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Inky Terminology


LizEF

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  On 4/8/2021 at 4:16 AM, A Smug Dill said:

I'm increasingly inclined to conclude that ‘water-resistant’ and ‘waterproof’ simply cannot be traits of an ink as the substance under review, when the solvent in fountain pen inks is primarily water. Instead, they describe a characteristic of the marks made with the ink on a surface

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I expect most of us assume that, if only subconsciously, but...

  On 4/8/2021 at 4:16 AM, A Smug Dill said:

and so the type of paper*, the method of application — ... —  and the volume of ink applied (and this is where ‘wetness’ may come into play) could affect it.

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Good point, and many of us likely haven't considered this part.  That is, when we see that an ink is labeled "pigmented" or "document" or "permanent", we don't consider that it may behave differently on different papers, etc. and be more or less of those things depending on the details.

 

That said, the review should be including details about the paper(s) and pen(s) used, so at least some of the variables will be known.  But pointing out the nuances to the reviewer might help them to provide better or more accurate summaries of their experiences.

 

  On 4/8/2021 at 4:16 AM, A Smug Dill said:

On the distinction between ‘water-resistant’ and ‘waterproof‘ ...

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In my mind, waterproof is just the perfection of water-resistance.  And water-resistance can go anywhere from none at all to complete (or perfect, or waterproof).  For those who do water-resistance testing, instructions should include keeping in mind that this is a scale, not a "yes/no" question, and therefore should include some description of observation and conditions.

 

  On 4/8/2021 at 4:16 AM, A Smug Dill said:

Also note that mechanical erasure may come into play, ... 

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Good point, and something many of us likely miss.  I expect each reviewer will have to decide the extent to which they want to go, or what "use cases" they wish to cover, but pointing out this additional form of "resistance testing" can only help the potential reviewer.  It might also relate to doing "smudge tests", which I've never even considered, but given the recent explosion (or so it seems to me) in "super-sheeners", such a test might be more warranted than in times past.  (And that ties directly into the whole saturation question as well, though there are a lot of "ingredients" to smudge-factor, not just saturation and not just the presence of moisture.)

 

Does anyone else feel like we've entered into a rabbit hole? :bunny01:

 

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  On 4/8/2021 at 7:20 AM, A Smug Dill said:

I'm not sure about that. Going by that sense of the word ‘saturation’, if you added more dye to a fully saturated ink, the dye simply won't dissolve; but if the dye is of a light enough colour, then spreading a fully saturated ink (thinly) on paper would still produce shading, on account of more ink is physically deposited, or allowed to pool and then dry, on some parts of certain pen strokes and intersections of ink tracks.

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Hmm.  I'm going to have to find a pale ink that's fully saturated.  Given that this is outside my preferences, I may not have one.  I'm also going to have to ponder a while.  (I might be letting myself be too influenced by what I know about (artist's) oil paints.)  But if this (whether shading in writing, or in overlapping swabs) is not the way to tell if an ink is saturated, then what is?  I doubt any of us has access to instrumentation to make that determination.

 

  On 4/8/2021 at 7:20 AM, A Smug Dill said:

I'm not sure about that either. A dull blue-grey is less saturated than a vivid light blue as far as colour goes; that's easy.

 

But the former may just have more dye per unit area covered by ink marks — which may be because the ink is highly saturated, or because the ink was applied ‘wetly’, or both — than the latter. So, when I say a particular writing fluid is an “under-saturated blue ink”, would I be talking about the colour saturation or the dye load?

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Well, first, I would hope the reviewer would state what they mean clearly (whether dye load or color saturation, or eve colour saturation :P ).  Beyond that, while there are some cases where many people could distinguish color saturation (perhaps more easily that dye load - thanks a lot for that previous post, now you've totally got me doubting anyone's ability to judge that), I think that in many cases, it's not so easy - a lot of fountain pen inks are murky, or unusual colors not found on a color wheel, or even multiple colors!

 

It may be that saturation is the hardest of these three to comment on at all!  Lubrication (unless someone has instrumentation) is a subjective expression of one's tactile experience.  Flow can be comparatively commented on once one has enough experience, or if one is willing to emulate An Ink Guy.  But now you've got me seriously questioning this whole saturation business!

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  On 4/8/2021 at 6:37 AM, TheDutchGuy said:

.... On a similar note, I’ve always maintained that inks don’t shade but it’s the pen that makes an ink shade. Ink is just a fluid and shading is caused by uneven application of the ink on the page (all other factors remaining the same). ...

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I think it's a combination of all three.  Perhaps the ink itself is less important than I have thought to date (still gonna have to ponder this), but at the very least, a fully saturated, very dark ink, may not be capable of shading out of a pen - you may have to smear or spread it with something else.  Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that pens are not capable of spreading it thin enough to see shading...  Gonna have to ponder some more.

 

  On 4/8/2021 at 6:37 AM, TheDutchGuy said:

The ability to sheen, on the other hand, is a property of the ink (albeit influenced by the wetness of the pen).

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Pretty sure we can all agree on this (at least until @A Smug Dill points out whatever we have yet to consider :glare: ).

