What Type/color Of Ink Do You Use For Mail?

[Icywolfe]

I use Platinum carbon black as I noticed once it fully dries you have a better chance of destroying the paper than trying to erase the ink. Also it doesn't feather. =D Also it's very black, like soulless black.

 

On the inside if professional same as above if not I use a fruity variety of colors. Mostly staying in the Pilot Iro line though has those has the overall best qualities.

[ThePrecursor]

When addressing a letter I either use ballpoints or a pen inked with iroshi tsukushi since that's the only water resistant ink I have. May have to look into getting a bottle of carbon black. For the content of the letter any inks I have are fair game.

[Manalto]

Thanks, Miss Fortune. I was just going to inquire about waterproof ink for addressing the envelope. In this part of the country where it rains and snows frequently, it's not unusual for a stray droplet to find its way to your beautifully-penned envelope and smear the bejesus out of it. Grrr... Don't Noodler's and other companies also make waterproof ink?

 

It was a 19th century custom to write personal letters in brown or sepia ink. I tend toward preserving that tradition because I like the warmth of the color. Right now I have Noodler's 'Walnut' which is OK, but a bit dark when using a fine-point pen.

 

James

Edited February 23, 2015 by Manalto

[HollyGolightly]

Whoops! I guess I should be using something waterproof/water resistant... but I just end up using something pink. I'll have to find something pink that fits the bill, though that might be challenging.

[Skyppere]

On the envelope I may use green or blue or black or purple. I avoid red because that doesn't show up in some machine readings... But I use ball point for the envelope.

INSIDE I use ever color in the rainbow. I snail a lot and a recent letter had 2 shades of green, red, red-brown, purple, turquoise, Blue Suede and Orange...

All those colors put a smile on my face!
skyppere

[Manalto]

.

All those colors put a smile on my face!

skyppere

And, no doubt, the person who received your letter!

 

I also use a typewriter to send letters (and sign them in fountain pen, of course!). I'm surprised by how delighted people are to receive them. When typewriters were the method of business communication, a typewritten personal letter was considered inappropriate. Now people love the nostalgic flavor of a typewritten letter. An entire letter written in longhand with a fountain pen is a gift of time and thoughtfulness.

[HollyGolightly]

And, no doubt, the person who received your letter!

 

I also use a typewriter to send letters (and sign them in fountain pen, of course!). I'm surprised by how delighted people are to receive them. When typewriters were the method of business communication, a typewritten personal letter was considered inappropriate. Now people love the nostalgic flavor of a typewritten letter. An entire letter written in longhand with a fountain pen is a gift of time and thoughtfulness.

I have a typewriter as well , though haven't written a letter with one in a while (mostly use it for prose). And my FPN pen pals of course would prefer a penned letter, so I haven't sent any letters typed. What make/model do you own?

Edited February 23, 2015 by HollyGolightly

[Manalto]

You have opened, as the expression goes, a can of worms. Many, many typewriters. I favor the standard office typewriters for their features and stability, but I'm as fickle as they come. One day, the Olympia SG-1 (a behemoth!), the next, a gossamer Olivetti Lettera 22. I have an early (1954) Underwood electric in pristine condition that I love to use, even though it sounds like a running chainsaw in the room. On the other end of the (vintage) spectrum, there's a 1924 Remington whose gloss and general beauty would make you swoon. Who in his/her right mind wouldn't enjoy typing a letter to a friend on that? My go-to is the Royal KGM, boring to some, but with tombstone-shaped keys that have yet to be equaled in ergonomic perfection. I feel like Edward R. Murrow pounding away with my missive. The combination of fountain pen and typewriter in the 21st century is an art form whose surface has received only the slightest of scratches.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Manalto

[SaintLoup]

I seem to remember reading a very involved dos/don'ts excerpt from some old book on correspondence in another thread here. If I recall correctly, black was "masculine", blue "feminine", and blue black "for schoolboys". All of which is nonsense.

 

As for myself I tend to write in Noodler's Air-Corps, an ink that has a nice antique look to it that I hope is pleasurable for my pen-pals. If I'm feeling spicy, I may switch to Diamine Oxblood, which may violate all the rules of good taste, but oh well.

