What to Use in Place of a Fountain Pen on Photographic Prints and Glossy Paper?

[Conservative Eccentric]

I use my fountain pen when I can, but there are some things for which it simply will not work: writing on photographic prints, glossy greeting cards, calendars, address labels, etc.  What sort of permanent pen or marker can I use that would most closely mimic the look of my stub-nib fountain pen?

[Horseflesh]

Acrylic paint pens are really great for marking on non-porous surfaces. I use them more than Sharpies. However, they certainly won't make a mark that looks like a stub nib. 

 

Their nibs are some kind of fibrous material and some pens come with replacement nibs... I guess you could try cutting the nib into a wide, flat shape. 

[dipper]

One option is a dip pen with an italic shaped tip, and an ink suitable for the difficult surfaces you want to write onto.

 

https://www.dippennibs.co.uk/products.php?cat=Italic+Nibs

 

https://www.dickblick.com/items/brause-bandzug-calligraphy-nib-1-mm-tip/

 

The ink is going to be something that should never be put into a Fountain Pen!

 

Could be an acryic ink (Liquitex and other brands), or a Shellac based "Indian" ink. There other concoctions such as special inks for writing and drawing onto glass that I have seen in art shops but can't find a link to now.

 

Different types of dip-pen-only inks will have their own advantages and disadvantages on specific problem surfaces.

 

I use W&N Black Indian Ink for writing on hard plastic and other glossy surfaces, including onto a TV remote control body to suplement rubber button labels that have worn away...

https://www.dickblick.com/items/winsor-newton-drawing-ink-black-indian-14-ml/

Writes onto almost anything. Very durable.

But lines tend to spread a bit whilst drying if applied on plastic. Takes ages to dry on nonabsorbent surfaces.

The effect of spreading in the narrow parts of the letter shapes made by an italic/stub nib might be lost on some glossy surfaces.

 

Some experiments  will be needed to find inks that work for you on the surfaces you want to write onto.

 

Acrylic inks work well onto glossy paper and card, give clean crisp lines. Dries quicker than Indian Ink.

I use a few colours in this brand for adding designs onto greeting cards...

https://www.dickblick.com/items/liquitex-professional-acrylic-ink-30-ml-phthalo-blue-red-shade/

Narrow and broad lines all lay down well and look good when dry if applied with a fine tip flex dip pen. (I have not tried this ink in an italic/stub dip nib.)

 

And for a completely different option... a felt/fibre tip pen with a chisel tip and spirit based ink (Sharpie) or Acrylic Paint (Posca).

https://www.dickblick.com/items/uni-posca-paint-marker-apple-green-fine-bullet-tip-09-13-mm/

 

Haha... I was just going to discuss cutting Posca Pen tips to a flat chisel shape when the post by @Horseflesh popped up.

I agree with that post.

 

I have a very large size Posca (bright red paint) used for labelling all sorts of things from cardboard boxes to gloss enamel painted metalwork objects.

Its tip is a massive rectangular chunk of dense rigid felt. It can be shaped with a razor blade or scalpel, as I have done to fix fuzzy edges that were caused by me drawing onto concrete or some such abuse.

Gives a good italic effect when one edge of the rectangular tip is in contact with the writing surface.

I don't have any of the smaller "0.9 - 1.3mm" tip sizes, as in the link above. If those are made of the same hard felt then re-shaping could work?

 

[Conservative Eccentric]

On 2/17/2023 at 11:21 PM, Horseflesh said:

Acrylic paint pens are really great for marking on non-porous surfaces. I use them more than Sharpies. However, they certainly won't make a mark that looks like a stub nib. 

 

Their nibs are some kind of fibrous material and some pens come with replacement nibs... I guess you could try cutting the nib into a wide, flat shape. 

 

Perhaps I am thinking too much of acrylic paint itself, but would the writing made by an acrylic paint pen crack if the surface it was applied to was rolled up?  (I send photos in poster tubes through the mail sometimes.)

[Conservative Eccentric]

On 2/17/2023 at 11:45 PM, dipper said:

One option is a dip pen with an italic shaped tip, and an ink suitable for the difficult surfaces you want to write onto.

 

https://www.dippennibs.co.uk/products.php?cat=Italic+Nibs

 

https://www.dickblick.com/items/brause-bandzug-calligraphy-nib-1-mm-tip/

 

The ink is going to be something that should never be put into a Fountain Pen!

 

Could be an acryic ink (Liquitex and other brands), or a Shellac based "Indian" ink. There other concoctions such as special inks for writing and drawing onto glass that I have seen in art shops but can't find a link to now.

 

Different types of dip-pen-only inks will have their own advantages and disadvantages on specific problem surfaces.

 

I use W&N Black Indian Ink for writing on hard plastic and other glossy surfaces, including onto a TV remote control body to suplement rubber button labels that have worn away...

https://www.dickblick.com/items/winsor-newton-drawing-ink-black-indian-14-ml/

Writes onto almost anything. Very durable.

But lines tend to spread a bit whilst drying if applied on plastic. Takes ages to dry on nonabsorbent surfaces.

The effect of spreading in the narrow parts of the letter shapes made by an italic/stub nib might be lost on some glossy surfaces.

 

Some experiments  will be needed to find inks that work for you on the surfaces you want to write onto.

 

Acrylic inks work well onto glossy paper and card, give clean crisp lines. Dries quicker than Indian Ink.