 

  On 4/8/2021 at 6:37 AM, TheDutchGuy said:

On the other hand... if someone says ‘dude, this ink is wet!’ then I know what is meant. The realisation that it might just be the pen that is wet and not the ink, that writing pressure and choice of paper matter, all of that is instantaneously understood and need not be expressed explicitly.

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Except that newbies are probably left gaping, wondering what's up with people who need to say that a liquid is wet! :rolleyes: (<--newbie rolling their eyes at the FP weirdos)  For them, it would likely help to have some clear definitions, descriptions, instructions, examples, etc.  And pointing out to the reviewer that they should keep this in mind is probably a good idea - I say that because of the "scan / GIMP" thread, where I suspect the OP has forgotten what it was like to know nothing about image manipulation - reviewers can forget what it was like to be a newbie who thought that all liquids were wet.

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  • 2 weeks later...

After some consideration, I'm thinking "Saturation" should either not be on any review form, or it should be something other than a rating...  If we mean "dye load", I don't see how any statement can be remotely objective or even meaningful to the average user.  One would need instrumentation and pretty much no reviewer is going to have that.  I personally can't imagine what I would do with this information - how it would alter my decisions (except maybe the decision to dilute, but even that would need a lot more information than just dye load - if it even needed that).  All the other attributes are what's going to inform my decision.

 

If the reviewer means "color saturation", then sure, if you can evaluate that and provide comment, great, but I don't know that "high-medium-low" is a useful evaluation here either - though it seems more useful, sort of, than for "dye load" - but an image ought to tell me more what I really want to know.

 

Someone please, argue against me!  Convince me we should keep this, and how we should explain to potential reviewers how to evaluate this attribute (and I'm game to explain both types of the attribute - color and dye load), but I need some convincing and help figuring out how to instruct potential reviewers and how to make the evaluation useful to consumers of the review (even if the only consumer is the reviewer).

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  On 4/19/2021 at 4:58 AM, LizEF said:

I personally can't imagine what I would do with this information - how it would alter my decisions (except maybe the decision to dilute, but even that would need a lot more information than just dye load

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I think some people may be concerned that allowing half a fill's worth of high dye-load inks in a piston-filler is more likely to clog the feed and/or filling mechanism — if allowed to evaporate, thicken and/or dry out in the reservoir while capped (or just given long enough between refilling and/or cleaning activity) — than in the case with low dye-load inks. Insofar as I'm probably more likely than the average user to encounter ink drying out in my pens, I'd still say as an ink reviewer, ”Your pen hygiene habits and consequences of such are not mine to worry about, and you should know when whichever ink you're using is thickening or drying out in your pen, through in-use observation anyway, and deal with it accordingly.”

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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All the more reason to write a line or two in your inventory -- of what ink is in what pen, when -- and not just after filling. 

Life is too short to drink bad wine (Goethe)

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  On 4/19/2021 at 7:33 AM, lapis said:

All the more reason to write a line or two in your inventory -- of what ink is in what pen, when -- and not just after filling. 

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Hmmm, at first I thought you meant something like this:

but then I read the final clause of your statement. Do you add an entry in your ‘inventory’ every time you uncap a pen and/to write with it non-trivially? I note down the date of filling just so I can make a mental note of which pens/models are ‘losers’ when it comes to cap sealing performance and, in a sense, as we used to say when I was still working in large corporations, sideline them and “put them on ‘special projects’ only” (hoping they would have the good sense to resign and depart with some semblance of dignity).

 

It's not the fault of the ink that the pens' caps don't do their job well — whether the brand is Parker, Faber-Castell, Lamy or Luoshi — and so I would certainly want to refrain from effectively giving advice on how not to allow those problematic pens to smudge things up in a way that annoy their owners and seed discontent, so as to protect those pens' standing.

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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  On 4/19/2021 at 5:36 AM, A Smug Dill said:

I think some people may be concerned that allowing half a fill's worth of high dye-load inks in a piston-filler is more likely to clog the feed and/or filling mechanism — if allowed to evaporate, thicken and/or dry out in the reservoir while capped (or just given long enough between refilling and/or cleaning activity) — than in the case with low dye-load inks. Insofar as I'm probably more likely than the average user to encounter ink drying out in my pens, I'd still say as an ink reviewer, ”Your pen hygiene habits and consequences of such are not mine to worry about, and you should know when whichever ink you're using is thickening or drying out in your pen, through in-use observation anyway, and deal with it accordingly.”

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Ah, good!  A second use for the info (the opposite of my dilution example), but as you say, lots of variables in the mix, and yeah, not reasonable to ask the reviewer to concern themselves with ink-evaporation behavior.  Although I suppose we could mention this as another way to evaluate saturation, if the reviewer happens to be using either a poorly-sealed pen or leaving the pen unused for long periods - they can evaluate how quickly it "thickens" - but, boy howdy are we into subjective-ville at this point (not that nearly everything isn't, but...).

 

(After writing the below, I'm beginning to think of flaws already, on top of the impracticality of it, but I'll leave it in case it sparks more ideas.)

