Red Ink - Noodler's

[fountainpenlady]

Well... colour doesn't really depend on paper used or pen... I would assume when the manufacturer produces ink of a certain colour/shade, they have a way to check the consistency between batches by means other than using the same pen and pad of paper each time and eyeballing it.

 

Pen Ink is like house paint, oil paints, Pantone colours, or anything else colour based... sure the appearance changes depending on the use, but, there has to be a sort of 'baseline' to measure the colour by.

 

I don't plan to use the ink in the same pen until the bottle is gone, or on the same paper, so I know it will change slightly between uses. I'm just looking for something is 'in general' stop sign red.

 

I have the Noodler's Red Rattler, which is nice, but too dark... I want something that's more a clean red, and more contrast between it and black. The Rattler when dried, just doesn't stand out as much as I'd like.

 

I'd like to stick with Noodler's if possible.

No disrespect intended, but if what an ink looks like depends on neither paper nor pen, why when people review inks they do so on at least two different types of paper and use more than one pen to test the ink? I am speaking of those who test inks here, people on blogs and those who do so often. Why do many sample the ink with a medium nib, broad, fine or/and extra fine nib, which give a different look depending on the nib being filled and used?

 

It is like saying any manufacturer created red; nothing needs to be evaluated further. Any red will do if in the family of bluish or orange tinge. As I said, not an expert, only sought, purchased and used various shades of red for many years now. I am one of those who I described in terms of my quest for the perfect red, as I personally experience and define it. Please do stick with Noodler's the reds beyond Noodler's are so vast, breathtaking and wonderfully unique. Having recently had a bad experience with Noodler's, I would rather seek and use anything other any Noodler's ink. Using the phrase to each his/her own and waving farewell now....

Good luck with your particular red quest.

[THRobinson]

No diresepct taken, but, I think my point may have been missed a little.

 

As I said "...the appearance changes depending on the use, but, there has to be a sort of 'baseline' to measure the colour by."

 

Reviews are done to display the colour and how it appears on different papers using different pens and to show how it reacts (ie feathering)... but... a bottle of Rattler Red for example is a specific colour. If used with 10 pens on 10 different papers, it'll appear different but not night/day different. It's not going to look flourecent pink on Rhodia white, and dark rust on Leuchtturm.

 

I know I can't ask for stop sign red and expect to find an ink identical to stop sign red redgardless where/how it's used... I think the request is being taken too literal. But, I'm certain there must be an ink in that ballpark.

 

"It is like saying any manufacturer created red; nothing needs to be evaluated further."

 

When they develop the colour, they do tests until they get the colour they're after. This means, they test with different pens, do swab tests on different papers, view under different lights, etc, and average the results to come up with a baseline of what the colour looks like. That's what I'm after... the average of what the ink looks like.

 

Noodler's wise... I have limited experience with other brands. The two bottles I have of Noodler's seem to work really well with my LAMY pens which is why I was trying to stick with the brand. I think what I will likely do is try that Goulet site and order 5 test bottles based on people's recommendations above and see how that goes. Maybe post a few reviews of my own.

[amberleadavis]

FountainPenLady, at this point, we must disagree, Noodler's makes some out standing products. Yes, some inks are finicky (and they are here labeled). Nevertheless, some inks including the regular BLUE are just terrific.

 

So, InvaderZim, I'm loaded up with four reds and ready to send you a letter.

[cybaea]

Noodler's Fox is one of my favourite reds in the dry Safaris (try an EF steel nib) though it is just a little more red than the pen itself. Fox is also bombproof and flourecent.

[amberleadavis]

I need to load up fox.

 

Here is what I have inked....minus a few other reds.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/2015-Inklings/2015-Ink_0304.jpg

[MCWB]

Check out Noodler's Nikita. It sounds like what you're looking for.

[amberleadavis]

I will try and ink up the new Park red.

[bone215]

as mentioned earlier, Sheaffer red. Try a sample.

[THRobinson]

So, InvaderZim, I'm loaded up with four reds and ready to send you a letter.

 

Thanks... sent a PM... and glad to know someone else knows who Invader Zim is... most people never seem to.

 

Based on the above I think I'll try to grab samples of

 

• Sheaffer Red
• Noodler's Eternal Fox (is that the same as Noodler's Fox?)
• Diamine Red Dragon
• Diamine Red Matador

 

...am I missing anything? AMBERLEADAVIS, what's the first colour on your list? Not quite what I'm after, but looks really nice.

[amberleadavis]

Believe it or not, that's Diamine / Cult Pens, Deep Dark Orange. It's the closest to stop signs in Las Vegas.

[amberleadavis]

I think you should get samples of those inks listed above, but also get a sample of Waterman Red. If you can get a sample of Levenger Cardinal Red, it's one of my favorites for true red. I'll write to you with more reds when I ink up again.

[perfaddict]

I have tried some reds but always go back to Parker Quink Red.

[THRobinson]

Believe it or not, that's Diamine / Cult Pens, Deep Dark Orange. It's the closest to stop signs in Las Vegas.

 

That is deep dark orange? I was expecting a name like dark magenta, or cranberry, maroon.... definitely not seeing any orange happening.

