Why Is Noodler's Black Not Very Black?

[Icywolfe]

This one reason always prevented me from using Noodler's black ink. I mostly see a grayness, and not a black.

 

It is from my bottle. I always noticed this.

Edited September 2, 2014 by Icywolfe

[Pentulant]

My bottle is actually quite black. However, there are so many other black inks out there that there is no reason to feel like you must like this one.

[Icywolfe]

I have this bottle that is collecting dust and I like using ink. I also like looking at ink drying.

Edited September 2, 2014 by Icywolfe

[ac12]

If your pen is dry and/or has an XF nib the black ink can look gray.

 

I've seen this happen with blue, which is why I don't use blue in a XF nib pen anymore.

Edited September 2, 2014 by ac12

[dcwaites]

In the scale of Dry - Medium - Wet, Noodler's Black is in the Medium area. In a dryish pen, it will show up as greyish, in a wetter pen, you will see a good, solid black. It can also depend on the paper. On a smooth, non-absorbent paper, it will show as black, on a more absorbent paper, you will get grey.

 

It is because Noodler's Black is such a medium ink that it is so useful. It can be used in virtually any pen, and on any paper, without misbehaving.

I find that wetter inks like Heart of Darkness bleed too much.

[Baric]

This one reason always prevented me from using Noodler's black ink. I mostly see a grayness, and not a black.

 

It is from my bottle. I always noticed this.

Noodler's has several black inks, Black, Polar Black, Borealis Black, Bernake Black, Heart of Darkness, etc. I use Black American Eel and it looks pretty black to me. As previously mentioned try a wider, juicier nib, and some other black inks. My favorite black when I'm not looking for something bullet proof is Iroshizuku Take-sumi Edited September 2, 2014 by Baric

[Icywolfe]

Noodler's has several black inks, Black, Polar Black, Borealis Black, Bernake Black, Heart of Darkness, etc. I use Black American Eel and it looks pretty black to me. As previously mentioned try a wider, juicier nib, and some other black inks. My favorite black when I'm not looking for something bullet proof is Iroshizuku Take-sumi

Even my 6mm Pilot Parallel and it's still grayish.

[annettefhorn]

Are you shaking the ink before filling the pen? I don't mean shaking fast, but just turning the bottle upside down a few times. I had problems with Noodler's Black looking grey because I was letting the ink settle. In the case of the bulletproof inks though the settled matter is part of the color.

[dragos.mocanu]

Even my 6mm Pilot Parallel and it's still grayish.

 

You'll get no "pure" black with big nibs, because the ink is differently spread across the paper than when using a narrower nib (you get different saturation levels, and this is dependent of many factors); and in the case of dryish XF nibs it shows grey because there isn't enough actual ink on the paper...usually fine or medium nibs of moderate to high wetness show the black of Noodler's Black, with absolutely no grey!

Edited September 2, 2014 by dragos.mocanu

[elenita]

Yes, definitely try shaking the bottle gently, and see if that makes a difference.

 

Otherwise, perhaps this is a batch issue. I've used Noodle's Black in my Pilot Custom 823 with fine nib (which is very fine indeed), and it was still a very saturated blackety black.

[danieln]

I had encountered this issue as well. You need to shake the bottle before inking the pen, should be perfectly black once you've done so.

[Icywolfe]

I shook the bottle and still a grayness. The only thing I can think of is bad batch or somehow I contaminated it accidentally.

[Komitadjie]

I am using Noodler's Black in two pens right now, actually. I just did a very quick test of them on a couple papers I have here in the office, and it more or less confirmed what the general sentiment here has tracked.

 

In the extra-fine nib on my Pilot Vanishing Point, it is indeed NOTICABLY grayer, particularly on copier paper. On good-quality inkjet paper or on the Clearprint 1000H velum, it is quite black, even in the fine line. The wider (call it a western medium) and somewhat wetter nib on my Sheaffer inlay-nib desk pen, shows it to be very black on both kinds of paper.

 

I don't think I could get the variation to show on the scanner here at work, I'll have to do it again once I get home. Possibly add a few other nibs into the mix as well. Interesting to note, though, that even at it's "grayish" form on copier paper from the VP, it is still much blacker than the ballpoint "black" that the other engineers here use for signatures.

[Icywolfe]

For me it's this:

 

Copypaper (Inkjet): Black

Rhodia: Black-gray

Clairefontaine 90g: Light gray/Dark Gray

Black n' Red: Dark-lightish-gray

Sketchbook: Dark gray or Black

Mead: Black

 

That is with my Preppy.

 

Seems like better quality paper it turns to a gray while more toilet paper it gets blacker.

 

It's a just a personal annoyance. As I like seeing ink dry..... yes I'm weird.

Edited September 2, 2014 by Icywolfe