Inky T O D - Black Inks - Which Ones Do You Own And Which Are Your Favorites?

[gammada]

I'm a newbie to this wonderful world of inks, so am slowly making my first inroads into brands, tonalities, flow, etc, so please bear with me.

 

I went to a local pen shop yesterday to inquire about the darkest black they had in stock. The told me Caran d'Ache Cosmic Black was the way to go, yet no one here seems to even mention it! Which makes me think all they wanted to do was sell this expensive little jewel ;o)

 

Indeed, It is darker than my other black bottle (Parker Quink), especially when dry, but looking at some of the samples I've seen here, I think MB's Mystery Black beats it to the punch. I've yet to ink one of my pens with the Caran, so I won't jump into conclusions just yet but what are your thoughts/ experiences with this ink?

[Tas]

I'd love to see your results.

I splashed out on a bottle of CdA Magnetic Blue and can't sing it's praises high enough.

The memory of spending £25 has long gone but the joy of it's colour and subtle shading is with me most days.

[swanjun]

For someone who doesn't use black much, I have a fair amount of it. These are the ones in bottles. There's more in samples.

 

Aurora Black

Lamy Black

Levenger Raven Black

Noodler's Black

Noodler's Old Manhattan Blackest Black

Parker Black

Sailor Black

Sheaffer Jet Black

 

Of these, my favorite is Aurora.

[amberleadavis]

I LOVE my blacks.

Sadly some of subtleties of colour splits are lost here.

 

Parker Quink Black splits into blues and browns beautifully when washed over.

The Sheaffer has magenta and blue in there too.

I would say Pelikan is the most neutral of my lot.

Pilot the warmest and the only ink I use in my Vanishing Point. (Mainly as it's the only ink I've found to behave in it!)

Noodler's is probably my darkest although the new to me De Atramentis gives it a good run for it's money especially when washed over. If totally dry, hardly anything budges with this ink.

Lamy, also new to me, is I think seriously underrated. It's dark, behaves really well and splits ever so subtly into yellow and magenta.

Sailor is gorgeous when washed over and spreads evenly into a coolish grey with no split in colour at all.

 

 

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_parker_quink_black_swatch.jpghttp://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_sheaffer_black_swatch.jpghttp://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_pilot_black_swatch.jpghttp://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_pelikan_black_swatch.jpghttp://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_noodlers_black_swatch.jpghttp://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_de_atrementis_document_black_swatch.jpghttp://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_lamy_black_swatch.jpghttp://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_sailor_jentle_black_swatch.jpg

 

Thank you.

[amberleadavis]

I'm a newbie to this wonderful world of inks, so am slowly making my first inroads into brands, tonalities, flow, etc, so please bear with me.

 

I went to a local pen shop yesterday to inquire about the darkest black they had in stock. The told me Caran d'Ache Cosmic Black was the way to go, yet no one here seems to even mention it! Which makes me think all they wanted to do was sell this expensive little jewel ;o)

 

Indeed, It is darker than my other black bottle (Parker Quink), especially when dry, but looking at some of the samples I've seen here, I think MB's Mystery Black beats it to the punch. I've yet to ink one of my pens with the Caran, so I won't jump into conclusions just yet but what are your thoughts/ experiences with this ink?

 

Yes, please show us a sample of the Cosmic Black.

[gammada]

I'd love to see your results.

I splashed out on a bottle of CdA Magnetic Blue and can't sing it's praises high enough.

The memory of spending £25 has long gone but the joy of it's colour and subtle shading is with me most days.

 

 

 

Yes, please show us a sample of the Cosmic Black.

 

This is the first time I post ink samples, so please don't hesitate on suggesting ways to improve.

 

This is Caran d'Ache Cosmic Black ink on the first line. The swabs below correspond to Parker's Quink black:

 

http://www.guillermodelamaza.com/down/ink.jpg

 

As you can see, Cosmic black tends more to the grey-blueish end of the spectrum as opposed to Parker's Quink which is more leaned to a brownish-yellowish tint. The Parker ink seems to have a better flow in my Vector than does the Caran, notwithstanding, I didn't have any startup or skipping problems with it.

