Organizing Color Cards

[Sandy1]

 

 

Exactly; well said. I don't know if I had inadvertently suggested that ink cards are absolutely faithful images of the ink, but that was not my intent. I just like to have a rough idea of where an ink falls in the spectrum, which colors are contiguous and most similar, etc.

 

Occasionally, I'll flip through and see an ink that I hadn't thought about in quite a long time, and realize that it wants to come out and play.

 

I imagine, Sandy, that your compass rose must be spectacularly colorful!

 

 

 

Hi,

 

Mostly it is.

 

And I do love the 'Where have you been hiding?' rediscovering of an ink.

__

 

We have Munsell (Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munsell_color_system

 

We have Ouija (Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouija

 

Seat them in the same compartment / bar car on the slow train to Monte Carlo (Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Carlo_method

 

And what do you get? FPN

 

Wheee!

 

Bye,

S1

Edited July 5, 2017 by Sandy1

[ParkerDuofold]

Hi,

 

Just to add a bit:

 

I do not consider 'ink cards', swab samples etc to be definitive. IMHO they indicate a starting point rather than a destination.

 

perhaps I have so many inks that the level of granularity is rather fine, so I turn to my inky folios to see examples of different pen+paper combos and similar inks before getting on with writing.

(My history of picking a 'warm' ink + pen combo is fraught with queues of pens awaiting clean-up.

 

Oh well, 'No' is always a valid answer, but some days I wish 'Yes' was a little closer ... My compass rose is still bedevilled by curiosity

 

Bye,

S1

Hi Sandy, Halloween, et al,

 

Well, I'm not planning on taking this to epic heights Sandy and Halloween have attained... my aspirations are not that high. I would think if you're an artisan penman or an expert ink reviewer/critic; you need ink portfolios with exacting standards.

 

Fortunately, that is not my problem. I just want to find a pleasing ink that relates well to the given task at hand... whether that be getting through a day at the office... and all that that implies... writing a letter a CEO, (which I will often do for work as well, because it lends that "personal touch" to our services), or a bishop with praise or complaint about something... writing a serious or fun letter to a friend, (which I'm usually woefully behind on)... or just a grocery/errands list... and for that, my card file has served me quite well.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not slighting anyone who prefers to use Col-o-Ring cards or the like... it's just they do not provide the "note space" I prefer and the time and expense of maintaining two ink files, would exceed my demands.

 

I do plan on working up a mock-up ink card this evening, employing the multi-media theme of using both the card file coupled with my favorite paper(s), just to see how that works out... or doesn't.

 

Be well and enjoy life.

 

 

- Anthony

 

EDITED to add "NOT" in front of "my problem."

Edited July 5, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[ParkerDuofold]

... I also believe these posts have shown excellent examples different users have developed for their representative ink samples; the important thing is that each person has a system they use & enjoy. File cards, paper slips, whether in a file folder, box, or even shoe box, whatever WORKS for them, to further enjoy their inks is surely a good thing...

BINGO!

 

- Anthony

[Chrissy]

I am sure the Nemosyne cards are the "Gold Standard" for showcasing inks; people have extolled their virtues for years in posts here. I wasn't aware they were still obtainable; if so that is a wonderful thing!

 

I also believe these posts have shown excellent examples different users have developed for their representative ink samples; the important thing is that each person has a system they use & enjoy. File cards, paper slips, whether in a file folder, box, or even shoe box, whatever WORKS for them, to further enjoy their inks is surely a good thing.

 

I appreciate everyone's sharing of their examples & know each is better than my haphazard approach to searching through several notebooks, to see writing examples of my inks, in different pens. As long as inks are used & enjoyed, the mission is accomplished, whatever approach one chooses.

 

I don't believe that Mnemosyne cards are available anymore. I last saw them advertised in an online store in the Netherlands I think, but that was a long time ago now.

[ParkerDuofold]

Hi all,

 

Here are my mixed media sample cards which include different paper types... pretty gruesome, I know; but it works for me.

 

Any suggestions for mounting the paper(s)? (These use double-sided Scotch tape, but you can see how I crinkled up the paper on the Asa sample trying to mount it).

 

 

- Anthony

 

EDITED to delete superfluous text.

Edited July 6, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[HalloweenHJB]

 

I also believe these posts have shown excellent examples different users have developed for their representative ink samples; the important thing is that each person has a system they use & enjoy. File cards, paper slips, whether in a file folder, box, or even shoe box, whatever WORKS for them, to further enjoy their inks is surely a good thing.

