Ink-Ventory!

[KateB_tps]

Hi!

 

Does anyone keep a written inventory of your inks? E.g. a notebook/binder showing a sample of each of your inks. I'm thinking of doing this in the Filofax I'm setting up as the inventory for my craft stuff too!

I want to keep several sections in my Filofax divided by colour ranges, and I'll have comparison pages with swatches of each ink, and the quick brown fox in each ink. Then I'll probably have review pages of each ink.

 

Primarily, I want to keep one to be able to compare inks. Generally I don't want to buy duplicates or very similar inks to the ones I already have until the ink bottle has run out, so I will use this to compare ink I already own to the ink I'm looking at online, so I don't buy duplicates.

I also want to keep track of the colour range of inks I own, to see if there are any gaps in the colour palette, so I know which colour I should buy next

 

Also, I like collecting in general, so I love flicking through pages and seeing what I have

 

Does anyone else have something similar?

[Faisel]

I used to keep a paper inventory making entries using the ink being recorded.

 

As the number of inks increased (I have approximately 170 bottles of ink) a paper inventory became less useful. Alphabetising inks becomes tricky if the inventory is by date order (e.g. You have 25 bottles of Diamine in various colours. You then buy a bottle of Aurora black. With a paper inventory the Aurora black gets recorded after the Diamine. This would drive me insane).

 

Also, if you have multiple bottles of your favourite ink and record how many bottles you have, every time you use a bottle updating the inventory (unless bottles are recorded in pencil) makes the inventory look untidy. I also didn't like how striking through inks that I disposed of looked in the inventory once several inks were struck through.

 

I now record my pens and ink using Tap Forms on my iPad. Jonro's Fountain Pen Database (that also allows you to record your inks) is fantastic but I update my inventory on my iPad (which you can't do with Jonro's program). I also like being able to customise the data fields (e.g. I record the location of an ink in my database so I can find it in one of my ink storage boxes without having to hunt through them all - each box is numbered).

 

I also keep an ink journal in a Leuchtturm note book. I write a few sentences there so I can see how the ink looks. I note the relevant page in the notebook where the writing sample can be found in my inventory database.

 

I hope this helps.

[dunhamsa]

I have a written inventory. However, I have realized that dipping various sized nibs to test the ink does not allow me to really evaluate the ink except for colour. Even then, the colour is not always well represented either. The only way to keep a representative inventory would be to actually fill the pens and do the writing on a few paper samples, trying to keep pen models and papers relatively stable in order to make consistent comparisons over time. However, that would mean a lot of work (cleaning, etc.), and if your inks are multiplying, it might not be possible to keep up. I wished I had begun this when I bought my first ink.

 

I also keep an electronic inventory for purposes of remembering what I have used, and how much, more or less.

[applejade]

I currently don't have too many inks (new order, Diamine Blue-Black, Waterman Havana Brown). I'm content to just have a Banditapple notebook dedicated to ink/pen testing.

 

But I do have a lot of nail polish and I've categorized them all in a Libre Office Calc spreadsheet and went to town with Pivot tables. I think when my ink collection gets to a certain size, I'll be doing the same spreadsheet categorization with them.

[inkstainedruth]

I do several things, all more or less concurrently (okay, I admit to being more than a little OCD...).

First of all, I keep an ink journal, in which I test inks out by doing writing and drawing samples, and check dry times, bleedthrough, etc. As I try new inks, I go back through and make a note of the ink and the pen it's in on previous pages of similarly colored inks as a brief comparison.

I also keep a separate notebook, divided up by pen, in which I keep track of what inks do well in each particular pen. I have post-it flags along the margins noting each pen, sort or color coded by brand. it's sort of silly looking at this point because there are a LOT of flags (they're spaced out for easier reading, so they're now wrapped around to the bottom of the book.

In addition, I have individual pages of pen-ink combinations (not always of my inks -- sometimes they're what gets passed around at pen club meetings). But it's useful because it's one way of going "Hmmm -- I like that ink, maybe I should try a sample for myself...." (For those who went to DCSS -- think the ink testing table, only not with dip pens.)