 

By the way, another thing that I must note about Caran d'Ache Cosmic Black in the subtle shading nuances that ink displays on paper (not that apparent on photos). Compared to Quink's flat nature, Caran's got a rich depth which also sets it apart.

 

Overall, I like how it looks but the aspect I found most interesting with this brand is the attention to detail on the packaging and bottle design. As you can see in the photos below, it really stands out from the crowd:

 

http://www.guillermodelamaza.com/down/ink-boxes.jpg

 

 

http://www.guillermodelamaza.com/down/bottles.jpg

 

 

I know people buy ink because of the liquid and not the package, but the oddly shaped bottle aids in the fill-up process and when almost empty, the package is designed to make extracting the last drop a possibility. In my opinion, it is way too expensive (almost 3 times more than Waterman or Quink in my country) but being a designer myself, I tend to prefer items that are well made and well thought of, so am not complaining.

 

I will do another test on Monday when a brand new Safari arrives at my door with a medium nib. I'll keep you all posted.

Edited August 30, 2014 by gammada

[VivienR]

I'm a newbie to this wonderful world of inks, so am slowly making my first inroads into brands, tonalities, flow, etc, so please bear with me.

 

I went to a local pen shop yesterday to inquire about the darkest black they had in stock. The told me Caran d'Ache Cosmic Black was the way to go, yet no one here seems to even mention it! Which makes me think all they wanted to do was sell this expensive little jewel ;o)

 

Indeed, It is darker than my other black bottle (Parker Quink), especially when dry, but looking at some of the samples I've seen here, I think MB's Mystery Black beats it to the punch. I've yet to ink one of my pens with the Caran, so I won't jump into conclusions just yet but what are your thoughts/ experiences with this ink?

 

Honestly, there is no magic make a black ink darker than Quink Black... its the the worst black I ever seen, because in my experience its always remain in the gray scale.... Pretty lame, but if they rename it to Quink Gray that would be something..

[gammada]

 

Honestly, there is no magic make a black ink darker than Quink Black... its the the worst black I ever seen, because in my experience its always remain in the gray scale.... Pretty lame, but if they rename it to Quink Gray that would be something..

 

 

Totally agree!

[Charles Rice]

Just one black - Private Reserve. Used very seldom. The last time I remember using it was for de-pinking a Varsity.

 

I wouldn't even have that except that my niece bought it for me.

[amberleadavis]

Just one black - Private Reserve. Used very seldom. The last time I remember using it was for de-pinking a Varsity.

 

I wouldn't even have that except that my niece bought it for me.

 

 

Is that so you have more room for the pink inks everyone else gives you?

[PaperDarts]

I used to have ONLY black inks - I can hardly remember those days now. I find I still have a couple of pens filled with black ink though. Sometimes it's the only ink colour that will do. Currently I have on hand:

 

Pelikan Brilliant Black

Sheaffer Jet Black

Montblanc Black

Noodler's Heart of Darkness

J. Herbin Perle Noire

Aurora Black

 

The last two are getting the most use at the moment. I especially love the Aurora.

[SeeksAdvice]

Wow... that Caran d'Ache black is less than impressive in terms of being a black that makes the letters look like they have been burned onto the page by the fires of hell itself.

If I'm wanting a black ink, I'm wanting a black, period, end of story. I want an angry black. A bottomless pit of blackness on the page. A black that feels like it will suck your soul into the page.

[Scootz]

Noodlers Borealis Black

Pelikan Brilliant Black

J Herbin Perle Noir

 

No favorite yet, as they are each nice and black, and none has misbehaved. Still need to try some of the pigment ink blacks.

[Vgimlet]

I always have black ink in several pens.

 

For work I use only Noodler's black.

 

My ED Preppy is inked always with Noodler's Heart of Darkness.

 

Other blacks I've tried so far (am auditioning to find at least one or two other blacks to buy a whole bottle of...)

Noodler's Dark Matter - very dark.

Pilot Iroshizuki Take Sumi - was more grey in my Pilot F than black

Pelikan Edelstien Onyx - darker than the Take-sumi in a Pilot F - a little bit of shading

Noodler's Borealis Black - also nice and very dark in a Pilot F

Monteverde Black - a little on the grey side

 

So far Borealis Black is the next runner up. But I have a LOT of other black inks to go through.

