In Search Of Ink For Fast Writing And Note-Taking

[YoungPenmanship]

Hello FPN!

 

I'm new here and I know that this topic is a little bit reptitive yet are some criteria the other threads are missing about the question I am about to ask in which I look to get some advice.

 

Like many of the other threads, I am a student in university and being in lectures require me to write fast and turn pages. Knowing how long some inks dry, turning the page would tend to cause some ink to transfer onto the adjacent page of which the written side is facing. Also, being in NYC during the year, inks tend to come out of paper due to changes in weather and water getting in my bag from time to time due to heavy rain.

 

So basically what I am looking in an ink is colorfastness, fast-drying, good flow, and no feathering/bleedthrough on cheap composition notebook as well as Mead 5 Subject notebooks.

 

Any help on ink, as well as paper, would help.

 

Thanks in advance and look forward to the responses I get.

 

P.S. I am mostly gonna be writing with a Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with a WA nib, which is techically a medium that can write at any angle.

Edited January 5, 2014 by YoungPenmanship

[WaskiSquirrel]

When I was in college, I used Parker Quink. It's not real exciting, but it behaves decently on cheap paper

 

Were I to go back now, I think I would use Noodler's Black or Heart of Darkness. On cheap paper especially they dry fairly quickly. (Not so much on more expensive paper.) The Heart of Darkness does feather somewhat, but it is faster drying and may behave better in your pen.

[85AKbN]

you can also use blotting paper to sheild the last several lines from transfering ink.

[SeeksAdvice]

The bleedthrough/feathering is going to be the tough factor here, when coupled with fast-dry. That pretty much rules out things like Bernanke Blue (not remotely water resistant) and Q'ternity. Noodler's Bad Green Gator is a pretty fast drying chalky/faded green that is waterproof when dry. However, it bleeds and feathers badly on many papers. Ink labeled as "fast dry" usually bleeds and feathers due to the chemistry of the ink.

One black ink comes to mind, Sailor Kiwa-Guro, their "nano" carbon black ink. Quick drying. Waterproof and fadeproof. I don't think that Sailor's other "nano" ink, Sei-Boku is quite as fast to dry, but it is a good and durable "blue/black."

[herbsttag]

Noodler's Liberty's Elysium is fast drying (~10-12 sec, even on nice, Clairefontaine paper), water-resistant, vibrant blue.

[ac12]

First of you need to rethink your paper.

When I was in college I had to use a specific brand of paper, because the other papers would feather the ink, sometimes a LOT.

What I am saying is you cannot just use any paper with a fountain pen, or you will get feathering and/or bleed through if you use the wrong paper. You need to find and use paper that is fountain pen friendly.

 

On the paper that I used in college, I used Parker Quink black in a Parker 45 with a Fine nib. I do not recall having ink drying problems while taking notes.

[TMA]

Waterman Serenity Blue for a blue ink

Noodler's Black (bulletproof) for a black ink

 

Both will work well on thin, cheap paper. You will, however, need to make sure your pen is reasonably dry. A very wet pen will still result in bleeding and/or feathering with even the best of inks.

[Terry Brack]

Noodler's Bernanke Black and Bernanke Blue are made for quick drying. Especially useful for lefties who slide their hands over what they have written. These inks are "quick drying" because they are adsorbed rapidly by the paper and will not dry out quickly on the nib.

[YoungPenmanship]

First of you need to rethink your paper.

When I was in college I had to use a specific brand of paper, because the other papers would feather the ink, sometimes a LOT.

What I am saying is you cannot just use any paper with a fountain pen, or you will get feathering and/or bleed through if you use the wrong paper. You need to find and use paper that is fountain pen friendly.

 

On the paper that I used in college, I used Parker Quink black in a Parker 45 with a Fine nib. I do not recall having ink drying problems while taking notes.

 

This information is very good to know. I was just seeing if there was a general answer. However, I do plan on using Rhodia elastibooks and Rhodia bound books for taking notes since it is one of the best papers for fountain pens.

 

Also, what brand paper did you use?

Edited January 5, 2014 by YoungPenmanship

[YoungPenmanship]

The bleedthrough/feathering is going to be the tough factor here, when coupled with fast-dry. That pretty much rules out things like Bernanke Blue (not remotely water resistant) and Q'ternity. Noodler's Bad Green Gator is a pretty fast drying chalky/faded green that is waterproof when dry. However, it bleeds and feathers badly on many papers. Ink labeled as "fast dry" usually bleeds and feathers due to the chemistry of the ink.

One black ink comes to mind, Sailor Kiwa-Guro, their "nano" carbon black ink. Quick drying. Waterproof and fadeproof. I don't think that Sailor's other "nano" ink, Sei-Boku is quite as fast to dry, but it is a good and durable "blue/black."

 

 

That does make sense. I can see how the fast-dry would lead to more absorbancy. I'll look into your suggestions as well as the others. Thanks guys!

[JefferyS]

Noodler's Bernanke Black and Bernanke Blue are made for quick drying. Especially useful for lefties who slide their hands over what they have written. These inks are "quick drying" because they are adsorbed rapidly by the paper and will not dry out quickly on the nib.

 

I am going to have to buy these. I've been using TWSBI and Homo sapiens for fast note-writing. Both are a bit on the wet side, and I can get some smearing in smaller notebooks.

[ac12]

 

This information is very good to know. I was just seeing if there was a general answer. However, I do plan on using Rhodia elastibooks and Rhodia bound books for taking notes since it is one of the best papers for fountain pens.

 

Also, what brand paper did you use?

 

Well, college was over 30 years ago, and I have no idea of the brand.

 

But of today's paper, I would go to Staples and get the Made in Brazil filler paper, either college or wide ruled.