I also have a couple of files on my laptop, in addition to the hard copy stuff on paper. There are a couple of files in which I figure out what I want to order next, and from where (one long term, one more immediate/short term, and one "immediate" but in table form. Besides those, I have a file of what inks I have by listed by color family (sometimes this is slightly subjective: "burgundy" and "red-violet" are two different categories) and another in table form, checking which I have as bottles and which are only as samples -- and how many there are of each. Those last two files I also try to note which inks are "keepers" (i.e., ones I always would want to have a bottle of on hand).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Ted A]

I use 3x5 cards. I then categorize by color and then alphabetically by company. One of the first things I do when I get an in, usually samples, is to put the name, a couple of sentences ans some squiggles for each ink

[DwarvenChef]

I use 3x5 cards. I then categorize by color and then alphabetically by company. One of the first things I do when I get an in, usually samples, is to put the name, a couple of sentences ans some squiggles for each ink

I've been thinking of this as well. My current way is a sheet of paper per color and it has been ok till recently. I was not keeping to clear a record on samples and bottles making it more a list of inks I have tried, instead of an inventory. Plus I'm not a fan of blues and I have 3 sheets of frigging blue inks... I stopped Ink Drop because of a few personal issues but the high number of blue inks didn't help I loved Ink Drop just not the blue inks it always came with...

 

I'm going to keep an eye out for good 3x5 card stock

[amberleadavis]

No....of course not. Why would I keep a notebook?

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/2012_Summer_Fade/Notebook/slides/2013-08_inky_08.jpg

[WirsPlm]

I keep some scribbles in a notebook with each pen that I put an ink in to keep records of how inks do in each pen. I may switch to a card system though, since it will be much easier to organize than pages in a notebook.

[amberleadavis]

I keep some scribbles in a notebook with each pen that I put an ink in to keep records of how inks do in each pen. I may switch to a card system though, since it will be much easier to organize than pages in a notebook.

 

I thought I'd give this a try since I could then compare inks easier.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/Inklings/slides/2013-Ink_537.jpg

[Bill Wood]

 

I thought I'd give this a try since I could then compare inks easier.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/Inklings/slides/2013-Ink_537.jpg

 

I'm way way behind. Here endith' the lesson. Nice job above ^^

[WaskiSquirrel]

I record the colors in a notebook. For a brief time, I wanted to do something more elaborate, but then I realized it was not a priority to me. It's enough to tell me if I like the color or not.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I thought I'd give this a try since I could then compare inks easier.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/Inklings/slides/2013-Ink_537.jpg

I'd do that.

 

What sort of cards are they?

[amberleadavis]

I'd do that.

 

What sort of cards are they?

 

The standard index cards (3x5) that are sold everywhere around here. I can even find them at the dollar store.

[Penman222]

I do keep a Google Docs inventory of my inks sorted by color. I guess I currently have about 35-40 bottles so I really don't have to do anything too sophisticated.

[joshsrn]

I have done a few pages where I list all of my current inks. I use a glass dip pen, but it still gives me a good idea of what I've got. I clean out all my pens every so often and select new inks based on what I have on my page.

 

Here is my latest inventory page:

http://i.imgur.com/Tu3xpot.jpg?1

 

Here is my latest "What ink's in what pen?" page:

http://i.imgur.com/91NvpxA.jpg?1

[DwarvenChef]

I'm working on the 4x5 card idea using my usual glass dip pen to write out the first card. Than every pen that gets inked with that ink adds a line to the card so I can see what it looks like in that pen.

 

I just have to get out to the store and get the cards... Mmmm maybe I should measure the box I'm going to store them in first...

[amberleadavis]

I have done a few pages where I list all of my current inks. I use a glass dip pen, but it still gives me a good idea of what I've got. I clean out all my pens every so often and select new inks based on what I have on my page.

 

Here is my latest inventory page:

http://i.imgur.com/Tu3xpot.jpg?1

 

Here is my latest "What ink's in what pen?" page:

http://i.imgur.com/91NvpxA.jpg?1

 

 

What a perfect rainbow you keep inked!

[nomadhacker]

 

I thought I'd give this a try since I could then compare inks easier.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/Inklings/slides/2013-Ink_537.jpg

Good idea. Will try.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

I've taken to using two sets:

 

One is comprised of swabs on 60x215mm pieces of paper. I sort them according to a simple 'colour wheel', yet make a few samples to deal with overlaps, such as those inks that straddle the Blue - Turquoise boundary, arrangement according to different colour spaces/characteristics, and have started one that is based on viewing under incandescent tungsten light bulbs. The results of this test may be useful prior to sorting the swab samples: http://www.xrite.com/online-color-test-challenge

 

The other is a set of folios that grows over time. If I have the time when a new ink arrives, I'll use an FP to make a few written samples. The pen I use has changed over time as my taste in nib width & wetness has changed, but not so much as to make prior samples obsolete. Each time I use an ink with a different pen, I make more samples on a few more papers.

 

Having some sort of computer-based index would be handy, but that is rather far down my bottomless To Do list; and would likely entail interface development and training to facilitate use by the Ink Putti.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited October 19, 2013 by Sandy1