A scientific method could be applied, but it'll only go so far without instrumentation.  Huh.  It seems a repeat of An Ink Guy's flow test, after a controlled evaporation process (time, temp, humidity, container size, volume, air-flow, etc.) would provide a way to put numbers to this, though it would require "wasting" a lot of ink to repeat 10 times.  Can't say it's fair to *ask* any reviewer to do this, though, it could be suggested.  Essentially, the delta between "fresh" flow and "after evaporation" flow could be used as a number to rate saturation?  The smaller the difference, the more saturated?  Hmm.  But this would be more an evaporation number.   Who's to say a super-saturated ink can't have a flow aid that's not so susceptible to evaporation, and so it flows well even after evaporation......  Giving up on this thought for now, but leaving it here.

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Average punter here.

 

Dye load?  To date I have no recollection hearing/seeing this term in reference to fountain pen ink. Which doesn't mean it hasn't been used, but to me it muddies the water.  As a garden variety FP user I'd say Manyo Haha is unsaturated compared to saturated Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue and doubt I'd get much argument.

 

Not that anyone asked me.

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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  On 4/19/2021 at 9:29 AM, A Smug Dill said:

.... Do you add an entry in your ‘inventory’ every time you uncap a pen and/to write with it non-trivially? ..

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Nope,  I only add a phrase or two in my inventory (after once filling the pen) when I later ascertain that the ink (in that pen, of course, which is that which makes the ball bounce) leads to ignition problems, or smearing or calamities upon cleaning etc. Those are things which I usually don't notice only a few seconds after filling.

Life is too short to drink bad wine (Goethe)

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  On 4/19/2021 at 3:12 PM, Karmachanic said:

Not that anyone asked me.

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I want input from everyone who has it.

 

  On 4/19/2021 at 3:12 PM, Karmachanic said:

Dye load?  To date I have no recollection hearing/seeing this term in reference to fountain pen ink. Which doesn't mean it hasn't been used, but to me it muddies the water.

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The goal is not to suggest new terminology, but to discuss what existing terminology means - whether everyone is using it in the same way or not.  To explore the details, it is helpful (even if only within this thread) to separate potential meanings - thus, one potential is "color saturation" and another is "dye load".  Which one any given reviewer intends (if either), is known only to the reviewer (unless they explain rather than just rate "high-medium-low"), and the assumptions by consumers may not match each other, or the intent of the reviewer.

 

  On 4/19/2021 at 3:12 PM, Karmachanic said:

As a garden variety FP user I'd say Manyo Haha is unsaturated compared to saturated Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue and doubt I'd get much argument.

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Easy examples are, well, easy.  Not all comparisons or individual inks are so easy to evaluate.  And an easy example will not help the goal of this thread.  If anything, we need to explore the difficult examples.

 

I likely have more thoughts, but they'll take longer to write up, review, reconsider, and edit - if I even decide to post them. :)

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If there is anyone out there reading this, who wants ink reviews to include an evaluation of an ink's saturation (regardless of what is meant by saturation), if you are willing, will you please answer the following:

 

1) What do you do with the information?  (If all you do is say, "Huh, that's interesting.", please say so - I'm not trying to judge the consumer, I'm trying to understand the term and how people use it.)

 

2) If all you knew about an ink was its color saturation, or its dye load, would you be able to make a decision (even if not a final decision) based on that knowledge?  E.g. would you be able to say, "I won't be interested in this ink, no sense learning more."  or "This ink may be just what I'm looking for, let's continue."?  I'm trying to figure out if this attribute simply satisfies curiosity, or if someone out there has a functional use for it.

 

3) If your answer to #2 is that you have a functional use for the information, is an evaluation of saturation by the reviewer necessary for you to accomplish your ends, or can you accomplish the same ends by considering other attributes of the ink (e.g. pictures of the ink - alone and in comparison with other inks, demonstration of shading, etc.)?

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who chooses to answer these questions! :)

 

PS: I think it may be helpful to point out that I'm not intending to establish a rigid set of requirements, nor to pressure existing reviewers into stopping or changing their evaluation of "saturation".  Rather, I'm trying to learn enough to be able to write up definitions, instructions, and examples for potential reviewers, so that they can consider for themselves whether and how to include something called "saturation" as part of their review.  And, for any who choose to use such documentation, I hope it will lead to less ambiguity, so that consumers of a review are understanding (better) what the reviewer intended to communicate.

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1) What do you do with the information?  (If all you do is say, "Huh, that's interesting.", please say so - I'm not trying to judge the consumer, I'm trying to understand the term and how people use it.)

 

A) Shading shading shading! I look for shading with all of my inks...if they don't shade, I don't buy them.

 

2) If all you knew about an ink was its color saturation, or its dye load, would you be able to make a decision (even if not a final decision) based on that knowledge?  E.g. would you be able to say, "I won't be interested in this ink, no sense learning more."  or "This ink may be just what I'm looking for, let's continue."?  I'm trying to figure out if this attribute simply satisfies curiosity, or if someone out there has a functional use for it.

 

A) The color saturation is good information, but I also need to know the particular color. Without those two base parameters, I cannot purchase an ink.

