Ink Swatch Book?

[tvradio]

I was watching Pens_and_Tea's Youtube video of her top 5 pens of 2017 and she pulled out a FP swatch book that had spaces for pen, nib, ink, date and a space to mark down a swatch. [screenshot] I've seen testing cards on a ring but not a swatch book like this. (Then again, I'm very new to this hobby.)

 

Where would I find something like this?

[mmg122]

Perhaps this is what you're referring to:

 

https://www.inkjournal.com/products/inkjournal-black-notebook-for-pen-collectors

 

 

Here's another:

 

https://www.inkjournal.com/collections/featured/products/inkjournal-pocket-tomoe-field-green-notebook

Edited December 27, 2017 by mmg122

[tvradio]

Not what she was using, but close enough. Thanks!

[Runnin_Ute]

Any notebook can be used for this purpose, in most cases you would just set up the columns that you want.

[Noihvo]

 

 

[tvradio]

 

 

.... and we have a winner, folks!

 

Many thanks. I'm going to the Philadelphia Pen show in a couple of weeks - I'll keep an eye out for Vanness, or see if there is a similar book I like.

Edited December 27, 2017 by tvradio

[lapis]

No harm meant, but you can simply use any plain ol' sheet of A4 (or in North America 8 ½ x 11) paper -- or smaller, for that matter -- and write down what pen's using what and after a while store the whole inventory together. I don't need a whole, separate book/booklet for this. But your idea is good and I still wonder why some folks keep on asking how they can ever tell who was filled with what and when!

[jmccarty3]

I tried keeping this info in a notebook, but I found myself taking a lot of time looking for the page a pen was on to see what ink was in it. So I got a stack of Nock 3 x 5 note cards. The pen is written in at the top, and the dates and inks below. The cards are kept in alphabetical order by pen, so it's quick and easy.

[LizEF]

"Currently inked" makes sense if you need a log of what's currently in your pens - just search from the back to find the latest entry for the pen in question. I use memory for this purpose, but if your pen/ink use is such that memory won't work reliably, the log-book approach is a good solution.

 

But that's different from ink swatches / writing samples. For that, I prefer cards - with a ring, or a box. This makes finding the swatch easier because you can sort them. In a bound book, with multiple inks on one page (and potentially on both sides of the page), it's impossible to separate, insert additions, and sort (unless you only use one side, and cut them out to turn them into the equivalent of cards). In this case, the paper matters, since the purpose is to remind you what an ink looks like on paper (and probably in different pens), and the paper (and pen) will change that. So you either want to use your preferred paper(s), or something which reflects accurate (enough) color, shading, and sheen.

 

The alternate would be to maintain an index of the "currently inked" book so that you have a listing of each page where an ink is listed, and the pen used on each page...

 

And now jmccarty3 has thrown in the "pen history" use.

 

Well, you've got me feeling all databasey now (I'm a database application developer). I think I'll go map out some improvements to my current system - a paper relational database management system...

Edited December 27, 2017 by LizEF

[inkstainedruth]

I have a set of inexpensive Piccadilly sketch pads that I do ink reviews for myself in (one sheet per ink). I'm now on the third one, and am anticipating having to get a fourth one. I have files on my computer with indexes (at some point I will get around to also printing them off and keeping them with each volume. I also have a couple of composition books where I note what inks work well in specific pen (4 pages per pen, for the most part). And I have a few of the smallest size Rhodia pads (the No. 10 size) to do mini-reviews/quick impressions of inks so I can see what they look like on better paper (the Piccadilly paper is very absorbent and also sometimes does weird things to ink colors).

I switch inks a lot, so I actually keep another file on my computer, where the pens that are currently inked up are highlighted in a different color, noting what ink is in each one. This is one of the few times I prefer high tech -- I can go into that file and change the color from black text (un-inked) to inked (bright color like Magenta) very easily. There's two columns per page and the pens are sorted by brand (in the composition books they're more randomly sorted, and I have color-coded post-it flags, but I'm behind on getting the flags updated).

Why yes, I AM OCD. Thanks for asking....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[tvradio]

"Currently inked" makes sense if you need a log of what's currently in your pens - just search from the back to find the latest entry for the pen in question. I use memory for this purpose, but if your pen/ink use is such that memory won't work reliably, the log-book approach is a good solution.

 

But that's different from ink swatches / writing samples. For that, I prefer cards - with a ring, or a box. This makes finding the swatch easier because you can sort them.

I've seen the rings and they seemed a little extravagant and showy but you make a good point about being able to sort by color, which can be pretty useful.

 

What I liked about the examples mmg112 linked to is that they offered more space for each ink: there was a specific area to rate for flow, saturation, shading, and water resistance, and there was enough room to note if on any specific papers there was feathering/echo/bleed/spread/wooliness. Doing it on index-sized cards, or cut-down paper, might be a good compromise.

