Ink Brand Loyalty

[jp1337]

I have a combination of Caran d'Ache, Noodlers, Iroshizuku, Private Reserve, De Atrementis and Diamine. I don't really feel that I am loyal to any of them, though I do prefer to write with the Iroshizuku inks, but I am totally in love with the Caran d'Ache bottles! I have 5 of the bottles so far, (2 of which are the actual ink, the other 3 I bought empty) I'd love nothing more than to transfer all of my inks into the Caran d'Ache Chromatics bottles

[amberleadavis]

I have a combination of Caran d'Ache, Noodlers, Iroshizuku, Private Reserve, De Atrementis and Diamine. I don't really feel that I am loyal to any of them, though I do prefer to write with the Iroshizuku inks, but I am totally in love with the Caran d'Ache bottles! I have 5 of the bottles so far, (2 of which are the actual ink, the other 3 I bought empty) I'd love nothing more than to transfer all of my inks into the Caran d'Ache Chromatics bottles

 

Welcome aboard. I do like those bottles.

[Piper 987]

Being loyal to one ink manufacturer would be like being loyal to one brewery. What's the sense in that?

[Pentode]

I started out with Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black and still like it and use it quite a bit, but I'm not ink monogamous.

 

I'm fond of a number of Noodler's colors and have used good, old Skrip and Quink in the past and have found them to be very nice inks. I have a couple of bottles of MB ink that works well in just about all my pens.

 

I'm not all that fond of Waterman's colors, but I use it in pens that tend to write dry.

 

4001 is still probably my standard, but I'm not really all that fussy.

[JeanManuel]

Am I the first one to think about ink brand loyalty, as in loyalty to their customers?

Edited February 4, 2016 by JeanManuel

[avoiceinthedistance]

I have bought ink based on the fact the title had the word Zeppelin in it !!!!!!

 

[Maurizio]

Being loyal to one ink manufacturer would be like being loyal to one brewery. What's the sense in that?

Nice analogy and I agree.

 

Current fave is Sailor Jentle Blue. But there are lots of inks I haven't even tried yet and I have been "using" for more than 15 years.

[webgeckos]

I like sheen and highly saturated inks, so I tend to go for the Japanese inks. But I have bought some MB, PR and de Atramentis this past fortnight.

[tinta]

My Pelikan 4001 Blue/Black cartridges arrived form Cult Pens (no affiliation).

I must have "Pelikan Blue/Black loyalty" because I want to use this wonderful ink in my cartridge-only Kaweco Dia2. The good folks at Pelikan assured me that the ink in these cartridges is the same as what's in the bottles.

[DrDebG]

I'm a huge fan of Rohrer & Klingner inks and always find myself returning to them. I've bought full bottles of them without seeing the colors (in samples) first. And I have all colors except for three -- helianthus, sepia and black. I have no idea what I would do with a bright yellow. Ideas? I never write with black ink. I'll eventually pick up sepia.

I feel almost the same about J. Herbin.

I just got a bottle of R & K Helianthus a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't sure what I would do with this, but I must say that I love it for highlighting, and even writing! I really like it. It is a keeper.

[amberleadavis]

I just got a bottle of R & K Helianthus a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't sure what I would do with this, but I must say that I love it for highlighting, and even writing! I really like it. It is a keeper.

 

I recently tried it and I'm totally in love with it. Others have mentioned that mine seems more orange. It reminds me of an egg yolk. I think it is so much fun.

[DrDebG]

As for other inks, do I have one "brand" that I like above another? That's a hard question.

 

I have a "thing" for L'Artisan Pastelier Callifolio ink. I have probably half of the colors they make, and I haven't found one I don't like, although I am not really wild about Yalumba.

 

I also most of all the Rohrer & Klingner colors. My acquisition of their inks were more by accident than purpose. But I must say, they are very consistent from color to color - very well behaved in all my pens.