 

3) If your answer to #2 is that you have a functional use for the information, is an evaluation of saturation by the reviewer necessary for you to accomplish your ends, or can you accomplish the same ends by considering other attributes of the ink (e.g. pictures of the ink - alone and in comparison with other inks, demonstration of shading, etc.)?

A) It is absolutely mandatory for me because photos don't accurately display what will be MY experience with an ink. I use XF and XXF tipped flex nibs and every ink that I purchased based on photos a year ago have absolutely disappointed me. In photos posted they look light because they're being used with firm broad nibs or swatched with a q-tip...
When I bought the inks and used them with my XF and XXF tipped pens...the inks were basically BLACK on the paper!! So much darker when used with a fine-tip flex nib that lays down ink!! The saturation compounds and makes even medium tone inks appear black on paper!!!
I've given away over $80-$100 worth of ink because I CANNOT use it with my preferred pen type!! That's a whole pen I could have bought!
But because I didn't know any better and of course, no one informed me, I spent money on inks that could never provide the performance I needed. Nowadays...EVERY ink I buy is light colored or mildly saturated because when used with MY PENS...they are much darker.

THAT is why "Saturation" information is ABSOLUTELY important to me in ink reviews.

Thank you for asking.
By the way...your reviews...I didn't understand how vital they would be to my decisions until I got experienced and realized that Extra Fine-Tip nibs have a whole other life and experience than other larger nib sizes.

Eat The Rich_SIG.jpg

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  On 4/19/2021 at 6:11 PM, LizEF said:

If there is anyone out there reading this, who wants ink reviews to include an evaluation of an ink's saturation (regardless of what is meant by saturation), if you are willing, will you please answer the following:

 

1) What do you do with the information?  (If all you do is say, "Huh, that's interesting.", please say so - I'm not trying to judge the consumer, I'm trying to understand the term and how people use it.)

 

2) If all you knew about an ink was its color saturation, or its dye load, would you be able to make a decision (even if not a final decision) based on that knowledge?  E.g. would you be able to say, "I won't be interested in this ink, no sense learning more."  or "This ink may be just what I'm looking for, let's continue."?  I'm trying to figure out if this attribute simply satisfies curiosity, or if someone out there has a functional use for it.

 

3) If your answer to #2 is that you have a functional use for the information, is an evaluation of saturation by the reviewer necessary for you to accomplish your ends, or can you accomplish the same ends by considering other attributes of the ink (e.g. pictures of the ink - alone and in comparison with other inks, demonstration of shading, etc.)?

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who chooses to answer these questions! :)

 

PS: I think it may be helpful to point out that I'm not intending to establish a rigid set of requirements, nor to pressure existing reviewers into stopping or changing their evaluation of "saturation".  Rather, I'm trying to learn enough to be able to write up definitions, instructions, and examples for potential reviewers, so that they can consider for themselves whether and how to include something called "saturation" as part of their review.  And, for any who choose to use such documentation, I hope it will lead to less ambiguity, so that consumers of a review are understanding (better) what the reviewer intended to communicate.

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I don't know how a reviewer measures saturation.  I think more often they are trying to convey opaqueness. "Dye load" sounds like a manufacturer's term, e.g., a 100% load = fully saturated.  Adding more dye does nothing, except waste dye.
 

 

 

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  On 4/19/2021 at 7:17 PM, I-am-not-really-here said:

I don't know how a reviewer measures saturation.  I think more often they are trying to convey opaqueness.

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Neither do I! :)  I don't know how others come up with their rating, what they mean by their rating, nor how I can make a meaningful evaluation.  (Though I'm sure I've claimed an ink was "saturated", I'm not sure that claim really means anything!)

 

  On 4/19/2021 at 7:17 PM, I-am-not-really-here said:

"Dye load" sounds like a manufacturer's term, e.g., a 100% load = fully saturated.  Adding more dye does nothing, except waste dye.

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Yes, exactly.  And we adopted that term for this type of saturation so we could discuss it separately from "color saturation".  This is what I always assumed people meant by "saturation", though it appears others always assumed "color saturation" was meant.  Meanwhile, when I go do an image search for "color saturation", I'm left to conclude that mere mortals who haven't studied color theory stand no chance of getting it right (except with the "easy" examples), and that any meaning is incomplete without additional attributes (tint, tone, shade; hue, saturation, brightness; hue, saturation, value; chroma, intensity, saturation ???!!!).

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  On 4/19/2021 at 4:58 AM, LizEF said:

After some consideration, I'm thinking "Saturation" should either not be on any review form,

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As a review consumer, having thought about it a bit more, I too question the necessity of delving into saturation as part of a review. Looking at swabs and written examples, with various nibs on various papers, gives me sufficient visual information about the colour and saturation/dye load/ tonal density of the ink.

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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  On 4/19/2021 at 6:52 PM, Detman101 said:

1) What do you do with the information?  (If all you do is say, "Huh, that's interesting.", please say so - I'm not trying to judge the consumer, I'm trying to understand the term and how people use it.)

 

A) Shading shading shading! I look for shading with all of my inks...if they don't shade, I don't buy them.

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OK.  This is evaluated separately in most reviews.  And it corresponds which my original assumption (which I've now concluded is wrong) that shading inks are not fully saturated.

