Sheaffer
Blue, Blue-Black, Peacock Blue, Red, Brown, Green, Black, Burgundy, Gray, Lavender, King's Gold
Sheaffer has been make their own inks for some time with a new series of colours were introduced in 1998.
Opinions vary. Some write and say the ink is too thin and the colours have low density. Others find the colours just fine. A number of pen stores that regularly keep Scheaffer in ink wells for dipping. The blue is considered a very safe ink for pens. The King's Gold is interesting. The new colours of Burgundy, Lavender and Gray have medium density of colour.
Sheaffer inks are often consider among the "safest" inks for use in pens as it is thought they will not stain the pens. Various sources on pens talk "for" and "against" the idea of staining.
In 2003 they introduced their "new" colours. I found them disappointing as they lacked the depth of tone that I prefer.
- Lavender -a true lavender purple and thus unique. Can be used for writing in place of regular purples.
- King's Gold - a gold yellow that stands out on white paper. It might not Xerox too well, but it is readable with adequate lighting.
- Blue-Black - a decent colour and here is a blue-black with real colour variance in terms of tone. At the end of the day I find myself not using this, and going for Waterman Blue-Black as a deeper toned ink.
- Blue - a cobalt blue colour - either too light or okay. In 2006 I decided to try this again as I was on a real blue-black trend. Sorry but the ink was just a little too think for my liking
- Black - a "warm black", tone and saturation similar to Mont Blanc Black, but better flow. The ink can be sensitive to variations in paper finish. It can occasionally spread and feather before it dries. (Thanks: R. Womer). Excellent water resistance.
- Brown - described as being "earthy" with no hint of red or yellow. Kind of your basic brown and often used as a point of comparison for other colours.
- Gray - gray is one of the colours that I keep thinking I would like, but I have never kept them in a pen for too long. There is a brown undertone to this ink. Not one of my favourites.
- Purple - this is a new colour and I will have to try it. Reports are that it is very dark and rich in tone.