Edited December 27, 2017 by tvradio

[LizEF]

What I liked about the examples mmg112 linked to is that they offered more space for each ink: there was a specific area to rate for flow, saturation, shading, and water resistance, and there was enough room to note if on any specific papers there was feathering/echo/bleed/spread/wooliness. Doing it on index-sized cards, or cut-down paper, might be a good compromise.

 

Or just keeping an electronic index (to enable inserts and sorts) would serve the same purpose as cards - that Ink Journal is definitely different from a currently inked log.

[Chrissy]

No harm meant, but you can simply use any plain ol' sheet of A4 (or in North America 8 ½ x 11) paper -- or smaller, for that matter -- and write down what pen's using what and after a while store the whole inventory together. I don't need a whole, separate book/booklet for this. But your idea is good and I still wonder why some folks keep on asking how they can ever tell who was filled with what and when!

 

All of my pens has been allocated a whole page of my Seven Seas Writer Journal. They are in alphabetical order of pen brand. Each one has a line saying what ink it's currently filled with, and what date it was filled, until it's emptied and cleaned out. Then that line is crossed out and the new line is completed with the current ink.

 

So far I haven't run out of page for any pen. However, I don't include all of my constant ink testing pens like Lamy Safaris, Al-stars and Nexx M pens.

[lapis]

I just take any ol' page (or a new page) of any ol' A4 paper (w/a of at least halfway decent quality, but it can differ every time) and note from left to right (with that pen and that ink) the date, the pen, the ink, whether it was washed or just refilled, and an impulsive word or two on wetness etc. If at a later date I see e.g. that there are ignition problems, I note that later, too. At the top of the page I have the page number and paper type. Since I (usually) only have about 5-6-7 pens filled at once, it's never hard to see who's who. Like if one has a bright green ink in it, I can always locate that pen down at the bottom of the list immediately. Also, however banal this may sound, if I'm looking for a certain ink which I do know is/was/has to be a bright green, I can always go back over the years and re-find one whose exact greenliness may have in the meantime escaped by memory.... I always do that with all of my pens (except dip pens).

 

Yahn

[tvradio]

Are there any good fountain pen friendly 3x5"/4x6"index cards (or heavy stock A7/B7/C7 cards/pages)?

 

The Col-O-Ring testing books don't really appeal to me because they're a little small and I'd rather use cards that can be put away and protected in a typical (for US) plastic 3x5" or 4x6" index card case.

 

I could probably settle for perforated A7/B7 Rhodia/Maruman/Kokuyo/Apica pad paper but I'm not positive it would hold up to handling over time as well over time as compared to a heavier card....

[LizEF]

Are there any good fountain pen friendly 3x5"/4x6"index cards (or heavy stock A7/B7/C7 cards/pages)?

 

I've had good luck with Oxford cards: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00INBSU14/

 

I've even used stub nibs with no problem, but as you know, nib and ink create a unique combo, so no guarantee.

[sansenri]

I do that all the time, in fact it looks like a nice useful little booklet.

I use a Clairefontaine small booklet to keep track of which pen is inked with what, the reason is, yes, I forget. And I hate it when I am writing with a pen I inked and I cannot quite figure out what ink I put in... also because sometimes, when I am happy with a pen-ink match and want to go on using it I like to be able to skip the cleaning and just top it up.

So I usually fill up the pen and then record on this booklet, the pen, the nib, the ink, the date, and a swatch. It also helps in the cleaning routine, if a pen has been inked for too long it's time for cleaning, or using up the ink (when the ink has dried our a bit I draw up a very small amount of water - I hate wasting ink) and then cleaning.

Looking at the booklet over time is quite interesting, also to see if the colours fade and very oddly how sometimes the same ink in another pen just looks different.

here a few examples of what I do

(the images are photographs, so the colours are not very true to life)

 

 

 

 

 

[tvradio]

Some nice inks there.

[amberleadavis]

Don't forget to check out this Inky Topic O'Day.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/266620-inky-t-o-d-what-is-your-method-for-keeping-track-of-your-inks/

[Sailor Kenshin]

Are there any good fountain pen friendly 3x5"/4x6"index cards (or heavy stock A7/B7/C7 cards/pages)?

 

The Col-O-Ring testing books don't really appeal to me because they're a little small and I'd rather use cards that can be put away and protected in a typical (for US) plastic 3x5" or 4x6" index card case.

 

I could probably settle for perforated A7/B7 Rhodia/Maruman/Kokuyo/Apica pad paper but I'm not positive it would hold up to handling over time as well over time as compared to a heavier card....

Levenger used to sell cards with grid, lined or blank faces, and they worked pretty well. For a bargain basement card that does surprisingly well with ink, go to Dollar Tree and look for index cards made in India.