Ink — no matter how much you spent on the pen, the writing performance will all come down to that of the nib flowing across the paper laying down a line of ink. The selection of ink is one of the important decisions you make. Just as pen enthusiasts have strong views of the brands of pens, or comments on pen stores, they also have their personal views on inks. Select any of the links along the left-hand side of the page to see additional information and reviews for ink by a particular manufacturer.
Fountain pen ink is a rather complex medium. A blend of solvents, pigments, dyes and water the characteristics of the ink you use will make quite a difference in your writing experience. The Controlled Drip Ink and your fountain pen, well it is really a controlled drip. Gravity and the capillary action of water is what it is all about. Slots allow ink to flow out and air to flow back. That's it. That is how the pen works. Edson Waterman is credited with inventing the the fountain pen with this simple mechanism. So what is this stuff, fountain pen ink?
Water and Dyes Fountain pen ink is basically water with dyes and other chemicals required for proper function. Stay away from Indian or drafting inks unless you want to say good-bye to your favorite pen. The chemicals creates the properties of of the ink. The appropriate surface tension -- viscosity, the colour saturation -- dyes. As well there are antibacterial additions are included 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" bsdrf on its degree of viscosity. 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 where they make all their inks. At Waterman, a 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. Are there permanent inks? Yes there are. But not really because of the ink itself, but because of a chemical 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 container sectionof the pen. I have a pen that I used Pelikan Purple for many years. Yep, the plastic convertor does have a purple tone to it that is there for life. 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.

Inks of Choice

In using many of the inks I find that I am reaching for some bottles more than others. These are the small number of inks that are my Inks of Choice.

But in the end, your ink experience is a combination of: the type of ink used, the nib of the pen (fine to broad nibs lay different amounts of ink on the paper) and the paper itself.

Mixing Your Own Colours

This is 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 the perfect colour.

A word of caution. Mixing of inks sometime causes problems with a reaction between the various dyes etc. For an example, see the notes under Private Reserve ink. Although those colours are now gone, it helps to remind us on the possibilities of conequences of some inks. Good for them for posting the notice.

When mixing ink, wash the pen, including the converter, with room temperature water. Don't use household cleaners on your pen. A very diluted amononia and water solution has often referenced as an alternative.

Fresh Ink - Old Ink

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 use inks that are many years old with no problem.

Inky Fingers?

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. It will be gone with a little rubbing. As I proudly say... try that with ball point ink!

Cleaning Pens

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.

The best way is to use room temperature water.

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.

Avoid using hot water as this could damage certain parts of the pen.

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 found 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.

Acid & Alkaline Levels

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 writting inks. I have summarized some of the key points in the section on Ink and pH levels section.

Ink Manufacturer and Pens

Should you only use the same manufacture's ink in your pen? No. Not really. Manufacturers include promotional information about how their particular brand and how it is developed to work work with their pens. Many different brands are actually made in a ink factory. Think your Cross ink a bit like Pelikan ink?

Try a few brands and see what works best for you. Generally, you will be hooked on a particular ink and will attest with strong conviction. Each ink writes better or worse. That's the fun of using a fountain pen.

You will find the "mysterious relationship" of inks and pens -- they all seem to write best with different brands of ink!

Remember, your experience with a particular pen depends on three aspects:

the flow characteristics of the ink;
the flow characteristics of the pen and nib; and
the characteristics of the paper

Ink and Paper

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.

Sample Note Card from the Pen to Paper Series at Marcus Moments

I have been disappointed with many of the greeting cards bought at my local store.

This year my wife Karen and I have actually started to produce a line of note cards (Marcus Moments) and we regularly give the paper stock a workout with my fountain pens. Our approach to the note card is that anyone who spends the money to buy a good quality fountain pen will want and need an appropriate card to write on and round out the writing experience.

So we will keep testing out paper with my fountain pens, and sending out our note cards - Karen may lean towards the art and travel series, but I have fallen for the Pen to Paper cards. I have even tried the argument that I probably need a few more pens so that I can be sure to have tested out all the various nibs available.

The Controlled Drip

Water and Dyes

Are there permanent inks?