How Do You Keep Track Of What Inks Are In Each Pen?

[blINK]

I use a Black N Red hardback journal for a pen and ink log. I started with filling each new line every time I refilled a pen. I modified the book at the beginning of 2014 to now have a page per pen. So one page is dedicated to a Parker 51 in plum w/ F nib. I then have the date and brand/name ink on each line beneath it.

 

I chose this method because I had read many discussions about wet and dry inks and others on the right ink for the pen/nib combination. Now I can see clearly on the page how the nib and ink combinations work together, and with the date of fills, I can also see how my rotation is working out.

 

Buzz

Yup. This is what I settled on, too.

[Pravda]

I use the default "Notes" app on my phone to list the pens with the ink, and just edit any time I make a change.

 

Great! I thought I was the only one that does that

[Ereshkigal]

I use a Black N Red notebook - the roughly A5 sized one. On the top of each page, a pen is listed. When I fill said pen, I write the date and what it has been filled with. So if I forget, I just flip through the notebook and there it is.

 

For the pens I have dedicated to certain colors, I just list the color and then add refill dates as necessary.

now i want to add two notebooks to my system: one with the pen per page setting and the other one with the ink per page.

and i have to thank you for that .

[Frank C]

now i want to add two notebooks to my system: one with the pen per page setting and the other one with the ink per page.

and i have to thank you for that .

 

I have thought of using a looseleaf system for each pen and each ink. Looseleaf, so that I can keep the pages in alphabetical order. But I haven't implemented that system, yet. For the most part, I follow a one pen, one ink approach.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Just curious about how everyone here keeps track of what inks are in each pen. Some are easy, but as I start to get various shades of similar colors sometimes I forget exactly which ink is in each pen.

 

Now, the solution seems simple, just have a piece of paper next to my inks that lists what is loaded in each pen. But I'm curious how everyone else does it.

I just cleaned a bunch of pens, as I've been testing blue-blacks, and I'm down to a mere six!

 

Whatever I do write (letters, lists, stories, etc.) always starts out with a notation of the pen/ink combo. Repetition makes it easy to remember.

 

Usually, in my Daily notebook, whenever I load a pen I note the ink AND nib size on the last page. Makes for some cool comparisons.

[WaskiSquirrel]

I keep few enough pens inked that I can remember which pen has which ink. If I can't keep track, too many pens are inked.

[perfaddict]

Monthly pen/ink logs in my EDC notebook.

[DaveBj]

I stole claudewick's idea, post #25 in this thread:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/286965-ink-log/page-2

[swanjun]

The flippant answer, though true, is, "I just remember."

 

But it is also true that I meticulously plan what is going to go in which pen next on an Excel Spreadsheet, and then in a Black n' Red notebook, write a line in the new ink under the entry for each pen. I have found that doesn't help so much with keeping track of what's currently in there, but when a pen had a problem and I sent it off for service, I was able to look back and tell them exactly what inks had been in it.

[Freddy]

In the event that eye forget..eye simply mosey on over to

What Pens Are You Using Today 2....very handy....

rockin' is our business..rockin' is what we do

Rock everybody....ROCK!.......................................................

 

Fred

....If we believe our cause is just and necessary, how in

All conscience can I ask others to protect it....and me....

while I keep clean of the gory mess of war.......................

~ Dean Hess

[tinta]

The back two (sometimes three) pages of my Japanese workbook journals are devoted to Inking Information.

After a filling a pen, I record the information using the same ink, nib & pen.

 

For example:

Saturday June 13th 2015, Akkerman Ijzer-galnoten blauw/zwart # 10 (IG ink), 1.1 mm CI (J. Mottishaw), Sailor 1911 Standard, Burgundy/Gold

(On the following line, I draw a repeat pattern made up of strokes & shapes that demonstrate how this ink behaves with this nib.)

 

If I need to look back to see how an ink has performed with a particular nib, I just leaf through the back pages of my journals

Only two or three of my nine pens are inked at any one time.

[fountainpenlady]

1. Simply, I may write in my journal using the ink and while writing something normal, note what ink I am using in what pen.

I use sample inks a lot and when I do, usually their is enough remaining ink that I know which one I used recently.

I have so few regular bottle of in that is an affair when one of them is opened and used so tend to remember those monumental moments and what pen.