 

  On 4/19/2021 at 6:52 PM, Detman101 said:

2) If all you knew about an ink was its color saturation, or its dye load, would you be able to make a decision (even if not a final decision) based on that knowledge?  E.g. would you be able to say, "I won't be interested in this ink, no sense learning more."  or "This ink may be just what I'm looking for, let's continue."?  I'm trying to figure out if this attribute simply satisfies curiosity, or if someone out there has a functional use for it.

 

A) The color saturation is good information, but I also need to know the particular color. Without those two base parameters, I cannot purchase an ink.

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OK, so when you see a review, you're assuming "saturation" refers to "color saturation".

 

  On 4/19/2021 at 6:52 PM, Detman101 said:

3) If your answer to #2 is that you have a functional use for the information, is an evaluation of saturation by the reviewer necessary for you to accomplish your ends, or can you accomplish the same ends by considering other attributes of the ink (e.g. pictures of the ink - alone and in comparison with other inks, demonstration of shading, etc.)?

A) It is absolutely mandatory for me because photos don't accurately display what will be MY experience with an ink. I use XF and XXF tipped flex nibs and every ink that I purchased based on photos a year ago have absolutely disappointed me. In photos posted they look light because they're being used with firm broad nibs or swatched with a q-tip...
When I bought the inks and used them with my XF and XXF tipped pens...the inks were basically BLACK on the paper!! So much darker when used with a fine-tip flex nib that lays down ink!!

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And have you found that the reviewer's rating of "saturation" has been reliable in helping you choose inks that will work in your X(X)F nibs?

 

  On 4/19/2021 at 6:52 PM, Detman101 said:

The saturation compounds and makes even medium tone inks appear black on paper!!!
...

Nowadays...EVERY ink I buy is light colored or mildly saturated because when used with MY PENS...they are much darker.

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Can I interpret this as meaning you want inks with "low" saturation?

 

Here's an image:

Chroma-of-Red-with-Black-White-Gray.jpg

From that, it would seem you'd want inks "with white added" - the middle bar, toward the middle-right?

 

FWIW, I'm not entirely convinced that alone is necessary to get good color / avoid inks looking black in EF nibs.  It might guarantee they don't, but avoiding inks that are more saturated (but high-ish intensity, or high-ish chroma), may mean you're missing out on some that would work...

 

  On 4/19/2021 at 6:52 PM, Detman101 said:

I've given away over $80-$100 worth of ink because I CANNOT use it with my preferred pen type!! That's a whole pen I could have bought!

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Ink samples are your friends. :)

 

  On 4/19/2021 at 6:52 PM, Detman101 said:

Thank you for asking.
By the way...your reviews...I didn't understand how vital they would be to my decisions until I got experienced and realized that Extra Fine-Tip nibs have a whole other life and experience than other larger nib sizes.

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You're very welcome!  Thank you for responding.

 

And thank you - yes, EF nibs do have their own "life", very different from their big brothers. :D

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  On 4/19/2021 at 7:36 PM, Karmachanic said:

As a review consumer, having thought about it a bit more, I too question the necessity of delving into saturation as part of a review. Looking at swabs and written examples, with various nibs on various papers, gives me sufficient visual information about the colour and saturation/dye load/ tonal density of the ink.

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:) Thank you for returning and adding more!  I'm looking forward to continuing my discussion with @Detman101, for whom saturation has appeal.  I'm hoping we can gain some more understanding - if I can understand, then I can explain to others, and then others can decide for themselves what to do (or not do).

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  On 4/19/2021 at 7:17 PM, I-am-not-really-here said:

I think more often they are trying to convey opaqueness.

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Forgot to comment on this.  Yes, I think this may well be the case for some.  And I've had (or tried to have) some discussions on opaqueness in FP-inks.  In my experience thus far, none are opaque, though De Atramentis Document White comes close.  I judge opaqueness literally - blocking light.  If a fountain pen ink blocked light, then you could write with it on a black piece of paper, and you would see the ink, not the paper - light would reflect off the ink, not go through to the paper.  But with above exception (and to a lesser degree, DAD Yellow), all FP ink disappears on black paper, meaning it's transparent.

 

But some have used this term to mean "non-shading" - an ink which yields a solid-single-color line.  (See previous comments about how I used to interpret this as "fully saturated" but am no longer confident in that interpretation.)

 

Others have argued that a dark ink that you can't see white paper through is "opaque".  Perhaps it is, to a large degree.  Haven't given it enough thought.  But it's worth remembering that there may be some who interpret "saturated" as either "non-shading" or as "opaque".

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If anyone wants to take a stab, below is an image showing Kaweco's cartridge colors.  My questions for each color are: How would you rate its saturation?  And is that meaningful without including "chroma" (aka "tone"?) and / or

"intensity" (aka "shade"?)?