[T4TEXAS]

I have Sheaffer Black and Sheaffer Skript Jet Black, which appear to be the same. I much prefer a dark blue-black, so do not use either. You all, however, have made exploring other blacks almost a necessity.

[mwpannell]

I use black probably 75% of the time, but unfortunately can't say I'm a black connoisseur. I pretty much stick to two basics:

 

1. Sheaffer's Skrip Black most commonly and

2. Noodler's Black (Bulletproof) when wanted or needed.

 

I've been on the verge of trying others--though I'm not tempted by something supposedly being the blackest or "prettier" black--but always seem to just pull the trigger on the two mentioned. They have performed flawlessly.

 

After posting this, I remembered I had a flea-market-find, gooey, semi-dried-out bottle of Osmiroid Free Flowing Black Ink that I had re-constituted and was letting sit. I looked it over and decided to ink up an old Retro 51 Director with it. It looks promising, and really really black. I'm giving it a while in the Retro before trying it in anything else.

[white_lotus]

I used Sailor Kiwa guro pigmented black for a long time. I actually didn't even own any other inks!

 

I now have Iroshizuku Take-sumi and have ordered Montblanc Mystery black and Aurora Black.

[gammada]

Wow... that Caran d'Ache black is less than impressive in terms of being a black that makes the letters look like they have been burned onto the page by the fires of hell itself.

If I'm wanting a black ink, I'm wanting a black, period, end of story. I want an angry black. A bottomless pit of blackness on the page. A black that feels like it will suck your soul into the page.

Agreed. Just read an article in a pen site that unfortunately pure black is not a possibility with the chemical formula used in today's ink, that's why the majority of black inks tend to certain color tint (blue in the Caran, yellow/ brown in Quink's).

 

Which is the darkest you've tried so far?

[mhosea]

How "black" an ink appears has little to do with the presence of "chroma" unless you mean to forgive all gray inks despite that they don't appear very black. It's all about reflectivity. Color that can only be seen when rinsing out the pen is irrelevant. For that matter, inks lacking chroma that tend not to be the blackest appearing on the page are easy to find: carbon inks. Sailor Kiwa Guro shows the limitation well--instead of seeing a hole in the paper, you often see a graphite-gray reflection of ambient light. Under the right lighting conditions they can appear extremely black, but in the evening you don't usually have lighting exclusively emanating from around your own head unless you are a saint and need no lamps.

 

What matters is not how the ink is put together, simply how much light it reflects, or rather doesn't reflect when it's dry on the page. Aurora is one of the best I've used in this respect. When you rinse it out, it seems a little purplish, but who cares?

[gammada]

How "black" an ink appears has little to do with the presence of "chroma" unless you mean to forgive all gray inks despite that they don't appear very black. It's all about reflectivity. Color that can only be seen when rinsing out the pen is irrelevant. For that matter, inks lacking chroma that tend not to be the blackest appearing on the page are easy to find: carbon inks. Sailor Kiwa Guro shows the limitation well--instead of seeing a hole in the paper, you often see a graphite-gray reflection of ambient light. Under the right lighting conditions they can appear extremely black, but in the evening you don't usually have lighting exclusively emanating from around your own head unless you are a saint and need no lamps.

 

What matters is not how the ink is put together, simply how much light it reflects, or rather doesn't reflect when it's dry on the page. Aurora is one of the best I've used in this respect. When you rinse it out, it seems a little purplish, but who cares?

 

Mike, I've never tried carbon inks, are they darker than normal inks? Are they safe to mix or even mixable at all?

 

What I meant to say in my previous post was that comparing the "black" inks I own with those from, say, a Uniball rollerball, they're a lot less dark and in the case of the Caran, showing a blue tint to it and the Parker showing a brownish-yellow tone.

 

I will try to look for the site I referred to before so that you can see the chromatography tests they've done on some inks. There you can clearly spot the colours that were mixed-up to create that particular "black".

 

I fully understand what you say about reflectivity of colour. Once upon a time, I had one of my images printed on the back cover of a magazine. The original RGB file was mostly yellow, when the magazine came out, it had turned into a brownish-green mess with the CYMK process and the fact that magazines do not have backlighting! --Learnt my lesson the hard way!