Ink —
The ink used in your fountain pen plays an important part in defining the writing experience for you, as well as the visual impact of the written message to the person reading your words. The pen, how is feels to own and use the pen itself, the design of the pen, how it sits in your hand, the nib, and how smoothly it flows across the paper or the character the nib style gives your writing - all come together to create the writing experience. The ink, is of no small importance.
In the end, it comes down to how the ink flows and lays down a line on the paper.
The selection of ink is an important decision you make in terms of the performance of your pen. The wrong ink means a pen that you may struggle with to use. Just as there are strong views on the brands of pens, or comments on pen stores, those who use fountain pens have strong personal views on the selection of writing ink.
The brands of ink are listed to the left and I have provided information on the ink, colours available, and reviews where the ink has been used and tested.
Some inks become what I refer to my Inks of Note as they are the colours and brands that I tend to use the most. Because colour is such a personal aspect of ink, there are goods ink, but in colours I would n ever use enough to make this group. So, for an ink not to be a Ink of Note, is in many cases driven by colour preference. In some cases, performance of the ink is a factor, and I have place notes accordingly in the ink reviews.
Fountain pen ink is a rather complex medium. It is a b blend of solvents, pigments, dyes and water. Ink is not ink, and as you use various different brands you will find that some ink just does not work in some pens very well, some inks are are too "thin" or "thick" dry to fast or not fast enough. A wide range of criteria that each user holds to define the acceptance of a particular brand and colour of ink.
I provide the information on inks by manufacturer. A common question is whether inks from different manufacturers can be used in different pens. Try the various brands, do not be limited to only using, say, Aurora ink in an Aurora pen.
Manufacturers do establish their own specifications for their inks, and they establish the characteristics of their ink often with the characteristics of the pen's ink feed mechanisms. So when I asked a manufacturer that question, I am told that the ink they brand is made to maximize the writing experience of their brand of pens.
Again, do not let that stop you from trying different brands. Only a few of the pen companies actually manufacturer their ink. Buy a bottle. Give it a try. I have found some brands of ink don't perform very well in certain brands of pens. I am sure you will have the same experience.
The writing experience with an individual pen is a combination of:
Ink and your fountain pen and performance. It is really about a controlled drip. Gravity and the capillary action of water is basically how it works. Slots in the ink feed allow ink to flow out of the chamber that holds the ink, and air to flow back into the chamber. That is how the pen works and Edson Waterman is credited with inventing the the fountain pen with this simple ink feed mechanism.
The balance between capillary action pulls the ink down to the nib, and the vacuum in the ink chamber holds the liquid in the pen. As ink leaves the chamber, the vacuum gets to the point where it draws air up into the pen along one of the feeds. The vacuum drops and allows ink to flow.
Fountain pen ink is basically water with dyes and other chemicals required for proper function. With a fountain pen, where ink is drawn, stored, and flows from a chamber, stay away from Indian or drafting inks. Those inks are made to be used with pens where the nib is dipped into the ink.
There are some inks with pigments, but they are typically not fountain pen inks.
Some inks also have chemicals such as ferro-gallic which give the ink the ability to be permanent. Those, however, are more corrosive. Most fountain pen inks use dyes to create their colours. Montblanc Blue Black ink has ferro-gallic chemicals as does Noodler`s Registrar Black.
The chemicals create the properties of of the ink. The appropriate surface tension -- viscosity, the dyes the colour saturation. As well there are anti-bacterial chemicals added so the ink does not grow new life in the bottle and muck up in inside of your pen!
A good part of the "ink experience" is often summarized as how it flows. It is a "wet ink" based on its degree of viscosity.
Technical articles indicate that water has a surface tension of about 73 dynes/cm and fountain pen inks have a surface tension that is lower. Typically between 38 and 45 dynes/cm. From what I have read, if the surface tension value is above 45, then the ink tends not to run through the capillary system of the feed and the pen skips. If the rating gets below 38 then the ink just runs and the flow of ink has less control.
A number of years ago, I had the opportunity to visit the Waterman pen factory in Nantes, France. Waterman makes their own inks. Aa basic ink is used for the base and then dyes are added to create specific colours. Waterman decides on the "blend" of chemicals so that the ink has an appropriate amount of surface tension, flow and drying time assessed as best for their pens.
Each manufacturer has their formula. So they say. But some companies use common inks. They just change the bottle or in some cases, use the same bottles and just use a different label.
