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Friends, comrades:

I have been searching for a nice dark red color. I am looking for a color that is darker than crimson - something a bit like dark red wine. However, all the red ink I have had are close to either pink or orange. I thought Private Reserve's Burgundy Mist would do - but it failed to please me. It was not really a wine color - it was more like a bright red.

The ink that I liked the most was Francesco Rubinato's Bordeaux, but the scent is terrible. I like flower scents, but nothing that potent. The smell is quite nauseating.

So, please give me some advice about dark red inks. I really hope to get something that is conservative, reserved, and elegant.

Thank You!

Mont Blanc Bordeaux may fit the bill.

If you are into doing a little of your own mixing I've found that nice deep reds can be had by blending Noodler's Fox Red and any of their blacks (I've tried their basic "Bullet Proof" Black, Polar Black and Swishmix Nile Ebony; I prefer the BP Black).

I use a 100:1 ratio for a nice, bright blood red. A 50:1 ratio yields a deep, red wine red that might be just what you're looking for.

For convenience in measuring, 1cc is approx 50 drops, so 1cc of Fox Red plus one drop of the Black yields a 50:1 ratio, give or take.

There may be something wrong with your ink - Burgundy Mist is not bright red...

Sounds like you want Noodlers Red Black - or if you don't want to go that dark, Noodlers Nightshade.

Mixing your own is probably the way to go (though I havent tried Noodler Red/Black yet, they might be good).

I have mixed an entire bottle of Pilot Vintage "Real Black" and an entire bottle of Waterman Red, and got myself a great red black. It's probably my favourite ink, as it looks like thick blood on a page

You might want to give Parker Penman Ruby a try, that is a dark red with no pink undertones.

It may not fit quite with your description, but Diamine Monaco Red is a fantastic deep, almost blood, red....

How about Private Reserve's Black Cherry? Personally, I'm not crazy about it because I don't think it's red enough, but it may be just what you're looking for.

Judybug

I like both Waterman Red and Quink Red. No pink or orange in either one. If you haven't already tried it, stay away from Pelikan Red, which orangeish (sp?).

I was going to suggest Black Cherry myself. It has a tendency to dry to a color similar to dried blood, so it will depend on what you want the final result to look like.

I'll second my vote for the Diamine Monaco Red. If you're interested, PM me and I'll send you a writing sample and swab.

I like Noodler's Tiananmen for a dark red. You might want to mix in some Purple Wampum & maybe tone it with black to get the color you want.

Thank you for all your replies.

I will probably go for both Private Reserve Black Cherry and Noodler's Red Black. If that does not work, I will mix my own ink.

Thank You!

Noodler's Tiananmen or Burgundy!

because you are looking for something like wine, I can't help you (except that I have Swishmix Burgundy which is like that, but I don't like the quick-drying formula -- feathers on many papers)..

If you start adding black to reds, it will look brownish. Red-Brown can look brownish at a quick glance. Maybe if you tried different blacks you might get it to work. Best bet is to mix a winelike red with an already-deep, but pure red...

Tiananmen is dark red, a bit brownish if you put it next to other reds, but not brownish like N's red-black. Tiananmen, however, is not DARK DARK DARK DARK, though.

Widowmaker is a neat saturated red.

Monaco Red is great, very similar to Antietam, in that they are dark reds but orangey. Probably not what you're after.

Slovenian Skrip Red is a saturated but not dark red. Probably great for mixing.

DennisU has a good comparison of all his inks(and he has a lot!) the comparisons should be helpful. There are a lot of winelike inks out there. Nonbulletproof varieties will be more saturated and hence darker.

I like PRs Fiesta Red the best - it's dark but still a true red with no brown undertones. Check Pendemonium for a swab sample. Also I think Stipula has anice one, too - also at Pendemonium - usual disclaimer

I have Noodler's Antietam and if I use it with a dip pen instead of a fountain pen, it's looks a really good dark red.

What a gorgeous rose, so perfect!

I wouldn't recommend Black Cherry - it has a lot of brown tones, more dried blood than beautiful rose.

Have you considered Noodlers Ottoman Rose? Perhaps it's a tad too bright for what you want, but it is a very nice rich, dark red, heavy on the pink tones but definitely not a pink ink.

I have tried mixing Noodler's "True Rouge" (from Swisher Pens) with Noodler's bulletproof black and have gotten good results. I like it at about a 15 to 1 ratio, but if you want something darker, you could try 10-1.

The depth of the color will definitely vary depending on the nib you're using, but I'd suggest Cartier Bourdeaux, Montblanc Boudeaux, Omas Vespucci Red, Private Reserve Burgundy Mist, and/or Stipula Dark Red. Good luck!

While this is certainly true in some cases -- Noodler's Fox Red (aka NFR) + Swishmix Nile Ebony for instance -- in other cases it's not true at all. Again, I've tried and am using some very attractive blends of NFR and Noodler's basic "Bullet Proof" Black (aka NBPB).

In my experience the trick is to use as little black as possible to give the red, in my case NFR, the shade you want. As I mentioned above, even blends in 100:1 ratios can be quite satisfactory, though lately I'm tending toward the 50:1 blend.

As ever, YMMV.

I don't know if this has been said already....
If you add some blue (preferably a dark one) you'll get a dark red that tends toward bordeaux rather than brown.

Would I be right in thinking that you use pens that are on the dry side? That - or a rogue bottle - seems the likeliest explanation for your description of Burgundy Mist, which for me (I've only used it in wet pens) is a dark, brownish, reddish purplish colour. Visconti's Bordeaux, used in a wet vintage pen, looks pretty much like what you seem to be looking for; in a dryer pen, however, it isn't. So, a wetter pen may prove to be a useful first step. (But whatever else you do, don't bother with Diamine's Crimson, which, far from being crimson, is a bright, gaudy magenta rescued by no amount of wetness; one sometimes gets the impression that ink companies simply don't know what colour-words mean.)

Simon