What Is Your Favorite Ink?

[mehandiratta]

Dear All

 

Just out of curiosity and limited availability of inks... i just wanted to know what all inks are you all using these days.

There are few categories as follows:

 

1. Favorite Ink
2. Value for money Ink
3. Source of procuring Ink
4. Ink you don't like at all

 

I am sure you all have certain ink that you keep in stock always but keep experimenting other inks.

 

Would like to know few of them..especially the Indian ink.

Edited December 19, 2014 by mehandiratta

[mehandiratta]

1. Favorite Ink : Lamy Turquoise

2. Value for money Ink : Camel Royal Blue / Camel Red

Source of procuring Ink : Local Market /Flipkart

Ink i dont like at all : Parker Quink / Chelpark Turquoise

[Uncial]

1. Favourite ink: Do I have to choose only one? Of all the Iroshizuku I have I love them all, but have a particular fondness for Syo-ro. A recent foray into Sailor inks has made a fairly significant dent in my funds, but the Tana Japonensis and Shin Zan (Deep In The Mountains) might well become my favourite two inks; only time will tell.

 

2. Value for money ink: Diamine for me; I especially like Steel Blue and Oxblood. If Noodler's was available here at USA prices it would certainly be a contender.

 

3. Source of procuring ink: mainly ebay.

 

4. Ink I don't like at all: Pelikan Edelstien's Mandarin with Diamine's Maroon a close second.

 

*edit* Oops, I'm sorry, I just noticed this was related especially to Indian inks and their availability.

Edited December 19, 2014 by Uncial

[mehandiratta]

1. Favourite ink: Do I have to choose only one? Of all the Iroshizuku I have I love them all, but have a particular fondness for Syo-ro. A recent foray into Sailor inks has made a fairly significant dent in my funds, but the Tana Japonensis and Shin Zan (Deep In The Mountains) might well become my favourite two inks; only time will tell.

 

2. Value for money ink: Diamine for me; I especially like Steel Blue and Oxblood. If Noodler's was available here at USA prices it would certainly be a contender.

 

3. Source of procuring ink: mainly ebay.

 

4. Ink I don't like at all: Pelikan Edelstien's Mandarin with Diamine's Maroon a close second.

 

*edit* Oops, I'm sorry, I just noticed this was related especially to Indian inks and their availability.

 

No you are most welcome to enlighten us with inks you have used, loved and hated....

 

I would recommend you to use Indian inks e.g. camel inks, and brill inks....

They cost only 0.5 USD but they are bang for the Buck

[a_m]

My favourite is Pilot inks - particularly the Black ink - and whats best of these Pilot inks are that they are nearly waterproof.

 

http://indiapoint.net/archives/2013/04/05/review-pilot-ink-near-water-proof-fountain-pen-ink/

 

Color wise, among blue my favourite is Diamine Sapphire. In general Diamine inks are pretty good in quality & flow (I have used five - six of their colors)

 

Among the Indian inks, the one with good depth & flow is Bril - have tried only their Royal Blue - but not used it much as to comment on its durability.

 

Inks that I dont like -

 

Sulekha - have tried only their one - Violet - though its water resistant, the quality is bad - more like chalky

 

Chelpark inks - was my favourite 30 years back- but I guess then I was no good to understand them. I have currently one chelpark crimson violet - and though its color is good, the quality of ink is bad - i find it has in parts become gluey

 

Camlin inks - equally bad - what you have written just fades in two weeks and looks as if written two decades back ! But this Camlin Royal Blue shares the stage with the similar Blues of Waterman tried by me. The Camlin Black is like a Grey ink! The Green one has a blueish sheen & the red one is like a very light red.

Edited December 20, 2014 by a_m

[soum]

 

• Favorite Ink
• Value for money Ink
• Source of procuring Ink
• Ink you don't like at all

1) My favourite ink is Montblanc Midnight Blue. Among the Indian brands, I love Bril Royal Blue, Sulekha Turquoise

2) Bril, Camlin, Chelpark, Sulekha offer tremendous value for money. A pouch of Kale ink from Pune is unbeatable value too.

