Does Your Ink Color Match Your Pen Color?

[WaskiSquirrel]

I usually try to match, but I pulling weeds yesterday, and noticed a color combination that was pretty. I'm not good at color and what goes with what. I can feel it when I see it, but I have no idea why colors match or don't, so I didn't plan this combination. But I like it. Anyway, it has me thinking that an orange pen with purple ink or (better) a purple pen with orange ink might look pretty spiffy!

 

Purple and Orange Match! by waski_the_squirrel, on Flickr

[SkylarKnight]

I don't see a point in matching the ink. If the pen is beautiful, and the ink is beautiful, I am pretty sure they will go well together. However, I don't think I'll put green ink in a red pen, that will look kind of weird.

 

 

With a bit more thought, it would be much easier to know which pen has what colour of ink in it if I match the colours.. However, is there a pearl coloured ink? My pen is a nice creamy pearl colour.. hmm..

[P_Uni]

Yes! I can only bear a little difference. The reason of it is I can't imagine a black pen with red ink.

[Nanya]

I don't try to match my ink colour with the colour of my pen. However I do like to match it to the the personality of my pen, if that makes any sense.

[Komitadjie]

Well, I just made this one nice and easy! Got a pair of TWSBIs. Now the pen ALWAYS matches the ink!

[napalm]

Not always, my other pen is transparent, my ink is not...

Edited July 16, 2014 by napalm

[Komitadjie]

Wouldn't THAT be cool? A transparent ink that reacts with cellulose to create a bright colour?

[mark e]

not only do i match the ink color to the pen color, but i match both to my tie, for when i inevitably have to wipe said ink from fingers or nib

[Mr. Pink]

The thought of matched pen and ink colors has never cross my mind.

[Vgimlet]

I do sometimes, but not always. I did buy Preppy's specifically for matching the colors, and I'm slowly going to get Plaisirs for that as well (phasing out the preppy's when they die.) Because I like to use a variety of colored inks and I'm using many samples right now. It just makes it easier to at least know you're going to be in the right family when you grab a colored pen.

 

I do remember which non-coordinated pen has what ink in it. My silver metro has Aurora Borealis, the Black ( nemosine has Yama-dori, the Ahab demo has Apache Sunset (looking for a yellow and orange pen for this ink) and the other Nemosine Demo has BSAR.

[The Phoenix 924]

Like many people it seems, I used to be completely anal about matching colours. However, I tend to get bored easily with that sort of thing so now I pretty much prefer to keep colour families together. So a red pen could receive any warm colour (or black) and not really bother me, while a green pen would have the cool colours (or black). Metal, demonstrator, or neutral coloured pens are game for any colour in the rainbow. That all being said, I do have an Excel document that details a specific ink as the "default" colour for each one of my pens and most of those match or are close to the colours of those pens. Yes, I'm obsessive, but it helps to rationalise ink purchases as being "necessary".

 

Obviously, what you do with your own pen/s is entirely up to you and it's one of the main reasons I love writing with a fountain pen; not only is the choice of pen personal, but it is a pleasant surprise to see what colour comes out of one!

[william2001]

It doesn't matter to me I guess.

I use black inks on my black Sonnet and a gold 75.

-William S. Park

[hbdk]

Glad to have found this thread - I am not all alone

So - yes I do. I guess it is partly OCD light, partly a pragmatic approach as I tend to have about 10 pens inked at any time (way too many - I have tried to cut down, but...), so it makes it easier to know what colour it will put down on paper, when I pick it up. Problem is that I have to find an ink that is a good match to the pen - nice excuse to buy more ink though

[Runnin_Ute]

Some tend to get not necessarily matching, but complimentary colors............

 

My True Writer Silver Anniversary which is a light gunmetal finish gets Diamine Sherwood Green most of the time it seems. One or more of my four Pelikans will usually have blue black of some sort in it. Right now it is the M150 with Diamine Blue Black and the black M205 has Pelikan 4001 Blue Black in it. (both pens are black) One has Voorhout Violet (120) and another Apache Sunset (Toledo Red M205)

 

My Parker's - black 51 Special - Waterman Serenity Blue, Parker 45 Flighter has a test ink that is a bluish purple color and the other 45 which is burgundy has Levenger Pomegranate. So does the Pilot Metropolitan right now. The IM Premium has Noodler's Black. The aluminum (silver) Al Star has the same color as the 45 Flighter - different nib.

 

I have a few others that need to be filled though so 24 hours from now it may look completely different.

[windibd]

Yes, absolutely! I'm just too used to a ballpoint or gel pen barrel match the colour of the ink to think otherwise. (I'm rather new to the fountain pen world.) Which is why I bought black and blue Safaris and Al-Stars to match my desired ink colours, black and blue. However, I also got a Vista because I won some J. Herbin cartridges in a giveaway, and also because it looks very futuristic.

[VOKEY]

Yes, kinda. I like to use a complimentary color in a particular pen as opposed to a contrasting color

[mistermunchiez]

When I first got into fountain pens, I didn't think that I would ever go through the effort of matching ink to pen, but I found that I instinctively have a way of pairing pens to ink.

 

Demonstrators can go with any ink colour, as can black pens. Black ink is also allowed in any pen due to its neutrality, but I try not to combine it with demonstrators or black pens. In my opinion, it would be a waste of the demonstrator's defining trait, and I feel like black on black is too predictable and "boring."

 

When it comes to more distinctive colours, I try not to make an discordant combinations. For example, the orange-red Apache Sunset is forbidden in blue pens, and neither blue or green ink usually end up in my Noodler's John Mung Acrylic.

 

Having the colours more or less synergize makes the whole gig seem a lot more attractive to me, plus it helps me remember which ink is where.