 

I also have many DeAtramentis inks, which I love, as I do the GvFaber Castell and Sailor inks that I have. And then there are those incomparable Waterman inks.

 

About the only inks that I have not cared for are Noodler's inks. Yes, I know, I know. Because of the protests I am hearing, I promise I will give them another try.

[Fuzzy_Bear]

Being loyal to one ink manufacturer would be like being loyal to one brewery. What's the sense in that?

Shiner's from Shiner, TX. Only brand of beer I drink. Bohemian Black is the best.

[jabberwock11]

Being loyal to one or two ink brands is nothing like drinking only one kind of beer. It is more like only using only one brand of oil for your vehicles or one brand of charcoal for the grill. You do it because you like knowing that your ink will be well made and consistent across the available colors. It's not like I limit myself to just one color (or even that I never buy any other type of ink), it's just that I like how my particular brands perform, regardless of color.

[JefferyS]

I would have been a huge fan of Sailor inks, but they decided to pick and choose who could sell them. Diamine has more shades of the spectrum than I can even imagine. The inks are reasonably priced, have never had SITB, and seem to be gentle on my pens. That said, I functioned for years on nothing but Levenger inks and never felt deprived.

[Fuzzy_Bear]

Being loyal to one or two ink brands is nothing like drinking only one kind of beer. It is more like only using only one brand of oil for your vehicles or one brand of charcoal for the grill. You do it because you like knowing that your ink will be well made and consistent across the available colors. It's not like I limit myself to just one color (or even that I never buy any other type of ink), it's just that I like how my particular brands perform, regardless of color.

You are right. I only use Gates belts, Castrol, Standard ignition parts. It is because I know how they perform. I do try different things, but only when i know i want to play or learn. Otherwise I stick with what I know.

 

Some may call me a stick in the mud. I'm also known as a black Sheep in my family. In otherwords, I march to a different drummer. I do learn and i enjoy doing so. But there are certain products I use because i know and trust them.

[AndyYNWA]

I am trying quite many inks from different brands, but I'm always coming back to Sailor after a short while... The performance of their inks is in a class of it's own, imho.

A pity about the availability thogh...

[etaylor33]

Being new to this game, I've latched onto Diamine. I think I read somewhere that it was one of the safer inks for pens. But lately I've tried Noodler and more recently ordered some samples including De Atramentis and Private Reserve. I bought four 30 ml. bottles of Diamine ink when I first bought ink, but having found one was not as expected, I only do samples before I decide to buy a bottle now. Samples are the way to go. A two ml sample is good to try in two or three pens so I get to see how they work in different pens and nibs. So, I guess I still like Diamine because I've found a couple of blues I love, a great green and a beautiful purple. Searching for a brown now so that's why I've strayed into other territory.

[VivienR]

I think I could be loyal to Sailor, but their ink isn't highly available, so for time being I'm not loyal to any brand, I'm mainly loyal to my favorite ink. Could be to Sailor, because their price and quality ratio is perfect. Caran d'Ache have excellent inks in quality as well, but there are many brands out there which makes quality inks, so I think it would be wasteful to focus only one brand. Most of my inks are from Diamine, J Herbin, Sailor and Caran d'Ache.

[etaylor33]

I recently ran across a Chesterfield FP ink to Diamine FP ink Cross reference chart. I didn't copy the post or address or anything to get back to it. Anyway, my point is that it appears to be dated, lots of new inks have been added to both lines. Chesterfield has been identified as being relabeled Diamine ink. Second point, there seems to be some minor difference in some of the inks that are supposed to be counterparts, according to some. So, does anyone know if the inks are spot on identical to each other or is there some tweaking on one end or the other. Second question, is there enough interest or expertise to update the list so that the newer inks are added and the existing inks verified to be the same? Chesterfield prices seem to be a lot better than Diamine. Although I favor Diamine at the moment, my wallet might like to move to Chesterfield if the only difference other than price is simply the name.