Do You Primarily Use Waterproof Ink At Work?

[xwingrox]

I was reading the "What Pens Are You Using At Work This Week" thread and noticed that many members do not use waterproof ink at work.

This puzzles me, as I make it a point to only use fully waterproof ink at work like Noodler's 54th, Noodler's Black, and Sailor Nano-black. I once spilled a cup of coffee on an assignment written in completely non-waterproof ink (Diamines, Iroshizukus, etc) and vowed never to make the same mistake. I'm curious to know whether you primarily use waterproof ink at work.

Please only consider your main ink (even if you rotate, think about the ones you usually rotate between).

For instance, I primarily use 54th Mass but keep pens filled with Diamine Oxblood and Sailor Apricot for highlighting purposes. I would mark "Fully Waterproof ink" on the first question and "Yes" on the second.

 

Oh, and please feel free to write a bit about why you use the inks you use at work!

 

(I honestly never thought I would use my social science training in survey design for a fountain pen related post...)

Edited August 26, 2014 by xwingrox

[JulesSilvan]

Its not a consideration for me, I work in the global mail section of a warehouse and we are not allowed open drinks on the floor at all so it is unlikely that spillage will occur.

 

The main two inks I've been using are Cult Pens Deep Dark Blue and GvFC Stone Grey, the DDB almost matches the company's colours and is well-behaved whereas the Stone Grey is dryer and also well-behaved. My requirement for ink is simply that it behaves and doesn't feather.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I use mostly waterproof ink everywhere, not just at work. While I prefer it to be fully waterproof, anything that stays fully legible after a soaking is okay. I've seen some inks where the original letters stay, fully legible in black, while much of the original color washes away. There are other levels of water resistance where there is a very slight blurring. Some inks that are not advertised as water resistant actually are. Right now I'm using Sailor Jentle Doyou, which is not supposed to be water resistant, but is very much so by my own tests.

 

Many people around here see to think that this is too much worry, that you just have to be careful and the problem never needs to arise. And of course, there is the question of spilling a waterproof ink on one's good clothes, although frankly I wouldn't care to have to clean even a "washable" ink out of a good white shirt. Most of what I write, either for myself or my employer, doesn't have that much archival value. It's just that you often don't know in advance what will be important to save, and for how long. It's simpler just to use a water resistant ink all the time. Getting precisely the right shade of lavender is less important.

[Sasha Royale]

When I brought my fountain pens "out of the case", and became openly fountain, I use fountain pens at work.

Over the years, a half dozen coworkers have taken up using fountain pens at work. We all fill from the "ink of

the month" bottle, which use to be my ink. However, lately, others offer their inks, as well. We restrict ourselves

to black, blue, and blue-black. So far, the favorite seems to be Noodler's Eel Blue and PR American Blue.

[Vlad72]

It depends on what I'm doing with the ink. I like it washable for note taking, but fully waterproof for filling forms and signing.

[sandy101]

I don't use permanent inks at all in my FPs. I much prefer something that's washable - especially to ensure spillages come out in the wash - if I have to use permanent waterproof stuff I use the uniflow rollerballs - they're less fuss and the ink is very waterproof.

 

The cheap paper at work isn't going to survive a spill and most of the very important stuff is done on a computer anyway.

[jar]

A "I have no idea" category is needed for both questions. I cannot remember ever considering whether the ink I use is waterproof or not.

[cellmatrix]

Oh, and please feel free to write a bit about why you use the inks you use at work!

I did not vote because of the way the choices were worded but in general I like to use inks because of certain properties, including color, vividness, lack of line widening, lack of feathering, consistent flow, lack of nib creep, lack of dry out on the nib, shading, lubrication, cleaning/ maintenance issues (probably one of the most important to me) and yes water resistance. I've found after much trial and error that you can't have it all in any one ink. Many of the inks which fulfill most of these categories in the best way for me are not necessarily waterproof.

 

In my particular job, I guess I am fortunate in that the work notes I write don't necessarily need to be archived for posterity, and if I spilled on them, it would not be a deal breaker. The less than 1% of the time when I absolutely need waterproof such as when I sign a check or address an envelope, I use a 99 cent uniball jet stream, which lasts me forever and is as bulletproof as any fountain pen ink.

Edited August 26, 2014 by cellmatrix

[Mezzie]

For my writing at work, I use fully waterproof inks just because those happen to be my darkest colors and are most easily read when projected; for grading, my favorite colors aren't waterproof. I believe the Pelikan Brilliant Black I got for my student use is water resistant to some degree, but I haven't tested it yet. I'm not one of those teachers that grades with a huge cup of coffee or anything, so I'm not too concerned. Also, it just about never rains here.

 

I do use waterproof inks when signing legal documents at work like attendance records, IEPs, etc.

[LeonW]

Montblanc Permanent Black for work, keeping written records for posterity is part of the job.

[Hardcase]

I give it no consideration - drinks are on the left side of the desk, writing on the right and ne'er the twain shall meet.

 

That, and my cups have lids on them, so spills are contained.

 

-Drew

[ac12]

No need for waterproofness, so it is of no concern for me when selecting ink.

[Mafia Geek]

One of my requirements for a daily use ink is that it be at least partially water resistant. I want the ink to not fully be washed away by a drop of water (or other liquid). I'm not too concerned about me getting water on it, but at meetings it's not uncommon for people to have cups of water and for a table to be bumped, causing some water to be spilled. The ink doesn't need to be totally water proof (though iron gall inks are some of my favourite inks for their performance) but at least be legible after a little bit of water.

[Threadbear]

I work in an environment where it's pretty much guaranteed that writing I'll need to refer back to will get wet with water or worse, so water resistance is an absolute requirement for me. Non-waterproof inks with nice colours are fine for peripheral uses like highlighting, but I can't risk the main text being lost.

[ANM]

When using black ink with watercolor, permanent ink is essential but I use a dip pen, not a fountain pen for that.

[Komitadjie]

I use a permanent black (Noodler's Bulletproof Black or Platinum Carbon Black) primarily for signing drawings and things, but the permanence there is less critical than the permanence of my red ink, which is used for drawing mark-ups. Drawings on the floor are often subjected to the occasional splash or handling with machining-coolant-covered hands, which can easily do horrible things to non-tennacious inks. Noodler's Fox is my current choice for that.

 

For general use, meeting notes and the like, my choices tend to be more or less a complete over-view of my collection without regard to water-fastness or the eyes of the poor, unsuspecting sod that decides to look over my notes.

[shawndp]

I don't always use waterproof inks at work but it is something that I consider when picking my primary writer.

[william2001]

If there are a lot of water involved, yes.

If not, I don't mind.

-William S. Park

[DRWWE]

When using my fountain pens at work I only used Noodler's bulletproof inks. Liberty's Elysium, 54th Massachusetts, and Bad Black Moccasin. The ink in my patients' charts must be permanent. Noodler's does a good job with their inks and I really like the colors.

[requiescat]

I'm a writer so "at work" means at home--that being said, I often draft longhand with a fountain pen (or whatever other pen is handy; I'm not picky). I prefer water-resistance because I am spill-prone and I need the draft to survive long enough for me to type it into the computer. After that, it generally gets recycled.

 

For journaling, I don't care about waterproofness/resistance at all. Most of those get recycled too.