Yes there are. But not really because of the ink itself, but because of a reaction of chemicals in the ink to cellulose - one of the properties of paper. These permanent inks use cellulose reactive dyes. As the ink companies say, the dyes are water soluble so there is no effect or damage to the pen. When the ink is in the bottle all is normal. But when the dyes react with cellulose in paper and after the ink dries the ink becomes waterproof and permanent.
I have purchased a number of the permanent inks by Noodler's Ink and tested how they lasted when held under water. Pretty good. Each had a slightly different amount of "run".
Oh yes, there is cellulose in those cotton shirts so when you drop these permanent inks on your clothes, well its permanent!
Will inks stain your pen? Some will.
Inks in the red, violet and pink colours are more likely to stain the ink container and they may stain the outside of the nib section, as the nib section is submerged ink the ink on fill up and there is often ink build up in the cap of the pen itself.
I have a pen in which I have used Pelikan Purple for many years. The plastic convertor does have a purple tone to it. If you have a black pen nib section, then no problem. Would I use purple ink in my Montegrappa Parchment 1930 Extra? No way.
The blue tone inks are generally the least likely to stain, but then again, if you get some of the highly intense colours that general guide starts to fade.
Staining is an important issue, as it is not just when the nib is placed in the bottle of ink for a fill up that is of concern. Ink transfers from the nib into the inside of the cap. The cap is screwed on the pen. The cap is also often posted on the top of the pen body. Lots of opportunity for ink from the pen cap it sit and stain the body of the pen itself.
For some, this can be a big-time activity. Check our the ink section of Pentrace, a very good source of information on inks, and you will find the formulas for various shades of colour.
A word of caution. Mixing of inks sometime causes problems with a reaction between the various chemicals etc. Even mixing colour within the same brand of ink can cause problems.
When mixing ink, wash the pen, including the converter, with room temperature water. Mix some ink in a bottle and give it a try. If it develops problems, then junk it.
If you want to mix, and feel a bit safer about the process, Platinum has issued an Ink Mixing kit that has nine colours, all the equipment you need to mix and a colour chart.
Can you use old ink? Most will agree you can, provided the ink has not been subject to sunlight, and has been properly capped.
Give the bottle a shake and try it. If in any doubt, always have a cheaper pen available for your more daring moments. I store my inks in a closed cupboard and when sitting for long periods of time they are not exposed to light. I have been using inks that are many years old with no problem.
Ink on your fingers? My worst fear. It seems that everyone in my office is just waiting for the big ink disaster to occur. Here is my secret. Just place some automatic dishwasher soap on a cloth and rub it over the ink stain on your finger. It will be gone with a little rubbing. As I proudly say... try that with ball point ink!
If you have problems with your pen, and the ink is just not coming out the way you think it should, give the pen a good cleaning.
To help clean out any ink deposits clean the pen with room temperature water, or water mixed with very little non-sudsy household ammonia in the water. Now I mean a little diluted ammonia. Ammonia is corrosive and can eat away at metal so we are talking about dilution here! Now we are talking about just a little. A cap in a three cups of water. I have found the regular water method the best. See Cleaning Nibs.
If you are not regularly using a pen, then clean the ink out with plain water. Otherwise, after a dozen or so fills, take the time to give it a flush with water. Be careful with rubber-based pens. Try straight water.
I find that leaving the nib section in a cup of straight water and coming back in a couple of hours does the trick just about every time. For some vintage pens, leaving the pen in water will cause problems. So approach the whole process with some caution. Vintage pens are made of various materials and extra care is required. Although many of my pens are now in the 25 to 30 year age, I am not a collector of true vintage pens so can't offer recommendations on the care and maintenance of the real old ones.
What about the acidity of ink? This seems to be a point of ongoing talk on various discussion sites. Is it really important? On one hand I am told it is not that much of an issue. The compatibility of inks and dyes used in the particular inks may be more of an issue, however, these is a fair amount written in terms of pH levels of writing inks. I have summarized some of the key points in the section on Ink and pH levels section.
Ink, and the chemistry of what is in the bottle, can sometimes go bad. If you find slime or grunge in the bottle, throw it out. If you see mould, that means the chemical that has been added to the ink to stop the growth of mould has broken down.
This is the current challenge facing pen users. Most office paper terrible to write on with a fountain pen - especially when the office goes "green" has uses low-grade re-cycled paper.
In terms of writing paper I really enjoy using Clairefontaine Paper. The paper is available in many locations both in North American and Europe. I always stock up on a visit to France. In Vancouver, BC the paper is available at Vancouver Pen and Charals - both located on West Hastings in downtown Vancouver.
I will place some comments in a section on Paper that I am developing.
