Wet Ink Vs. Dry Ink

[F for Fountain]

I tried browsing the glossary at Richardspens.com to figure out the differences between wet ink and dry ink but there aren't any entries on those (at least not under those names). I know the difference between a wet nib vs. a dry nib, but wet ink vs. dry ink?

 

I actually have several questions:

• What is dry ink?
  
• What is wet ink?
  
• What are some examples of dry inks?
  
• What are some examples of wet inks?
  

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited August 4, 2011 by F for Fountain

[JefferyS]

These are my inky thoughts, not absolute truth.

 

I think of wet inks as having a greater affinity for paper, and less affinity to itself, than dry inks.  Water is both cohesive (tending to stay together as molecules) and adhesive (tending to adhere to other, nonhydrophobic materials). Lowering the cohesiveness by use of surfactants or other emulsifiers lowers the surface tension and makes the ink more likely to flow onto paper.

Edited August 4, 2011 by Jeffery Smith

[JefferyS]

Dry inks - Noodler's Whaleman's Sepia.

 

Wet inks - inks that tend to flow well enough to feather on cheap paper?

Edited August 4, 2011 by Jeffery Smith

[raging.dragon]

A wet ink flows quickly from the nib, thus laying alot of ink on the page. A dry ink flows slowly and thus less ink is laid down on the page. Nibs also have different flow rates, so combining a wet nib with a wet ink, or dry nib with a dry ink, is a recipe for trouble (i.e. too much ink, or not enough).

 

Very few people like a combination that is either extremely wet or extremely dry; however, between the extremes you will find a wide variety of preferences for ink flow.

[F for Fountain]

A wet ink flows quickly from the nib, thus laying alot of ink on the page. A dry ink flows slowly and thus less ink is laid down on the page. Nibs also have different flow rates, so combining a wet nib with a wet ink, or dry nib with a dry ink, is a recipe for trouble (i.e. too much ink, or not enough).

 

Very few people like a combination that is either extremely wet or extremely dry; however, between the extremes you will find a wide variety of preferences for ink flow.

 

So if a lot of ink gets layed on the page, how can I tell if I have either a wet ink or a wet nib? Or conversely if not a whole lot of ink is laid down on the page, how can I tell if I have either a dry nib or a dry ink? Or some combination?

None of my ink bottles mention anything about being wet or dry...

 

Is there some standard nib that all inks get tested against so that you can decide whether its wet or dry?

[raging.dragon]

A wet ink flows quickly from the nib, thus laying alot of ink on the page. A dry ink flows slowly and thus less ink is laid down on the page. Nibs also have different flow rates, so combining a wet nib with a wet ink, or dry nib with a dry ink, is a recipe for trouble (i.e. too much ink, or not enough).

 

Very few people like a combination that is either extremely wet or extremely dry; however, between the extremes you will find a wide variety of preferences for ink flow.

 

So if a lot of ink gets layed on the page, how can I tell if I have either a wet ink or a wet nib? Or conversely if not a whole lot of ink is laid down on the page, how can I tell if I have either a dry nib or a dry ink? Or some combination?

None of my ink bottles mention anything about being wet or dry...

 

Is there some standard nib that all inks get tested against so that you can decide whether its wet or dry?

 

It will always be the combination of ink and nib determining the amount of ink laid on the the page. To make it even more maddening different inks will respond differently to different nibs. There is no standard, the best you can do is compare different inks using the same nib, or compare different nibs using the same ink.

[gmrza]

A wet ink flows quickly from the nib, thus laying alot of ink on the page. A dry ink flows slowly and thus less ink is laid down on the page. Nibs also have different flow rates, so combining a wet nib with a wet ink, or dry nib with a dry ink, is a recipe for trouble (i.e. too much ink, or not enough).

 

Very few people like a combination that is either extremely wet or extremely dry; however, between the extremes you will find a wide variety of preferences for ink flow.

 

 

I think you will find, for instance, that iron gall inks tend to be drier inks - and they also tend to feather less. Noodler's Black is probably also a good example of an ink that writes dry - it is not a good combination with a Lamy medium nib, but writes very nicely with my Waterman Expert, which is a veritable ink gusher.

 

 

[nmp]

Parker Quink Blue (Permanent probably) + Parker Frontier Fine

&

Parker Quink blue (same as above) + Pilot Metropolitan Medium

 

is a wet combination. Perhaps a database exists? If not, needs to be created?

 

As a matter of fact both look alike - very little to distinguish between them...

Fine nib 'feels' scratchier as compared to medium.. Both are smooth though, smooth enough for writing.. Parker frontier is a brand new pen, so I guess it has to be 'run in'?

 

Cheers

Edited December 14, 2017 by nmp

[bluebellrose]

I found Monteverde inks to be on the dry side. Very dry side.

[amberleadavis]

Dear F, check out the thread that says: "Start Here" https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/282789-start-here-inky-t-o-d-topics-oday/

 

These are the Topics of the Day and include:

 

Performance and Properties
Inky T O D - Lubricating Inks
http://www.fountainp...bricating-inks/
Inky T O D - What Are Dry Inks?
http://www.fountainp...t-are-dry-inks/
Inky T O D - What Are Wet Inks?
http://www.fountainp...t-are-wet-inks/
Inky T O D - Which Ink Properties Are Most Important To You?
http://www.fountainp...portant-to-you/
Inky T O D - Making Inks Drier - Dryer - Drying Additives?

http://www.fountainp...ying-additives/