 

kaweco-ink-cartridge.jpg

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  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
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      PAKMAN
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      inkstainedruth
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    • inktastic.adventures 22 Apr 3:32
      Hi there! Just joined. Are the forums no longer active?
    • Mercian 19 Apr 20:51
      @bhavini If I were you I would not buy a dip-pen. They don't replicate the flow characteristics of fountain pens, and they will work well with some inks that will clog fountain pens. Instead of a dip-pen, I would buy a relatively-inexpensive pen that is easy to clean. E.g. a Parker Frontier and a converter for it. Its nib/feed-unit can be unscrewed from the pen, so cleaning it is very very easy.
    • finzi 18 Apr 21:44
      @bhavini I ordered a Sailor Hocoro today, to use for testing. I’ll let you know what it’s like. You can get different nib sizes for it, so maybe more versatile than a glass dip pen.
    • Claes 17 Apr 8:19
      @bhavini A glass nibbed pen
    • InkyProf 16 Apr 23:32
      @Jeffrey Sher it looks like this user used to be the organizer of the club https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/profile/8343-hj1/ perhaps you could send him a direct message, although his profile says he hasn't been on the site since 2021.
    • Jeffrey Sher 16 Apr 12:00
      CANNOT FIND A LINK to pen club israel. what is eth website please
    • Penguincollector 15 Apr 22:48
      @bhavini, I really like the Sailor Hocoro dip pen. It’s inexpensive, easy to clean, and if you get one with a nib that has a feed, you can get quite a few lines of writing before you have to dip again. I have a fude nib, which I use for swatching and line variation while writing.
    • TheQuillDeal 15 Apr 18:58
      lamarax, thank you for a well-informed response! I've been worried that FountainPenHospital in NYC would suffer...
    • bhavini 15 Apr 18:28
      What's a relatively cheap tool for a newbie to use to try out new inks, without inking up a pen? I've a bunch of ink samples on their way but I just want to play around with them before I decide on which ones I want to buy more of for writing. I've never used anything except a fountain pen to write with ink before.
    • Penguincollector 15 Apr 17:03
      Hello @Jeffrey Sher, pen club information can be found in the Pen Clubs, Meetings, and Events sub forum. If you use Google site search you can find information specific to Israel.
    • Jeffrey Sher 14 Apr 8:25
      Shalom just joined . I have been collection fountain pens for many years. I believe there is a club in Israel that meets monthly. please let me have details. .
    • lamarax 11 Apr 0:58
      It's gonna end where 1929 left us: a world war, shambles, and 'growth by rebuilding'. That's the conservative view of cycling history --and the big plan. Even if our generations perish.
    • lamarax 11 Apr 0:49
      Of course trade wars are much, more important than the prices of consumer products. The true intention is to weaken the dollar, so that the Chinese start selling their US held debt. But the dollar being the defacto world reserve currency, it doesn't lose value that easily. So the idea is to target trade through artificially raising prices. Problem is, inflation will skyrocket. Good luck with that.
    • lamarax 11 Apr 0:33
      Guess who loses
    • lamarax 11 Apr 0:30
      In Europe, the only (truly) American produced brand is Esterbrook AFAIK. Tariffs will make Esterbrook products compete on the same level as some high-end European brands (let's say Aurora), while clearly the product is manufactured to compete on a much lower price level.
    • lamarax 11 Apr 0:24
      So let's say you want to buy a Montblanc or whatever. You pay the current tariff on top of the usual price, unless your local distributor is willing to absorb (some) of the difference
    • lamarax 11 Apr 0:20
      Tariffs are paid by the importer, not the exporter.
    • TheQuillDeal 10 Apr 2:44
      Can anyone explain how the tariff war will affect fountain pen prices??
    • Penguincollector 30 Mar 15:07
      Oh yes, pictures are on the “ I got this pen today” thread.
    • lectraplayer 29 Mar 9:19
      Is it here yet?
    • Penguincollector 26 Mar 5:00
      I just got the tracking information for my Starwalker💃🏻
    • T.D. Rabbit 3 Mar 12:46
      @lamarax I am horrified... And slightly intrigued. But mostly just scared.
    • lamarax 2 Mar 20:38
      Oh well. In case of failure you can always wring the paper to have a nice -albeit somewhat stale- cup of coffee back.
    • T.D. Rabbit 2 Mar 10:20
      @Astronymus I could use cornstarch... Or i could distill it and make it very concentrated.
    • T.D. Rabbit 2 Mar 10:20
      @lamarax That's what I used! (In reply to black coffee).. But the milk might not be good at all for paper.
    • Grayfeather 2 Mar 0:08
      Good day, all.
    • Gertrude F 20 Feb 17:58
      Sorry think I posted this in the wrong place. Used to be a user, just re-upped. Be kind. 😑
    • Gertrude F 20 Feb 17:56
      Looking to sell huge lot of pretty much every Man 200 made - FP, BP, MP, one or two RBs. Does anyone have a suggestion for a bulk purhase house? Thanks - and hope this doesn't violate any rules.
