Bulletproof Ink For Teslin Synthetic Paper?

[Medsen Fey]

I don't think so.

Although this is a plastic-like polymer, it is porous which is why fountain pen inks soak in and dry on this material faster than on most traditional cellulose paper. You just need an ink that embeds itself in the material or binds to the polymer in some fashion so that it stays on. This is not really different than cellulose papers where ink manufacturers have identified dyes that will bind to cellulose.

 

As you can see from this testing already, there are a couple of inks (Bad Green Gator in particular) that seem to fit the bill. I don't think any of these inks are going to etch or damage any of my pens (of course most of my pens are silver, so I don't worry much about stains).

 

This Teslin material just appears to me to be quite useful. I make meads (you know, honey-wine - like in Beowulf or Robin Hood) as well and beer and wine. And yes, FPN has got me wondering about fermenting up my own iron gall inks . I often make notes on the counter and have things get drenched with solutions that may contain bleach, PBW, ethanol, organic acids and various other compounds. I don't like to keep my notes on the computer while I'm working because spills and computers are a bad combination. I use Sharpie markers at times, but they aren't very good for writing out details of recipes and observations and tasting notes. Having a paper that isn't bothered in the least by spills and splashes or dunking will be a great benefit to me and will help me keep better labels on batches in progress. I can see where it would be useful for anyone doing boating or water activities. However, a nearly-indestructible paper is only as useful as the ink that stays on it which is what drove me to ask the question in the first place.

 

The Teslin material is definitely superior to the Yupo synthetic paper which is not fountain pen friendly at all. I just wish someone would make a notebook out of Teslin.

[Medsen Fey]

So here is one more set of inks I tested. The Sailor Sei-Boku is in the third tier with Architekt Archival, La Reine Mauve, Platinum Pigment Blue as remaining just barely readable after bleaching. The Organic Studio Isaac Newton, and HMS Beagle remain readable and are in the second tier. The only ink that has consistently survived with true clarity is the Bad Green Gator.

 

I reckon I better start liking green.

[WirsPlm]

Since it looks like iron gall and carbon pigmented inks work better than dye inks, have you thought about Hero 232 Blue-Black (iron gall) or their 234 Carbon Black? I like the Carbon black quite a bit, and it might be a cheaper alternative to the Sailor inks (haven't tried the iron gall ink yet, waiting on time and budget).

[Medsen Fey]

Since it looks like iron gall and carbon pigmented inks work better than dye inks, have you thought about Hero 232 Blue-Black (iron gall) or their 234 Carbon Black?

The iron gall inks have not worked at all. They remain mostly waterproof as they do on cellulose paper, but they also bleach off easily just like regular paper. The carbon (and other pigment) inks have been mediocre, but I am willing to try any. The best performance so far has been seen with the dye ink (green gator)

[WirsPlm]

The iron gall inks have not worked at all. They remain mostly waterproof as they do on cellulose paper, but they also bleach off easily just like regular paper. The carbon (and other pigment) inks have been mediocre, but I am willing to try any. The best performance so far has been seen with the dye ink (green gator)

Oops, I thought the Architekt ink was iron gall. I'm mostly just letting you know that there's a cheaper option out there for pigmented ink since there's no point in paying more (and so much more, for the Sailor pigmented ink) for something that doesn't work as well as Noodlers, but paying about $5 for a bottle for the Hero is much more reasonable.

[Medsen Fey]

Less expensive pigment ink sounds like a very good thing to me.

 

I've also decided to use Teslin paper for my personal journal. I figure if I write it on this stuff, it will hang around for someone to read it. It won't mold, or rot or be eaten by insects. If it gets dumped in a landfill, it will probably still be there hundreds of years from now for some enterprising young archeologist to dig up.