It has a decent smooth surface, and it is not expensive. I use Brazil paper today for my daily journal.

The only issue I have is the filler paper is something like 16# paper, so a very WET pen and/or a WET ink could/will bleed through to the other side. But using Cross/Pelikan and Waterman inks, I do not have a bleed through problem with that paper. The paper I used in college was heavier, about 20#. I do not know of a heavier filler paper than 16#, but then I have not looked for heavy filler paper either.

 

I used filler paper in a clip portfolio to take my class notes, then when I got home I would transfer the sheets into a ring binder. That way I did not have to carry a huge amount of paper with me every day, which cut the weight of what I had to carry. The weight was important as I had to walk a LOT between classes and took the bus home. So I wasn't about to carry a 5 subject notebook if I did not have to.

[Abner C. Kemp]

I highly recommend Noodler's Bulletproof Black. I am also a student and have found it to be the best everyday ink for my uses. It dries relatively fast on cheap paper and has not bleed through on me at all. There is even minimal see through on staples copier paper. The ink is as permanent as your going to get and relatively inexpensive compared to most FP inks.

 

Remember, that if you are using Rhodia paper your ink is probably going to take longer to dry. Rhodia is ink resistant paper which will cause the ink to absorb more slowly into the page.

[WirsPlm]

 

 

That does make sense. I can see how the fast-dry would lead to more absorbancy. I'll look into your suggestions as well as the others. Thanks guys!

Paper is probably the key factor here, honestly. Mead 5 Star paper is only OK for fountain pens, since it's thin enough to need a coating and so not very absorbent, and then too thin to resist feathering once the ink is absorbed. With Mead and regular notebook paper (including the Brazil papers), it's very thin and also often coated to make up for that, so the feathering can be really bad once the ink dries and the dry time isn't great (plus, the paper is so thin only one side can be used).

 

The 'high-end' papers like Clairefontaine, Rhodia, Tomoe River, etc are often coated or so heavily pressed that the ink can't really soak into the paper, to make nice clean lines, but the dry time is terrible.

 

Laser printer paper is often easier to work with (and also cheaper!), look for 24 lb weight or higher and print lines on it if you want. 32 lb HP paper is top-notch, smooth and absorbent without feathering, but also very thick and heavy. The Paper subforums has several threads talking about good, absorbent paper, which might give you some other places to start. Also, Japanese notebooks like Apica seem to be better than European papers, but can be expensive.

Edited January 6, 2014 by WirsPlm

[YoungPenmanship]

Paper is probably the key factor here, honestly. Mead 5 Star paper is only OK for fountain pens, since it's thin enough to need a coating and so not very absorbent, and then too thin to resist feathering once the ink is absorbed. With Mead and regular notebook paper (including the Brazil papers), it's very thin and also often coated to make up for that, so the feathering can be really bad once the ink dries and the dry time isn't great (plus, the paper is so thin only one side can be used).

 

The 'high-end' papers like Clairefontaine, Rhodia, Tomoe River, etc are often coated or so heavily pressed that the ink can't really soak into the paper, to make nice clean lines, but the dry time is terrible.

 

Laser printer paper is often easier to work with (and also cheaper!), look for 24 lb weight or higher and print lines on it if you want. 32 lb HP paper is top-notch, smooth and absorbent without feathering, but also very thick and heavy. The Paper subforums has several threads talking about good, absorbent paper, which might give you some other places to start. Also, Japanese notebooks like Apica seem to be better than European papers, but can be expensive.

 

I read about the printer paper and that seems good, but is it possible to have them hole-punched and put into binders/notebooks? I heard somewhere that Staples offers a binding service or something of the sort.

 

Just asking if you would know by chance.

[casualmerlinconstant]

I find that most inks made by pen manafacturers are really good in the non feathering/bleedthru/show thru department. unfortunatly most also stink at waterproofness. I hear pelikan 4001 brilliant black is quite water resistant however. I've not used it but have had good experiences with the rest of the 4001 range

[Mags]

Private Reserve choc brown and 54th Massachusetts are sort of working for me on Tomoe River Paper which is slower drying paper. The Noodlers 54th is water soluable but is smear proof once it drys on paper. Some sort of adherence which let's it get wet and not run.

[amberleadavis]

 

I read about the printer paper and that seems good, but is it possible to have them hole-punched and put into binders/notebooks? I heard somewhere that Staples offers a binding service or something of the sort.

 

Just asking if you would know by chance.

 

 

Welcome aboard.

 

Staples, Office Depot and Office Max will offer "driling" (hole punching) and binding. You can get comb binds, wire binds and glue binds.

 

Also don't forget systems like Circa, Arc or Rollabind.

[WirsPlm]

 

I read about the printer paper and that seems good, but is it possible to have them hole-punched and put into binders/notebooks? I heard somewhere that Staples offers a binding service or something of the sort.

 

Just asking if you would know by chance.

I got a 3-hole punch and punch them myself, then put it into a flexible binder (Mead Flex, or those ones with the floppy plastic sides), but I know that most office stores offer binding services.

[dcwaites]

A long time ago I used to use Parker Quink Black or Blue-Black for note taking at Uni. I never had any problems.

 

Any ink that is touch-dry in less than 10 seconds will be acceptable. Noodler's Black, Pilot Black or Blue would all be suitable. These dry reasonably quickly and are waterproof.

I would stay away from any of the saturated inks like the rest of the Noodler's bulletproof/wardens range. While they are all very good inks, they can take a long time to dry.

I am avoiding mentioning the more expensive, exotic inks like the Sailor or PIlot pigmented inks or the Mont Blanc permanent inks.

 

You might want to try one of the iron-gall inks like Diamine Registrar's ink, but I can't remember how quickly it dries.