I use a few colours in this brand for adding designs onto greeting cards...

https://www.dickblick.com/items/liquitex-professional-acrylic-ink-30-ml-phthalo-blue-red-shade/

Narrow and broad lines all lay down well and look good when dry if applied with a fine tip flex dip pen. (I have not tried this ink in an italic/stub dip nib.)

 

And for a completely different option... a felt/fibre tip pen with a chisel tip and spirit based ink (Sharpie) or Acrylic Paint (Posca).

https://www.dickblick.com/items/uni-posca-paint-marker-apple-green-fine-bullet-tip-09-13-mm/

 

Haha... I was just going to discuss cutting Posca Pen tips to a flat chisel shape when the post by @Horseflesh popped up.

I agree with that post.

 

I have a very large size Posca (bright red paint) used for labelling all sorts of things from cardboard boxes to gloss enamel painted metalwork objects.

Its tip is a massive rectangular chunk of dense rigid felt. It can be shaped with a razor blade or scalpel, as I have done to fix fuzzy edges that were caused by me drawing onto concrete or some such abuse.

Gives a good italic effect when one edge of the rectangular tip is in contact with the writing surface.

I don't have any of the smaller "0.9 - 1.3mm" tip sizes, as in the link above. If those are made of the same hard felt then re-shaping could work?

 

 

Whatever the ink is, it will need to be something that will not crack when the surface it is applied to is flexed, and I need to be sure it will not transfer to another surface pressed against it (rolling up art prints with writing on the back of them).  A fast drying time and resistance to smudging from handling would definitely be a big plus.

[dipper]

9 hours ago, Conservative Eccentric said:

it will need to be something that will not crack when the surface it is applied to is flexed

Acrylic Paints and Shellac-based "Indian" inks are generally tolerant of bending.

 

When bending paper or card the stresses in the dried ink layer increase with the thickness of the card or paper, the thickness of the paint or ink layer, and the sharpness of the bend.

 

Rolling paper or card to fit inside a tube for posting is a mild bending compared with a sharp crease or fold line. I do make sharp folds in 100 gsm paper sheets that have been painted with acrylic or shellac, without any cracking or flaking - but then I am not plastering on thick textured layers of heavy-body (tube) acrylic paint.

 

(Why do I make sharp folds in my artwork !? .... If I have a mixing palette with wells of mixed colours of ink/paint left over at the end of an art painting session then I don't want to throw away the left-overs. But I can't put the mixtures back into the bottles or paint tubes! So I grab a random large brush and swish the left-over colours onto sheets of plain white paper. After a few layers the colourful patterned sheets of paper go into storage, and I use them for wrapping small gifts and for origami. Hand-made unique wrapping paper.)

 

Edited February 19, 2023 by dipper
Photo added

[Conservative Eccentric]

Thank you for the recommendations.  I think I may experiment with both the inks and the markers to get a feel for what I like best.

 

That is an excellent use of left-over paint, by the way.

[twinspark]

I have suffered this problem too and often wondered how film stars autographed their prints for fans / admirers.

 

This wonderment / confusion was compounded by films like "I was Monty's Double".... I know the fake Monty fakes signing his own picture and there's dramatic waving to pretend it will dry quickly but still! Did the stars, "back in the day" use dip pens and India inks also?

[Black Spot]

1 hour ago, twinspark said:

I have suffered this problem too and often wondered how film stars autographed their prints for fans / admirers.

 

This wonderment / confusion was compounded by films like "I was Monty's Double".... I know the fake Monty fakes signing his own picture and there's dramatic waving to pretend it will dry quickly but still! Did the stars, "back in the day" use dip pens and India inks also?

 

I got to know some people who autographed pictures and they tended to have a sharpie or something similar and a white paint pen with them.

 Uchida DecoColor paint markers in fine or extra fine tips were common as were Sakura Pens. 

I have also seen CD marking pens used. 

[51ISH]

On 3/5/2023 at 2:42 PM, Black Spot said:

 

I got to know some people who autographed pictures and they tended to have a sharpie or something similar and a white paint pen with them.

 Uchida DecoColor paint markers in fine or extra fine tips were common as were Sakura Pens. 

I have also seen CD marking pens used. 

 

 

Most seem to use Sharpies for autographs on glossy surfaces these days. It won't look like a stub nib fountain pen but a china ('grease') pencil would work...but wouldn't look 'cool' if that matters...😎

[Zookie]

I use Sharpie ultra fine points.

[AmericanMonk]

Consider the Tombow Fudenosuke disposable "brush" pens. I used to use them when addressing coated (or uncoated, for that matter) postcards. It supposedly uses permanent/archival water-based ink, but I suspect that there are limitations there. It won't give a stub calligraphy look but the tips do provide their own personality that go beyond a typical tip. I am a lefty and the dry time on coated paper is lefty friendly.

 

This is what they look like:

https://www.amazon.com/Tombow-62039-Fudenosuke-Calligraphy-Drawings/dp/B07DQ4292Y/

 

Other than dip pens, the only other stub-like option that comes to mind is a Platinum Preppy highlighter.

[Karmachanic]

Pencil is the traditional tool.  Or maybe a Sakura Micron pigment pen.

[DrPlush]

I know you’re specifically asking about non-fountain pens, but Platinum Carbon Black ink works totally fine on glossy surfaces. I use fountain pens filled with it for a variety of glossy cards very regularly. It just takes slightly longer to dry.