3) Local markets. I also pick up ink while travelling, if I can.

4) Most blacks from the Indian brands.

[soum]

 

• Ink i dont like at all : Parker Quink / Chelpark Turquoise

What do you dislike about Chelpark Turquoise? I quite like the ink, though it isn't really a turquoise, I think it's a nice blue.

[Oldane]

1) Rohrer & Klingner Salix (with a tad Photoflo to increase the flow a bit)

2) Salix actually offers excellent value for money. Other than that, Hero 232 Blueblack (also contains a little iron-gall) also offers excellent value for money, but it's better for dryer pens as it flows freely.

3) In web shops where the ink is available. I buy Salix from www.thewritingdesk.co.uk (in UK). Hero is available from various Chinese and Honk Kong web shop. Especially one Chinese web shop is known for sending Hero 233 when you order 232 and vice versa. I experienced that too.

4) Inks which flow too freely because they also feather and bleed through the bad paper I have to use at work. That goes for many Noodlers inks and the De Atramentis Dokument Inks (a shame, because they have good colors and extreme permanency). I have tweaked my pen nibs to be wet instead.

Edited December 21, 2014 by Oldane

[a_m]

1) Rohrer & Klingner Salix (with a tad Photoflo to increase the flow a bit)

2) Salix actually offers excellent value for money. Other than that, Hero 232 Blueblack (also contains a little iron-gall) also offers excellent value for money, but it's better for dryer pens as it flows freely.

3) In web shops where the ink is available. I buy Salix from www.thewritingdesk.co.uk (in UK). Hero is available from various Chinese and Honk Kong web shop. Especially one Chinese web shop is known for sending Hero 233 when you order 232 and vice versa. I experienced that too.

4) Inks which flow too freely because they also feather and bleed through the bad paper I have to use at work. That goes for many Noodlers inks and the De Atramentis Dokument Inks (a shame, because they have good colors and extreme permanency). I have tweaked my pen nibs to be wet instead.

I have been wanting to use the De Atramentis Inks. But they have an archival ink & document ink - can you plz tell us the difference ?

 

& how is the flow of document ink, because i read that ISO 12757 is for ball point ink. Does these inks stain the pen?

[jekostas]

Hmm

 

What if you tint your own inks?

[mehandiratta]

My favourite is Pilot inks - particularly the Black ink - and whats best of these Pilot inks are that they are nearly waterproof.

 

http://indiapoint.net/archives/2013/04/05/review-pilot-ink-near-water-proof-fountain-pen-ink/

 

Color wise, among blue my favourite is Diamine Sapphire. In general Diamine inks are pretty good in quality & flow (I have used five - six of their colors)

 

Among the Indian inks, the one with good depth & flow is Bril - have tried only their Royal Blue - but not used it much as to comment on its durability.

 

Inks that I dont like -

 

Sulekha - have tried only their one - Violet - though its water resistant, the quality is bad - more like chalky

 

Chelpark inks - was my favourite 30 years back- but I guess then I was no good to understand them. I have currently one chelpark crimson violet - and though its color is good, the quality of ink is bad - i find it has in parts become gluey

 

Camlin inks - equally bad - what you have written just fades in two weeks and looks as if written two decades back ! But this Camlin Royal Blue shares the stage with the similar Blues of Waterman tried by me. The Camlin Black is like a Grey ink! The Green one has a blueish sheen & the red one is like a very light red.

Pilot Black is on my next must buy list now...

Also as far as camlin/camel inks are concerned i believe royal blue quality has improved a lot. Its my regular ink.

[mehandiratta]

What do you dislike about Chelpark Turquoise? I quite like the ink, though it isn't really a turquoise, I think it's a nice blue.

i know its a nice blue... but if you talk about turquoise blue... you have to look somewhere else... also IMHO it gives somewhat faded ink feeling...

[mehandiratta]

Hmm

 

What if you tint your own inks?

i would love to do that.... if someone shows me how to do the same...

