Which ink is the blackest black? I like Noodler's Permanent Black, but I'd like to have some options. Thanks for the help.

I like PR Velvet Black. Many folks like Aurora Black.

andy

Aurora Black is very dark. Although it might not be the blackest black, it's super-smooth. If you're looking for a darker black you'll have a hard time finding it, and it probably won't be as smooth.

I've found that Private Reserve's new Ultra Black to be the blackest black I've come across. It's definitely blacker than Velvet Black. It's designed to dry faster than a regular ink -- which I've found to be true -- but paradoxically, some of my customers have reported that it flows too freely in some of their pens.

I've passed those comments on the Terry at PR, and he's looking into it.

Here's the most thorough of the previous threads I've quickly found on this topic. It's from the spring of 2006. Executive summary from that: In my opinion, for the best combinations of blackness, pen performance and paper perfomance, it's hard to go wrong with any of these five:

Noodler's Swishmix Nile Ebony (the truest black, in any pen; not for less-than-middling paper)
Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black (very black in any pen) (also sold under the "A. T. Cross" label)
Aurora Black (very black in any pen)
Sailor Black (not as black in dry-writing pens)
Noodler's Black (not as black in dry-writing pens)

Summer 2006: Hoping for more comments on the blackness and performance of these two newcomers:

Diamine "New Century" Quartz Black
Private Reserve Ultra Black

(Edit: refined some details)

Swisher Midnight Black deserves a mention here.

Steve,

Your summary is fabulous, a much valued service. If you could summarize blue, green, brown and red, I'd be in ink heaven.

Incidentally, I have been delayed getting to the ink & paper experiment you and two others carried out for me last month. My beloved mother in law has moved in with us on a hospice basis and I've fallen behind on several fronts. But never fear, the results will appear soon!

Laurence

The blackest by far I have used is Pelikan Fount India Ink. The best waterproof ink
for addressing envelopes.

For normal everyday use I love both Omas and Aurora black.

Aurora black.
I´ve also tried Montegrappa black its really black but, in my opinion it´s to "thick".
Pelikan 4001 (the "updated" version) is one of my regular inks.
J Herbin "Perle de noire" is also a very black ink.

Regards
Ingmar

Rotring Brilliant Black is the blackest ink I have ever used. Too bad this ink isn't available in bottles...

Yes! Thanks for the reminder, David.
Nathan Tardif's company makes Noodler's Ink.
His company is also the contractor for Swisher Pens' in-store brand of ultra-fast-drying, washable fountain pen inks. Because they are ultra-fast-drying, they need middle-quality to high-quality paper (some types of which are inexpensive; the Swisher site gives a list).

In fact, the reason that Noodler's Swishmix inks need good paper is precisely that they share the ultra-fast-drying ingredient(s) of the Swisher Pens brand inks.

Swisher Midnight Black is supposed to be blacker than Swishmix Nile Ebony.

Judging black inks is less subjective than judging inks of other colors.

When did they change the formula? I've got about half a bottle left of Pelikan 4001 that I bought in 1999. Came to hate it and haven't used it again in six years. Is it worth it to try again with a new bottle?

Wow, what a good question! I've read only vague references to this fact, and I don't know which of today's freshly produced colors, if not all of them, got updated. Would anyone here who can cite a date and the colors for it like to answer?

I'm back - technical hitch with password.

I'd like to know also because I do like Pelikan black as a nice, smooth, black black and I have bought several bottles over the past few years, each having different labels/designs.

The first was an 'old-fashioned' box in a dark blue/green, the next couple were predominantly white, with black bands/lid to indicate ink colour, and the latest is a dark blue box. But I have not noticed any difference in the ink. Has it changed? I didn't know.

Chris

I'v only used Quink black - but it looks more like a dark green HAhA :doh:

I've used Parker Quink, Pelikan 4001 and Rotring Brilliant.
The 4001 is the deepest/true black, followed closely by Rotring's offering and ending in the greyish Quink. I actually like the Quink (it flows very well on every pen, though the same is true for the 4001) and it has a nice shade to it imo.