 

Maybe Deep Dark Red? Looking at Cult Pens, that seems closer.

Edited April 28, 2015 by THRobinson

[drawline]

I would also recommend Sheaffer or Noodler's Eternal Red Fox for what I atleast think of a true red. Have not personally tested Sheaffer skrip but when I was on a similar quest I went through all the reviews I could find at the time. But there are so many more inks to choose from now, with that said.

 

Red inks are just so fussy. If all you use is black and keep pens inked for months on end, then you are up for a wake up call. And the real need to clean it out properly before changing to other inks.

I also mixed a nice tinted black with bulletproof black and HoD (I use a mix of both as my go to ink) and Eternal Red Fox, but it eventually turned into gunk. It was actually quite nice to draw with in this state as well (a bit like paint or india ink), but I didn't want to wait and see what it did to the pen in the long run.

[THRobinson]

HoD?

 

Too many acronyms on this site for newbies.

 

Head of Department?

Host on Demand?

Heart of Darkness?

 

... hey, there is an ink with that last one... Noodler's Heart of Darkness?

 

I have 4 pens...

 

I have a Parker Urban which I used with Quink, would be inked for months, rarely used, often cleaned because dried out on me.

 

Friend gave me a LAMY in black, so, got Noodler's Black and inked it up, liked it, and gave away all my ballpoints. At this point I cleaned the Parker and put back in it's original box and set aside because I knew 2 pens with black ink, both are going to dry up.

 

Same friend for xmas the year after gave me a red LAMY... inked up with Rattler Red, and again, just too dark. Going to be a LOT of flushing/cleaning and testing with the 5 samples I'll buy on Friday.

 

YEARS ago my Dad at a garage sale, someone use to own an art store and old stock, grabbed me a mix-match box of stuff. Found in there a Parker Reflex... took a long time online looking at images but figured it was a Reflex. Never had ink in it yet. Be good to try it I suppose but, given my limited writing these days, I don't want to ink it up and have it dry out. Once I start writing more I'll give it a try.

 

I tried a couple of the Preppy's... gave them away the next day. Very stiff/scratchy for my liking.

 

Looking to get a Noodler's Ahab (Hudson Bay Fathom's Blue) and Diamine Turquoise because I want to try a flex nib.

Edited April 28, 2015 by THRobinson

[amberleadavis]

You are off to a great start.

[drawline]

HoD?

 

Too many acronyms on this site for newbies.

 

Head of Department?

Host on Demand?

Heart of Darkness?

 

... hey, there is an ink with that last one... Noodler's Heart of Darkness?

 

Hehe yep that is right! It is advertised as an even darker ink ink, and slightly wetter and faster drying compared to Noodler's black, but as it soaks into the paper it can feather.

And it is a sound strategy to limit the pens you have inked at one time, especially with higher maintainance inks like reds in the equation.

Noodler's flex nibs are a lot of fun to use, and I concur with amberleadavis. I am sure you will enjoy it! They also run a lot finer than Lamy nibs so that should be interesting to try as well.

[THRobinson]

Well, hopefully I like some of the samples I have ordered (still in transit).

 

Downside was that I wanted to grab a Noodler's Konrad... none in stock. Few of the samples I wanted that were recommended... none in stock. Even the Goulet bright red sample pack on the site, was... none in stock.

 

Wasn't having much luck at all... but managed to order 5 reds, and a turquoise.

 

- Diamine Turquoise

- Scheaffer Red

- Noodler's Red Fox

- Diamine Red Dragon

- Caran d'Ache Infra Red

- De Atramentis Poppy Red

 

Wanted to try Matador, Wild Strawberry, couple others... no stock at the time.

Edited May 4, 2015 by THRobinson

[amberleadavis]

I'm sending you another letter. I'm rethinking Park Red. I also bought regular red. I'll try and ink that one next week.

[ac12]

Red Dragon is a nice DARK red.

I use and like Sheaffer Skrip red. To me it is a nice clean red, no tint of another color.

 

As for online samples, the equipment and setup has to be properly color corrected from the shooting all the way to your viewing. There are so many places for color to change that it is very difficult to really nail the color down. This site for instance is BAD for looking at true color. I tried several times, and the image that I uploaded and viewed is not even close to the color of the ink on paper in front of me. Maybe uploading to a different hosting site might give you better colors.

 

Unless YOUR monitor is color calibrated and your viewing area is color neutral, the color you see on the screen is likely to be slightly off. In my case, I color calibrated my monitor, then had to adjust it to be less bright, so I can use it for other than working on photographs. Using a color calibrated monitor and viewing a mostly white web page or MS Word or Excel feels like looking at a bright light bulb...IOW rather useless for "normal" work.

 

BTW, as for ink color. The color of the ink CAN indeed be dramatically different based on the pen you use. I have Sheaffer turquose, a rather humdrum ink...I thought. Out of one pen it looks like a nice turquoise. Out of another pen, it is a dark teal with shading. If I showed anyone the ink samples from the 2 pens, they would think it was 2 different inks. It is that different. There are other inks that behave similarly, where the color/shade of the ink will change based on the pen (ink flow and width of the ink line) and the paper that it is written on. So no, ink is NOT like paint.