[mehandiratta]

1) My favourite ink is Montblanc Midnight Blue. Among the Indian brands, I love Bril Royal Blue, Sulekha Turquoise

2) Bril, Camlin, Chelpark, Sulekha offer tremendous value for money. A pouch of Kale ink from Pune is unbeatable value too.

3) Local markets. I also pick up ink while travelling, if I can.

4) Most blacks from the Indian brands.

IS sulekha ink available in Delhi NCR.... I would love to try all the shades of the same... especially the turquoise shade of the same...

[soum]

IS sulekha ink available in Delhi NCR.... I would love to try all the shades of the same... especially the turquoise shade of the same...

AFAIK, Sulekha isn't available here. I've got a few Sulekha bottles. Please PM me and I'll try to send you a few samples.

[Oldane]

I have been wanting to use the De Atramentis Inks. But they have an archival ink & document ink - can you plz tell us the difference ?

 

& how is the flow of document ink, because i read that ISO 12757 is for ball point ink. Does these inks stain the pen?

 

I think the document ink has a higher ISO certification and is more expensive. The archival is as permanent for all practical purposes, but as far as I know, it's only available in black.

 

The flow is excellent - in fact too excellent for my purposes, as I wrote in my earlier post. There's pronounced feathering and bleedthrough on bad paper. It's fountain pen ink and definitely NOT ball point paste. The ISO certification refers to the permanency, not the viscosity or surface tension. I find it easy enough to clean out of the pen (I have only tried the blue and the dark blue). However, it's a nano particle ink. In theory, the molecular movements of the liquid is enough to keep the tiny particles in suspension, but personally, I wouldn't let a pen filled with these nano particle inks stand idle for weeks on end. But then, that goes for any ink, doesn't it.

Edited December 24, 2014 by Oldane

[WaskiSquirrel]

I'm afraid I've never used an Indian ink. But, for the rest:

 

1. Favorite Ink - Noodler's Black, by far my favorite
2. Value for money Ink - Noodler's Black, hard to argue with the price!
3. Source of procuring Ink - Goulet Pens
4. Ink you don't like at all - Noodler's Periwinkle

I actually do use other brands and colors, but Noodler's Black sits at my top. It looks good, it works well in most of my pens, it cleans out of the pen easily, it doesn't clean out of paper easily, and it is at the right price point.

Noodler's Periwinkle dries up quickly in the pen, isn't that attractive anyway, is expensive, and it spreads and feathers. I recently bought a sample to see if my feelings weren't all exaggerated. Nope, I still hate it over a year later.

[a_m]

I think the document ink has a higher ISO certification and is more expensive. The archival is as permanent for all practical purposes, but as far as I know, it's only available in black.

 

The flow is excellent - in fact too excellent for my purposes, as I wrote in my earlier post. There's pronounced feathering and bleedthrough on bad paper. It's fountain pen ink and definitely NOT ball point paste. The ISO certification refers to the permanency, not the viscosity or surface tension. I find it easy enough to clean out of the pen (I have only tried the blue and the dark blue). However, it's a nano particle ink. In theory, the molecular movements of the liquid is enough to keep the tiny particles in suspension, but personally, I wouldn't let a pen filled with these nano particle inks stand idle for weeks on end. But then, that goes for any ink, doesn't it.

 

Thanks for those details. Its on my buy list

[visvamitra]

1. Favorite Ink: there's quite a few of them, recently the inks I use most are: Iroshizuku Yu-Yake, L'Artisan Pastellier Olivastre, J. Herbin Lie de The.

2. Value for money Ink: Camlin Royal Blue

Source of procuring Ink: web shops

Ink you don't like at all: Diamine Onyx, Pelikant Brilliant Red, Diamine Soft Mint

[mehandiratta]

 

1. Favorite Ink: there's quite a few of them, recently the inks I use most are: Iroshizuku Yu-Yake, L'Artisan Pastellier Olivastre, J. Herbin Lie de The.
2. Value for money Ink: Camlin Royal Blue
3. Source of procuring Ink: web shops
4. Ink you don't like at all: Diamine Onyx, Pelikant Brilliant Red, Diamine Soft Mint

 

i can see 2 of the inks that u dont like are diamines... any particular problem faced with them... ?