I was sent a Rhodia Bloc N 11, from an order placed through one of the companies providing sample inks. I use this small notebook with 80 sheets to record which pen contains which ink when I am anally inclined.

Finally, I don't record anything, simply load a pen up, lay some ink down and marvel at it not remembering what ink I am using after while in my pen; Therefore, when I use the ink again in a pen's rotation, I am once again marvelously surprised, amazed and enthused all over again!

[Pira]

It might be simpler for me to answer with a photo of a corner of my desk:

 

How I keep track of the ink in my pens by Pira Urosevic, on Flickr

 

 

...and yes. As they are all currently crossed out... that means there is no ink in my fountain pens at this moment. The date at the top of the note is the day I'd last cleaned all my pens AND refilled them with different colours. If I refill a single pen with a different colour I cross out that particular one and re-write the pen/nib/ink below. This way I don't have to guess what anything looks like.

Edited June 13, 2015 by Pira

[Charles Skinner]

Well, I usually keep three or four pens inked at all times, and I keep a "half sheet" of paper taped to my desk top, and I just make a mark with a pen if I am not sure I remember which ink is in it. Works for me, but then, I am certainly not "neat freak!"

C. S.

[Ereshkigal]

 

I have thought of using a looseleaf system for each pen and each ink. Looseleaf, so that I can keep the pages in alphabetical order. But I haven't implemented that system, yet. For the most part, I follow a one pen, one ink approach.

i have something like this: some lines and info, written on leaves torn from rhodia #12 , but organizing this into something more usable... no idea .

[FayeV]

I keep track of this in the back pages of my journal. I just add a line whenever I refill a pen. I write down the Pen brand/model, nib size, and the Ink I just filled it with.

 

I like writing with different colors in my journal. Whenever I start a paragraph with a new color, I will jot down the same info (pen, nib, ink) in the margin. In the future, I can flip through the journal, stop on any page and see which pen/ink combo I used.

 

After reading some of the responses above, I think I need a dedicated Ink Log where each pen has its own page. I can see the merits of seeing, on one page, how various ink colors behave with a specific pen.

[JLZenor]

I stole claudewick's idea, post #25 in this thread:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/286965-ink-log/page-2

I like it!

[inkstainedruth]

I have a (well, now two at this point) blank page sketchbook/journal to do samples of writing and drawing every time I try using an ink for the first time. But to keep track of what's inked up (and with what) at any given time I found it was easier to have a file on my laptop, with all the pens listed by brand. When a pen gets inked up, I note what ink it is, and highlight the entry in a different, bright, color (otherwise the list is in black). When the pen is flushed out, the ink name is deleted and that listing gets changed back to black text.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Frank C]

Another way that I keep track of inks and pens is to use a Brother P-Touch Label Maker. I make a little label with the name of the ink and any other necessary information on it. I have a fleet of Platinum Preppies that I use to compare inks. I keep track of them with the labels. I have found that these labels come off the pens without damaging them.

[ac12]

 

I have thought of using a looseleaf system for each pen and each ink. Looseleaf, so that I can keep the pages in alphabetical order. But I haven't implemented that system, yet. For the most part, I follow a one pen, one ink approach.

 

I do this right now, but warning, that binder is goina get thick if you have a lot of pens and/or inks.

I have 3 sections in my binder

1. inking log; date, pen and ink. One line when I ink a pen. this is just a reinking log.
2. Pen/nib section; each pen/nib combo on a separate sheet, so I can see what different inks look like out of a particular pen
3. ink section; for each ink:
   1. sheet 1 - using 2 standard pens a standard line (the quick brown fox...) on strips of 4 different papers. So that I can see what the ink look like with a M and XF nib, and how it looks on different papers.
   2. sheet 2 - standard line written with different pens (so that I can see how that ink looks out of different pens, and they are sometimes very different.
   3. sheet 3 - sample writing so that I can see what a paragraph of that ink looks like. Sometimes I like a line of that ink, but a paragraph of it is too much for my eyes. This usually occurs with BRIGHT inks.

This binder is too much for simply keeping track of what ink is in what pen.

Although you could put page 1 as you inking record

- one line per pen written with the ink that is in the pen; pen name/model, ink name/color

- when you change inks, cross out the line with the old color

Edited June 14, 2015 by ac12