Pen Color Vs Ink Color

[mholve]

Well, of course! Part of why we need so many inks is because pens need coordinating/matching colors but different ones for different seasons.

 

So true... I obviously just need more inks.

 

I really don't see harmonizing colours as OCD. For anyone who appreaciates the aesthetics of colour harmony or has any art training or natural sensitivity to colour in their surroundings, colour combining is one of the visual pleasures of life, be it in home decor, clothing choices, or any other area of life, including pens and ink. In a letter, for instance, colour can have a profound psychological effect on both the writer and reader. It can embellish a letter not only visually but also by being supportive to the content. I see colour as a tool just like pen, paper and ink, and something to be used effectively to enhance meaning as well as delight the eye.

 

Couldn't agree more. A lot of us do pick out particular pens based on personal style and choice as it is; why stop there? I'm a very "visual" type of person; my other big hobby is photography and I've dabbled in various arts over the years (mechanical drawing, advertising art and design, etc.). As it turns out, I also like interior/exterior design. So matching pens and inks for whatever reason just seems like "the natural thing to do" to me!

[Joane]

Do you suppose I could ever learn to love purple ink in red pens? :hmm1:

Depending on what combos are pleasing to your eye, if you get the right purple with the right red, I think it could be stunningly beautiful!

[physicsgirl]

I coordinate my ink colors, but the other day I put Diamene Red Dragon in my pink safari and its killing me!

[mholve]

I coordinate my ink colors, but the other day I put Diamene Red Dragon in my pink safari and its killing me!

 

At least they're both in the same color family.

[Ada]

My rules are a bit stricter than the OP's -- no pastels in black pens, no grey in champagne or cream pens. But I don't match or even always coordinate ink with pens, but find combinations that please me. So I have Yu-yake in a lime green pen at the moment, even though I would never wear orange and green together.

[Iranna]

I really don't see harmonizing colours as OCD. For anyone who appreaciates the aesthetics of colour harmony or has any art training or natural sensitivity to colour in their surroundings, colour combining is one of the visual pleasures of life, be it in home decor, clothing choices, or any other area of life, including pens and ink. In a letter, for instance, colour can have a profound psychological effect on both the writer and reader. It can embellish a letter not only visually but also by being supportive to the content. I see colour as a tool just like pen, paper and ink, and something to be used effectively to enhance meaning as well as delight the eye.

 

I agree fully. But it can be very impractical too, for example if the only pen I have uninked is turquoise and I want to use Diamine Monaco Red with my next fill, what can I do? Combine turquoise and red and suffer? No, I'd rather just use the inks and pens that I feel like using, and not be obsessed with colour harmony! It's often a compromise.

[alexander_k]

Obviously. There's an aesthetic side to it (if colours clash, your perception of what you're writing can make you feel unseasy) but there's also a memory question: if you have many pens inked with a variety of colours, how are you expected to remember what's what?

[FPFan]

Hey! I'm trying to get rid of my colour matching obsession! It's therapeutic to talk about it though...

 

I promise next time I will fill my red Hemisphere with Kelly Green Actually, come to think of it, I think that is what was in there before I loaded up the Chocolat...

 

Nonono, you can't put green ink in a red pen!

 

I put Noodler's Warden Series Bad Green Gator in Noodler's RED/GREEN December 25th pen last week. Oh, yeah. . . it's still in there! And I did it on purpose!

[inkspot]

Hey! I'm trying to get rid of my colour matching obsession! It's therapeutic to talk about it though...

 

I promise next time I will fill my red Hemisphere with Kelly Green Actually, come to think of it, I think that is what was in there before I loaded up the Chocolat...

 

Nonono, you can't put green ink in a red pen! Particularly not bright green like Kelly Green!

 

 

I assure you, it was done completely unintentionally - not even to coordinate for December. I think I just wanted that line for that ink :embarrassed_smile:

 

I really don't pay much attention to the colour of the pen when I load in my ink - I tend to think more about how it writes and what pen will best show off the desired qualities of a specific ink.

[CatBookMom]

The first pen I've bought in years is one of the Platinum Plaisirs, in a pearly lavender, and when I was trying it out with some ink samples, Noodlers Black Swan in Australian Roses seemed to be a great combo. So, in spite of thinking that the Lamy Al-Star in deep purple would be the perfect match to the ink, I've saved myself money in not buying the Lamy. And I'm loving the Black Swan - bottle on order.