 

I appreciate everyone's sharing of their examples & know each is better than my haphazard approach to searching through several notebooks, to see writing examples of my inks, in different pens. As long as inks are used & enjoyed, the mission is accomplished, whatever approach one chooses.

 

 

INDEED. Whatever works best for each of us is the best system for that person. Cheers to all those who have found a useful, beautiful, artistic, practical way of cataloguing their inks!

[Margana]

Having used a number of methods to catalog ink, Mnemosyne cards have remained in favor over paper and notebooks for durability and the ability to place colors side by side for comparison. However, it is annoying to disassemble a binder to pull out several and then have to remember where to return them.

 

My next project will be to catalog my watercolor paints. Though Mnemosyne cards would work, watercolor paper cut into small cards and placed in protective sheets will be more useful. Twenty per page will make comparisons easy. I would do the same with ink, but there are too many in my collection to consider that option though on a rainy, winter day it might be useful to swatch some of the inks I use the most. If nothing else, it would be an entertaining project and practical to boot.

 

If you use the cards for ink, I recommend writing on the back with any pen you fill so you can see how different pens handle the ink. It is a handy reference tool especially if you use a variety of nib widths. It has surprised me to see how often I put the same ink and pen together without remembering that the duo has been paired in the past.

[NicolausPiscator]

Beautiful organisation of your colour cards! ... hehe! I organise them the same way by hue. It is so nice to look at the change of colours and to discuss the right order.

[HalloweenHJB]

 

If you use the cards for ink, I recommend writing on the back with any pen you fill so you can see how different pens handle the ink. It is a handy reference tool especially if you use a variety of nib widths. It has surprised me to see how often I put the same ink and pen together without remembering that the duo has been paired in the past.

 

 

What a great idea! I have quite a number of pens inked at any moment in time, so I have to keep cards so I know which pens have which inks. But adding a sample with different pens using the same ink is excellent advice. Thanks!

[LizB]

Inspired by this thread, I made myself a budget swatch thingy with Silvine 5x3 record cards (cut in half), a hinged binder ring, some old card and washi tape. I just need to decide how to fill it and organise it.

 

[HalloweenHJB]

Inspired by this thread, I made myself a budget swatch thingy with Silvine 5x3 record cards (cut in half), a hinged binder ring, some old card and washi tape. I just need to decide how to fill it and organise it.

 

 

 

Nicely done!

 

And yes, it is the organizing that really gets complicated. Alphabetical is simple and it's easy to find inks, but I like to see which inks are siblings (or identical twins) and play with them that way. It's all a matter of taste.

[amberleadavis]

Okay, I will admit, I'm not as ink-organized as Halloween or Sandy1 or Cyber6 or well anyone around here.

 

1st organizational system: Search Ink Reviews and CRVs - what color was that again?

 

2nd part of system: Index cards to show how an ink behaves on the very worst paper.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/Inked_Today/slides/2013-Ink_842.jpg

[amberleadavis]

3rd part of organizing. Sheets with what I have ink the pen, in order of inking.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/Inked_Today/slides/2013-03-17_Davis_020.jpghttp://www.sheismylawyer.com/2016-Ink/01-January/slides/2016-01-10_12.jpg

[amberleadavis]

4th part.

 

Look through my scans for comparisons:

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/INK/slides/2015-PPS-09-d.jpg

 

And always check out what my friends are doing:

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/INK/slides/2015-09-20-21-44-35.jpg

[amberleadavis]

5th - go look in my journal made by GatzBCN.

 

http://www.sheismylawyer.com/album/Journal/GatzBCN/slides/20151107_144037.jpg

[amberleadavis]

Finally, I check out the fade images and notebooks.

 

http://www.sheismylawyer.com/2012-Website/slides/03-2012-10-14_001_small.jpghttp://www.sheismylawyer.com/2012-Website/slides/IMG0591_small.jpg

 

 

By the time, I am done, I have completely forgotten what I was looking for, but I have sure had a great time.

[HalloweenHJB]

This is surely the most amazing of organizations. We bow before your amazing system!

[amberleadavis]

Well, I think yours is more usable.

[HalloweenHJB]

Well, I think yours is more usable.

 

 

Perhaps, but less entertaining?

[Drawing61]

I have begun my first attempt at cataloging/organizing my inks so I might more easily find what I think I might need. I am surprised by two things; the amount of ink I've accumulated, well over a hundred bottles (a small amount I know compared to many inkanistas), and the preponderance of green in my collection. I like green but I assumed I would have more browns or blues or yellow to orange. Does this subconscious green bias have psychological significance?