    • lamarax 17 Feb 18:05
      Cappuccino should work. Frothy milk also helps to lubricate the nib. But it has to be made by a barista.
    • Astronymus 17 Feb 16:19
      YOu might need to thicken the coffee with something. I admit I have no idea with what. But I'm pretty sure it would work.
    • asnailmailer 3 Feb 17:35
      it is incowrimo time and only very few people are tempting me
    • lamarax 31 Jan 21:34
      Try black coffee. No sugar.
    • T.D. Rabbit 31 Jan 8:11
      Coffee is too light to write with though I've tried.
    • Astronymus 29 Jan 21:46
      You can use coffee and all other kinds of fluid with a glas pen. 😉
    • Roger Zhao 29 Jan 14:37
      chocolate is yummy
    • Bucefalo 17 Jan 9:59
      anyone sells vacumatic push button shafts
    • stxrling 13 Jan 1:25
      Are there any threads or posts up yet about the California Pen Show in February, does anyone know?
    • lamarax 10 Jan 20:27
      Putting coffee in a fountain pen is far more dangerous
    • asnailmailer 9 Jan 0:09
      Don't drink the ink
    • zug zug 8 Jan 16:48
      Coffee inks or coffee, the drink? Both are yummy though.
    • LandyVlad 8 Jan 5:37
      I hear the price of coffee is going up. WHich is bad because I like coffee.
    • asnailmailer 6 Jan 14:43
      time for a nice cup of tea
    • Just J 25 Dec 1:57
      @liauyat re editing profile: At forum page top, find the Search panel. Just above that you should see your user name with a tiny down arrow [🔽] alongside. Click that & scroll down to CONTENT, & under that, Profile. Click that, & edit 'til thy heart's content!
    • liapuyat 12 Dec 12:20
      I can't seem to edit my profile, which is years out of date, because I've only returned to FPN again recently. How do you fix it?
    • mattaw 5 Dec 14:25
      @lantanagal did you do anything to fix that? I get that page every time I try to go to edit my profile...
    • Penguincollector 30 Nov 19:14
      Super excited to go check out the PDX Pen Bazaar today. I volunteered to help set up tables. It should be super fun, followed by Xmas tree shopping. 😁
    • niuben 30 Nov 10:41
      @Nurse Ratchet
    • Nurse Ratchet 30 Nov 2:49
      Newbie here!!! Helloall
    • Emes 25 Nov 23:31
      jew
    • Misfit 9 Nov 2:38
      lantanagal, I’ve only seen that happen when you put someone on the ignore list. I doubt a friend would do that.
    • lantanagal 7 Nov 19:01
      UPDATE - FIXED NOW Exact message is: Requested page not available! Dear Visitor of the Fountain Pen Nuthouse The page you are requesting to visit is not available to you. You are not authorised to access the requested page. Regards, The FPN Admin Team November 7, 2024
    • lantanagal 7 Nov 18:59
      UPDATE - FIXED NOW Trying to send a pen friend a reply to a message, keep getting an error message to say I don't have access. Anyone any ideas? (tried logging our and back in to no avail)
    • Dr.R 2 Nov 16:58
      Raina’s
    • fireant 2 Nov 1:36
      Fine-have you had a nibmeister look at it?
    • carlos.q 29 Oct 15:19
      @FineFinerFinest: have you seen this thread? https://www.fountainpennetwor...nging-pelikan-nibs/#comments
    • FineFinerFinest 24 Oct 8:52
      No replies required to my complaints about the Pelikan. A friend came to the rescue with some very magnification equipment - with the images thrown to a latge high res screen. Technology is a wonderful thing. Thanks to Mercian for the reply. I had been using the same paper & ink for sometime when the "singing" started. I have a theory but no proof that nibs get damaged when capping the pen. 👍
    • Mercian 22 Oct 22:28
      @FineFinerFinest: sometimes nib-'singing' can be lessened - or even cured - by changing the ink that one is putting through the pen, or the paper that one is using. N.b. *sometimes*. Good luck
    • Bluetaco 22 Oct 22:04
      howdy
    • FineFinerFinest 21 Oct 5:23
      I'm not expecting any replies to my question about the singing Pelikan nib. It seems, from reading the background, that I am not alone. It's a nice pen. It's such a pity Pelikan can't make decent nibs. I have occasionally met users who tell me how wonderful their Pelikan nib is. I've spent enough money to know that not everyone has this experience. I've worked on nibs occasionally over forty years with great success. This one has me beaten. I won't be buying any more Pelikan pens. 👎
    • FineFinerFinest 21 Oct 4:27
      I've had a Pelikan M805 for a couple of years now and cannot get the nib to write without singing. I've worked on dozens of nibs with great success. Ny suggestion about what's going wrong? 😑
    • Bhakt 12 Oct 5:45
      Any feedback in 100th anniversary Mont Blanc green pens?
    • Glens pens 8 Oct 15:08
      @jordierocks94 i happen to have platinum preppy that has wrote like (bleep) since i bought it my second pen....is that something you would wish to practice on?
    • jordierocks94 4 Oct 6:26
      Hello all - New here. My Art studies have spilled me into the ft pen world where I am happily submerged and floating! I'm looking to repair some cheap pens that are starving for ink yet filled, and eventually get new nibs; and development of repair skills (an even longer learning curve than my art studies - lol). Every hobby needs a hobby, eh ...