 

When I was still writing holiday cards, I had Levenger's Cardinal Red in my red Lamy Safari and Levenger's Gemstone Green in my deep blue Waterman Phileas (no green pen).

 

Seems like the fun of the new inexpensive pens is the freedom to mix and match with all the new ink colors available. Is anyone using J. Harbin's Vert Empire? What pen?

[Joane]

Is anyone using J. Harbin's Vert Empire? What pen?

CBM, to answer this question, yes, I am currently using Vert Empire in Duofold Lucky 8, which is black with grey swirls. It's a very sophisticated combo, I must say, seems somewhat Art Deco to me. I also like Vert Empire in Duofold mandarin yellow Cloisonné, which has some green touches on the top of the cap and black trim. Vert Empire seems to flow well in any pen in which I've used it so far. It's a beautiful colour, subtle and yet having stately presence.

 

Edited to correct punctuation.

Edited January 15, 2011 by Joane

[bayport714]

Yes, I always match ink with pen. I also never use black refills in a blue ballpoint.

[cubic archon]

I don't do it compulsively, but it does make it quite a bit easier to remember which ink is in which pen if I do. I know what is in whatever pen that is my current daily writer, but I easily forget the others.

 

What do you put in demonstrators? Blue Ghost?

[WendyNC]

I don't do it compulsively, but it does make it quite a bit easier to remember which ink is in which pen if I do. I know what is in whatever pen that is my current daily writer, but I easily forget the others.

 

What do you put in demonstrators? Blue Ghost?

 

It depends on the demonstrator. Completely clear ones are great because they go with anything and everything. However, I have one which has blue and green swirls with some very subtle copper highlights in some of the green swirls. I'm not putting any kind of burgundy ink in that one! (but purple is okay--go figure)

[Penache]

I never matched pen to ink until recently. I fell in love with the Purple Lamy Al-Star and requested it as a Christmas present. It was promptly filled with PR Plum, one of my all time favourite inks. I still can't believe how perfectly the colours match.

[Pippin60]

Yes, I always match ink with pen. I also never use black refills in a blue ballpoint.

 

Interesting, I will use black in my FP's but never in a BP or RB.

[ClassicHippie]

Do you try to use ink color that matches the pen's body color? Maybe not matching completely, but more like matching tones, or matching color family. I find silver, gold, black, brown, and white pens can take any colored ink with no awkward effect. On the other hand, putting red ink in blue or green pen seems... wrong. Do you try to avoid putting certain colored ink in certain colored pen?

They don't have to match exactly, but I definitely can't ink complimentary colors in my pens.

[notgiven]

I never matched pen to ink until recently. I fell in love with the Purple Lamy Al-Star and requested it as a Christmas present. It was promptly filled with PR Plum, one of my all time favourite inks. I still can't believe how perfectly the colours match.

 

It's awesome when that happen unintentionally .

[KCat]

I coordinate and I match to some extent. But most of the time I'm looking to match the ink with the nib. My Sonnet with firehose nib is a Laque Firedance - a black and deep blood red mottled pen. I can't find a single good picture of it - it is not at all pinkish or purplish. But the best ink for it's nib is Caran d'Ache Storm. Rather a bad color match, if'n ya ask me. Now, Caran d'Ache Grand Canyon would probably work well in it as well and coordinate a bit better but meh - why bother when I love Storm? So for the most part, not bothered by clashing colors but am pleased when an ink suits a pen's colors. Have Ku-jaku in an M200 blue-marble (which is actually more of a teal) and have Yama Budo in a pink Sapporo with broad nib (perfect even though I don't use reds/pinks much). Tsuki-yo coordinates beautifully with my black Sapporo mini with Broad nib and when my blue VP runs out of VV I'm going to put Tsuki-yo in it. At least for a while.

[laiki]

I really don't pay much attention to the colour of the pen when I load in my ink - I tend to think more about how it writes and what pen will best show off the desired qualities of a specific ink.

 

+1 I agree with this as well. I never really spend the effort to match my ink colours to the colour of the pens but rather to the nibs. If I feel like showing off the shading of a specific ink then it'll go into my Lamy pen outfitted with a 1.1 nib and so forth.

 

Perhaps this explains why my Orange Lamy pen is loaded with J. Herbin's Vert Empire