red (or is it Red-Black)? I'm looking for a change...

 

I recently bought a Pilot Metropolitan for grading, but bought the fine and it's super fine. I'm looking for a very bold color that is clearly a fountain pen ink and not a gel-red ink.

 

What do y'all use?

[prf5]

You might want to look at Sheaffer Skrip Red.

[Jimmy Joe]

I've used several reds for grading--Diamine Poppy Red, Noodler's Nikita, Widowmaker, and several others--but Skrip Red is still the one to beat. It's bright, inexpensive, and very well behaved. I use italic nibs for marking students' work, so it's always clear I'm not using a gel or ballpoint pen. I use italics because they allow me to both write reasonably small and still have bold marks that stand out and are easily noticed.

[lgsoltek]

I've used quite a lot of reds for grading, including:

Private Reserve Fiesta Red (my first bottle of non black ink. Sometimes too dark and looks like black),

Iroshizuku Fuyu-gaki (when it's wet enough it looks more red. I've used this for a whole year.),

Sheaffer Skrip Red (true red but not special enough),

Diamine Poppy Red (similar to Skrip Red but flows better),

JH Rouge hématite (love the sheen but may be slow to dry),

Montblanc Corn Poppy Red (so far my favourite red, do check it out),

Montblanc Winter Glow, Hitchcock (these two are nice too),

R&K Morinda (seems a bit bland),

Noodler's Cayenne (dry time is too long),

Sailor Bung Box Omaezaki Sunset, Kingdom Note Amanita muscaria (these two are orange-reds which look very similar. The KN flows better.)

 

I've also used warm colours other than red for grading, like Iroshizuku Yama-budo, Noodler's Apache Sunset, etc., but my superior once told me that it's better to use only red.

[Runnin_Ute]

Diamine Classic Red is a nice true red.

[amberleadavis]

Also look at this thread.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/279273-inky-t-o-d-color-swatches-red-please-post-your-pictures-and-tell-us-your-thoughts/

[EricaTX]

Thanks all!

[inkstainedruth]

I gave away a bottle of Platinum Mix-Free Flame Red to someone in my local pen club who wanted it for grading papers (he's a college professor). It's sort of eye popping Mercurochrome Red and I thought the color was completely hideous when I tried it (but the bottle was free to me to start with).

I suspect it would be eye-popping even with an EF nib.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[lapis]

Diamine's Poppy Red. Otherwise their Wild Strawberry. In the same league: same easy maintenance, less expensive, but less bright: Sheaffer's Red.

 

Mike

[athenian]

Diamine Oxblood. Looks like dried blood.

[tinkerteacher]

My 3 go to inks for grading are Oxblood, Red Dragon, and Wild Strawberry, all Diamine.

 

Oxblood: "teacher why is my essay bleeding?" a serious, somber ink good for marking up long assignments. non-threatening and not too red, but the dried blood colour calls attention to itself. also, the colour is professional enough to be used for all sorts of other duties. I fairly drink the stuff, going through a 80ml bottle quite regularlly.

 

Red Dragon: "Dungeons & what? teacher you are old." A noble red the colour of fresh blood and epic quests. A good standard red grading ink that still has some serious flare. Maybe too nice of a colour to be wasting on the students.

 

Wild Strawberry: "Ahh, my eyes! It burns!" A red that even the most spaced out student can't fail to notice ... from the other side of the classroom. A bit too harsh for daily use, but a good classroom management tool. I just have to threaten to start using it again to mark their homework and they fall right into line.

[tinkerteacher]

My essay grading tool kit:

 

 

Diamine Oxblood 80 ml and Platinum Preppy Hello Kitty LE (modified with nib and feed from new model medium)

Edited March 29, 2015 by tinkerteacher

[BobR]

I've found Diamine Monaco Red to have more character (or sophistication) than a standard bright red, perhaps a bit darker. It's got plenty of punch and great performance. All in all, a very classy red. It should be, it was based on royal colors!

[Ambrose Bierce]

De Atramentis Cola is very cool to me. It isn't extremely red, but red enough. Has a very subdued scent of a cola too (you can smell it in bottle, but not when writing).

When thinking about it, De At actually has a lot of really cool, and scented, red inks. Check them out

[PS104]

With the price of FP inks I think I’d stop worrying about doing harm to the “dear little ones’” psyches and find the cheapest (preferably free) red BP, use that and save the red FP ink for Christmas and Valentine’s Day

[Lou Erickson]

With the price of FP inks I think I’d stop worrying about doing harm to the “dear little ones’” psyches and find the cheapest (preferably free) red BP, use that and save the red FP ink for Christmas and Valentine’s Day

Pshaw! If they have to do more than write a single grade at the top, the exciting part of the fountain pen has nothing to do with their psyche; it has to do with their wrists and the results of writing so much. A FP is a much better tool for that!

 

If they're worried about cost, then a big bottle of Noodlers or Diamine or even Skrip Red will be quite affordable. Only if they insist on grading with Iroshizuku Momoji (probably too pink, anyway) will cost be the active concern. Some of the special inks - Bulletproof, waterproof, UV-reactive Noodler's Fox, for example - may be pricey too. But woe be the kid who tries to fake comments from you with a false ink if you're using Fox. (Maybe not RED enough, though.)

 

Add: Sadly, I can't suggest Pilot Red. Pilot Blue and Pilot Black are great, but Pilot Red is washed out and dullsville.

Edited March 30, 2015 by Lou Erickson

[ink-syringe]

Keep a safari loaded with Montblanc Corn Poppy Red. A very nice combo. A very nice red ink. I use it for grading and other things.

 

 

[LWJ2]

I'd use Noodler's Nikita, it's a red's Red and the fact that there's a 4½ ounce bottle of it on my shelf doesn't hurt. Crushing their psyches doesn't really matter, someone will eventually.

 

Leon

[1962falcon]

In recent years I have transitioned from Skrip to Diamine Matador then to Diamine Red Dragon, all of which I have enjoyed using and would not have problem to return to any, however, I do like a change and I am now eyeing up MB's Corn Poppy ......

 

Regards, Falcon

[jasonchickerson]

I much prefer green for marking. R&K Alt-goldgrün works nicely.