What Ink To Use On Thick Glossy Paper

[Morbus Curiositas]

Hello FPN Friends

 

Since I got deeper intoo Fountain Pens since about 2 years now....

 

I have a hardly used a biro anymore....

 

Question...

 

There is this glossy paper not in magazines, where the people is thin.... But more the glossy paper you find in cook books etc....

 

What kind of ink do I use there...

 

So that it cannot be wiped off.....

 

Of course I can use a scribble stick for the idiots (eufemism for biro )...

 

But I like biros as much as Palestinians like Israel (No offfence to both)

 

I am curious for your advice

 

 

Regards,

 

Peter

[ScienceChick]

No matter what ink you use you're going to have a long dry time because the ink will sit on the paper, not soak in. I'm sure other people will have ideas for inks that will dry faster than others.

[Medsen Fey]

For glossy paper, I use Kung Te Cheng or La Reine Mauve. They take a long time to dry, but once completely dry (like 24 hours) they will not smear even if you wet them.

Edited November 16, 2014 by Medsen Fey

[graystranger]

Peter, I used fountain pens for years without ever considering the paper factor much. I knew fountain pen ink worked poorly on some papers (newsprint), but it wasn't until I discovered Goulet Pen Co.'s videos on Clairefontaine, Midori, Rhodia, etc. paper did I start to think about it. I have experimented with various papers beyond the well known ones. Some glossy papers take fountain pen inks well, some do not.

 

I have some calendars with very thick glossy pages that take any fountain pen ink very well. I think the glossy coating is clay based and the ink soaks into the coating and looks great. Maybe not great for extremely fine nibs (Pilot EF or SEF) that can scratch through the coating and then feather into the paper. But the ink dries relatively fast (two or three minutes) and the ink looks great on these papers. Of course these papers are not waterproof.

 

Other glossy coatings seem to be polymers (plastics) and nothing water based seems to work well on them. They are totally water repellent and I usually use a marking pen on them (Sharpie). I have recently started using Platinum Carbon Black which is a pigmented ink and dries on the surface of paper. I have found it will dry on the surface of polished metal and glass, and plastic too. It does not bond very firmly, it can be scratched off with a fingernail or rubbed off with some effort, but does not rinse off with water. So it should dry on the surface of plastic coated papers too.

 

Under an eye loupe, Platinum Carbon Black looks like dried liquid graphite. My guess is that it is a graphite suspension with some water based binder. Watercolor artists love it because it does not wash off or smear from their drawings when water colors are brushed over the ink. Flows wonderfully through my Platinum Cool. Since it is pigmented, I'm only going to use it in pens that I can disassemble the nib and feed for thorough cleaning. However, the Platinum Balance and Cool pens can be disassembled. More importantly the cap seals air tight to the pen and they can sit for a long time without drying out. I have not tried Platinum Carbon Black on these papers but will sometime soon.

 

Since a plastic coated paper is totally impervious, the water in the pigmented ink will not be absorbed into the paper and the ink will take longer to dry. Depends on the dew point of the air and air currents. But, it has dried on a mirror surface in 5 to 10 minutes or so. Good luck, and let us know what works for you.

Edited November 16, 2014 by graystranger

[Notgatherox]

For glossy paper, I use Kung Te Cheng or La Reine Mauve. They take a long time to dry, but once completly dry (like 24 hours) they will not smear even if you wet them.

 

+1 on the KTC recommendation.

 

 

 

~Epic

[cybaea]

Try iron gall inks: I always have a pen with Diamine Registars' ink ready for the holiday season.

[martinbir]

This is a complicated topic.

 

Standard litho printing inks dry almost entirely by evaporation and so coated offset papers are designed to have a relatively non-absorbent surface allowing good coverage with a thin ink film and thus giving a sharp printed image - good for the commercial printer, but not for the fountain pen user.

 

Iron gall inks do seem to perform best on this but still need a long drying time.

 

However, it gets worse.These days most printing has a "seal" applied. This is an invisible varnish coat which dries instantly, sealing in any moisture in the ink and allowing immediate onward processing without fear of ink-rub. This is even more difficult for FP inks, as are the obvious high gloss varnishes.

 

Then some surfaces have a very thin plastic laminate applied which may not be easy to spot.

 

Quite separately there are special coated papers for digital printing which bring a whole fresh batch of challenges.

 

Personally, if I am going to note in a proper book, I use a soft pencil. It may not write well on some surfaces but at least it can be removed and not spoil the book.

 

Does that help at all?

[Morbus Curiositas]

Thanks Cybaea

 

 

Will fill a cheaper pen with it... So that it is ready when needed