 

I do use my typewriters for longer letters. A while ago I got into a lively exchange over the relative merits of Persuasion among Jane Austen's other novels with a friend of mine on another continent. My Olympia SM4's small typeface makes it ideal for long, block quotes. Of course I always sign with a fountain pen.

Edited February 24, 2015 by SaintLoup

[inkstainedruth]

I tend to use some ink that's relatively waterproof -- iron gall inks, or some of the Noodler's inks. I tend to use darker colors -- blues, blue blacks, and so on. I have a little more latitude than I would with signing checks (my old bank tended to frown on anything other than blue or black, but never blinked at eye at Noodler's Kung te Cheng), but it's harder to find colors I like with those properties.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[chewytulip]

For the address on an envelope, I usually stick with Noodler's 54th, or Polar Black, or Baystate Blue, or Dragon Catfish Pink (that last one is kept in a marker, not a fountain pen). Any ink that will survive a splash of water is fair game.

The rest of the contents of the envelope is subject to my current favorite color scheme, and that tends to be pretty bright.

[PS104]

I've always heard running a candle (not sure what color) over the address would prevent water smearing the address.

Another old wives' tale?

[Arkanabar]

PS104, that is actually effective. Use a white candle, and it'll leave a coating of nearly transparent paraffin, which will protect the paper from water. Of course, if you have a block of canning paraffin, you can use that too.

 

I used to use Noodler's Red-Black for addressing envelopes. The red runs when wet, but the black is bulletproof. Now I usually use Heart of Darkness, because I always have to have it for work. Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black is also pretty good for water resistance.

[The Good Captain]

If I am really bothered by the prospect of a slightly water-smeared envelope, then I'll use 4001 Blue-Black; ESSRI or M Midnight Blue IG.

If I don't really care, then I just use whatever is in the pen I was using at the end of the letter. Hey-ho.

[Manalto]

If I recall correctly, black was "masculine", blue "feminine", and blue black "for schoolboys". All of which is nonsense.

 

I would call it obsolete, rather than nonsense. Although I know very little about conventions of the 19th century, many provided quick and easy social cues. Some I like, such as writing personal letters in brown ink. The nice thing is that today we have absolute discretion to use them, or reject them without censure.

Edited February 24, 2015 by Manalto

[episkey]

I try to use darker colors when writing on my envelopes, or non-FP pens that I know are semi-waterproof. I don't always use waterproof ink, but I should probably start doing it more often. My letters get lost often enough as it is...

 

Or sometimes, I will wait a day to mail out my letters if it is raining/snowing.

 

I'm quite jealous to hear about all of your typewriters! I've been wanting one for a while now, but I just haven't been able to find one at a bargain price.

[Medsen Fey]

I almost always use waterproof inks so whatever I'm writing with will usually do the job. There ate lots of bulletproof and waterproof inks made by Noodlers, Deatramentis, Mont Blanc, and the range of Fe gall inks. A smudged address is a preventable embarrassment.

[Skyppere]

And, no doubt, the person who received your letter!

 

I also use a typewriter to send letters (and sign them in fountain pen, of course!). I'm surprised by how delighted people are to receive them. When typewriters were the method of business communication, a typewritten personal letter was considered inappropriate. Now people love the nostalgic flavor of a typewritten letter. An entire letter written in longhand with a fountain pen is a gift of time and thoughtfulness.

Well except those who received them in yellow ink when I was going through a phase...

[ac12]

I use whatever darker ink I have which can be black, blue or green.

But I probably should think about a waterproof ink, or rubbing wax over the address.

 

Inside the letter, anything goes.

[SaintLoup]

I would call it obsolete, rather than nonsense. Although I know very little about conventions of the 19th century, many provided quick and easy social cues. Some I like, such as writing personal letters in brown ink. The nice thing is that today we have absolute discretion to use them, or reject them without censure.

 

Point well taken! (I tend to subscribe to the "austere conception of nonsense" anyhow.) I will say that the gendering of ink colors is a convention I am glad to leave by the wayside. I've been on the lookout for a good brown ink, but can't make up my mind what I want a brown ink to accomplish. Something reddish and with a lot of shading? Grey toned and flat?