Platinum Carbon Black... An ink I've wanted to give a try for quite some time. I did! Hope you guys can put this review to good use... ^_^

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If you click the link at the bottom of this post, you'll be able to download a PDF-file containing all pages. Be warned, though, it's about 550Kb...

Best regards!

thanks for the nice review!

I have tried this ink recently and your review is pretty much spot on. this ink has a faint nice smell to it, the other thing i notice the ink has a nice sheen to it when it dries.

I'm reviving this thread to add note of warning. I like the Platinum Carbon, but I have noticed it drying so quickly that it dries on the nib and makes it hard for a FP to start writing. I'd advise for a very well balanced cap on / cap off system. ^_^

Great review, HyperCamper, and timely for me as I was planning to buy Carbon Black this week for some ink and watercolor paintings. The water test is of particular interest and I have a question about your findings. It appears that Noodler's Black ran only when the swatch came from a thinner application of ink, the third one to be exact. Is that an accurate take on your test results?

Thanks, Margana! ^_^

I'm not quite sure if the Noodler's ran at all. I've already disposed of the original review on paper, but I do remember smudging one of those line deliberately to see if I could. So, I can't really tell if the Noodler's would run on it's on when stuck in water.

It isn't called Bulletproof for nothing so I don't think so, but I do know that in this respect the Platinum performed as good as and maybe even better than the Noodler's.

Hope this helps.

Not directly relatd to the review, but just wanted to say that I found the PDF a very handy way to present it - thanks.

Yep, that'll do nicely.

I originally read about Carbon Black on Russ Stutler's site here and here. He also mentions Noodler's black at the second link and I think Born did in a post recently. Time to give it a try myself.

Thanks for the comparison. I really appreciate reviews that include scans of well-known inks so we can get a really good concept of the ink next to one we already know. Saved me from more than one unnecessary purchase for which my budget is indeed grateful.

Anyone know of a good source for Platinum Carbon Black? Apparently it's not regularly sold in the U.S.?

I recently bought three bottles off of eBay. You are correct, Platinum Carbon Black is not currently sold in the U.S..

I really like this ink and have been using it daily for a couple of months. My personal experience is that it does seem to start to have flow problems after being in the pen for some time, at least in my Visconti it did, but not terrible. I had to throughly clean the pen to clear the problem up. Other then that it is a fantastic black.

ONE WARNING! If using Platinum Carbon Black It will tint your Ink window or converter a gray color!! It clouded the ink window in my Pelikan M800--I got it somewhat clean but not the beautiful green color it was. I only had the ink in the pen a week or two at the most!!

I have to agree. The window on my Visconti's window is now on the grayish side. This black is...VERY black.

Bought mine at Meininger's in Denver

Nice review, and the PDF is very handy for viewing. I use Platinum Carbon Ink (I bought mine from Swisher Pens) in my brush pens and am quite happy with it there, but I find it too dry for my liking in my fountain pens. This ink is not only wonderfully waterproof (great for line work to which watercolor will be added), but resists alcohol well, too (great for line work to which alcohol-based marker will be added).

Swisher Pens has Platinum Carbon Ink in stock. The US distributor for Platinum Pen also stocks it so any Platinum dealer in the states can get it for you.

I've used it in brush pens as well.
For fountain pens I mix it with Noodler's black.
This reduces the drying time for the (smudge-prone) Noodler's and the Noodler's increases the lubricity of the Platinum.

That is a good idea; I had not thought of that, but am going to try it now! Have you found mixing the Platinum Carbon black ink with the Noodler's black ink to adversely affect their water resistance at all?

I have had carbon black in an old style Rotring 600 for several years now. I use it infrequently, but it is always wet and ready to write. Definitely an ink for a pen that is used daily and flushed regularly, even though this is not my habit. It is not your typical ink, and as long as you treat it as such, you will not be disappointed or surprised. As for the stained ink windows in some pens, I am sure these can be cleaned rather easily if the pen is disassembled.

Tnx for the mix tip - I've always been cautious about using the Plat Carbon ink because of the staining properties on transparent ink widows and nibs. Had problems with it and penman in the past so prefer the noodelrs, PR diamine and good ol' Quink Skrip and Pelkikan inks.

I'm going to do a noodlers carbon ink mix now.

JetPens also now carries Platinum Carbon Black ink, as of their December newsletter, which is very exciting. I like JetPens and I like this ink for my brush pens.