    • The_Beginner 18 Sept 23:35
      horse notebooks if you search the title should still appear though it wont show you in your proflie
    • Jayme Brener 16 Sept 22:21
      Hi, guys. I wonder if somebody knows who manufactured the Coro fountain pens.
    • TheHorseNotebooks 16 Sept 13:11
      Hello, it's been ages for me since I was here last time. I had a post (http://www.fountainpennetwork...-notebooks/?view=getnewpost) but I see that it is no longer accessible. Is there anyway to retrieve that one?
    • Refujio Rodriguez 16 Sept 5:39
      I have a match stick simplomatic with a weidlich nib. Does anyone know anything about this pen?
    • The_Beginner 15 Sept 16:11
      dusty yes, glen welcome
    • Glens pens 11 Sept 1:22
      Hello, Im new to FPN I'm so happy to find other foutain penattics. collecting almost one year ,thought I would say hello to everyone.
    • DustyBin 8 Sept 14:34
      I haven't been here for ages... do I take it that private sales are no longer allowed? Also used to be a great place to sell and buy some great pens
    • Sailor Kenshin 1 Sept 12:37
      Lol…
    • JungleJim 1 Sept 1:55
      Perhaps it's like saying Beetlejuice 3 times to get that person to appear, though with @Sailor Kenshin you only have to say it twice?
    • Sailor Kenshin 31 Aug 21:06
      ?
    • Duffy 29 Aug 19:31
      @Sailor Kenshin @Sailor Kenshin
    • Seney724 26 Aug 22:07
    • Diablo 26 Aug 22:05
      Thank you so much, Seney724. I really appreciate your help!
    • Seney724 26 Aug 21:43
      I have no ties or relationship. Just a very happy customer. He is a very experienced Montblanc expert.
    • Seney724 26 Aug 21:42
      I strongly recommend Kirk Speer at https://www.penrealm.com/
    • Diablo 26 Aug 21:35
      @Seney724. The pen was recently disassembled and cleaned, but the nib and feed were not properly inserted into the holder. I'm in Maryland.
    • Diablo 26 Aug 21:32
      @Seney724. The nib section needs to be adjusted properly.
    • Seney724 26 Aug 18:16
      @Diablo. Where are you? What does it need?
    • Diablo 26 Aug 16:58
      Seeking EXPERIENCED, REPUTABLE service/repair for my 149. PLEASE help!!!
    • Penguincollector 19 Aug 19:42
      @Marta Val, reach out to @terim, who runs Peyton Street Pens and is very knowledgeable about Sheaffer pens
    • Marta Val 19 Aug 14:35
      Hello, could someone recommend a reliable venue: on line or brick and mortar in Fairfax, VA or Long Island, NY to purchase the soft parts and a converter to restore my dad's Sheaffer Legacy? please. Thanks a mill.
    • The_Beginner 18 Aug 2:49
      is there a guy who we can message to find a part for us with a given timelimit if so please let me know his name!
    • virtuoso 16 Aug 15:15
      what happene to the new Shaeffer inks?
    • Scribs 14 Aug 17:09
      fatehbajwa, in Writing Instruments, "Fountain Pens + Dip Pens First Stop" ?
    • fatehbajwa 14 Aug 12:17
      Back to FPN after 14 years. First thing I noticed is that I could not see a FS forum. What has changed? 🤔
    • Kika 5 Aug 10:22
      Are there any fountain pen collectors in Qatar?
    • T.D. Rabbit 31 July 18:58
      Ahh okay, thanks!
    • Scribs 29 July 18:51
      @ TDRabbit, even better would be in Creative Expressions area, subform The Write Stuff
    • T.D. Rabbit 29 July 11:40
      Okay, thanks!
    • JungleJim 29 July 0:46
      @T.D. Rabbit Try posting it in the "Chatter Forum". You have to be logged in to see it.
    • T.D. Rabbit 28 July 17:54
      Hello! Is there a thread anywhere 'round here where one can post self-composed poetry? If not, would it be alright if I made one? I searched on google, but to no avail...
    • OldFatDog 26 July 19:41
      I have several Parker Roller Ball & Fiber Tip refills in the original packaging. Where and how do I sell them? The couple that I've opened the ink still flowed when put to paper. Also if a pen would take the foller ball refill then it should take the fiber tip as well? Anyway it's been awhile and I'm want to take my message collection beyond the few pieces that I have... Meaning I don't have a Parker these refills will fit in 🙄
    • RegDiggins 23 July 12:40
      Recently was lucky enough to buy a pristine example of the CF crocodile ball with the gold plating. Then of course I faced the same problem we all have over the years ,of trying to find e refill. Fortunately I discovered one here in the U.K. I wonder if there are other sources which exist in other countries, by the way they were not cheap pen
    • The_Beginner 20 July 20:35
      Hows it going guys i have a code from pen chalet that i wont use for 10% off and it ends aug 31st RC10AUG its 10% off have at it fellas
    • T.D. Rabbit 19 July 9:33
      Somewhat confusing and off-putting ones, as said to me by my very honest friends. I don't have an X account though :<
    • piano 19 July 8:41
      @The Devil Rabbit what kind of? Let’s go to X (twitter) with #inkdoodle #inkdoodleFP
    • Mort639 17 July 1:03
      I have a Conway Stewart Trafalgar set. It was previously owned by actor Russell Crowe and includes a letter from him. Can anyone help me with assessing its value?
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