Darkest Ink

[trentnied]

I'm looking for the darkest black ink you know of.

When I say I want a dark ink I mean that I want to be unable to fathom the idea that there is paper under the ink.

In other words I want ink that reflects about as much light as a black hole.

[dcwaites]

Confusingly, there are two types of black ink.

 

The first is the black you get with inks that are made with nano-sized particles of carbon, such as Platinum Carbon Black, Sailor Kiwaguro Black, Pelikan Fount India. Because the particles are so small, light interacts with them in a way that doesn't apply to larger particles. The result is that light is truly absorbed (Black Hole Black) and the ink dries to a true matt black.

 

The second is the black you get with inks made of dye, and with a high dye concentration (saturation), such as Aurora Black, J.Herbin Perle Noir, Noodler's Heart of Darkness. With these inks you get a glossy black. However, you get light reflection from the glossy black, and this makes the black of the ink look darker to our eyes, but is not as truly black as the Carbon inks.

 

You need to decide whether you want a glossy black or a matt black and go from there.

[Abner C. Kemp]

I have Noodler's Black and it is seriously black. It makes Waterman Black look like a grey.

[dcwaites]

I have Noodler's Black and it is seriously black. It makes Waterman Black look like a grey.

 

Noodler's Black is dryer and not quite as black as Heart of Darkness, but it is better behaved.

I will use NB in wetter pens and dip pens, and NHOD in drier pens.

In a wetter pen NHOD can bleed through some papers, but on a good, hard, non-absorbent paper is a deep, glossy black. Note, however, that some of the ink remains unabsorbed above the layer of paper, and this can smudge if not given enough time to dry.

[Arkanabar]

 

Noodler's Black is dryer and not quite as black as Heart of Darkness, but it is better behaved.

My experience of these two is actually reversed -- HoD dries quickly and is slightly less black, while Black smudges.

 

Borealis Black is, in my experience, the blackest of Noodler's inks. Heart of Darkness is desaturated by my Pilot Parallel 3.8mm. Borealis Black is not.

[Abner C. Kemp]

 

Noodler's Black is dryer and not quite as black as Heart of Darkness, but it is better behaved.

I will use NB in wetter pens and dip pens, and NHOD in drier pens.

In a wetter pen NHOD can bleed through some papers, but on a good, hard, non-absorbent paper is a deep, glossy black. Note, however, that some of the ink remains unabsorbed above the layer of paper, and this can smudge if not given enough time to dry.

 

 

I don't think I can image a wetter ink than Noodler's Black. My bottle makes every nib I own ~1/2 size wider and smears like crazy.

[Coop]

Aurora black is my favorite black (so far). It is a well flowing, well lubricating, well behaved ink and one of the (if not the) darkest dye based blacks I have ever seen.

[ajlmarques]

Another vote for Aurora Black. Even "blacker" than Herbin's Perle Noir.

[ScienceChick]

The blackest, nicest black I've seen is PE Onyx.

[ink-syringe]

It makes Waterman Black look like a grey.

 

That's a pretty low bar.

[akustyk]

My experience of these two is actually reversed -- HoD dries quickly and is slightly less black, while Black smudges.

 

Borealis Black is, in my experience, the blackest of Noodler's inks. Heart of Darkness is desaturated by my Pilot Parallel 3.8mm. Borealis Black is not.

 

My first bottle of Borealis was, indeed, the blackest ink. My second bottle was more pale, dark gray, but without much shading, a very odd ink color.

 

I love black ink, and have tested several of the usual suspects. Aurora Black is still the best for me. I have used up five bottles over the past couple of years.

Edited January 15, 2016 by akustyk

[haruka337]

J.Herbin Perle Noir is the darkest black and very affordable, but you just can't beat Sailor Nano Kiwa-guro (matte black).

[dcwaites]

Has anybody used Diamine Onyx enough to make a comment?

[inkstainedruth]

The darkest blacks I've ever run across are Noodler's Old Manhattan (FPH exclusive) and Organics Studio Charles Darwin. But both have a tendency towards spread, and I had problems with Charles Darwin with bleedthrough, even with a fine hooded nib (which is too bad because it also dried super fast).

Me? I need black ink on occasion, but it doesn't have to be "everything sucked into a black hole so not even light can get out" black. So I like Noodler's Heart of Darkness if I need waterproofness (which Old Manhattan is not -- although it is water resistant); and Quink Black and Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black for most of the rest of the time.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[haruka337]

Has anybody used Diamine Onyx enough to make a comment?

I enjoy using Diamine Onyx, but it cannot compete with the inks mentioned in this thread in terms of darkness. It has purple undertones and I find such black inks tend to be "lighter" than its peers.

 

You can see some of its purple undertones more readily in flex pens and drier fountain pens, though I think it pretty noticeable across all pens and nibs I've used it with. Still, if one doesn't hold affection for black inks, one may not notice such nuances.

 

If one buys this ink hoping for the "darkest" black out there, they shall be severely disappointed.

[Masque]

Noodler's Old Manhattan Blackest Black makes a bold claim by name, but one I have not seen disproven.

 

It is a splendid black, but as others have noted, your precise desires may not precisely match its precise strengths.

[The Good Captain]

May one enquire, why?

[roklpokl]

Aurora Black is the darkest black I've tried and also performs very well.

[Arkanabar]

My desire for supreme blackness has declined precipitously, compared to my interest in other properties. My bar for blackness has become "darker than the nearest black ballpoint." Blacks that I used to find intolerably washed out I now consider sufficiently dark.

 

Though if I ever wind up doing calligraphy for pay that will change. I will want my customers not to seek the overlapping strokes. Saturation becomes more important at that point.

[J85909266]

I've been on this quest.

 

Aurora black is very nice. Perle Noir is just okay. It shades a bit gray.

 

I've settled on Noodler's Black. It's darker, at least in my experience, than Heart of Darkness.