People Who Write A Lot With Non-Blue/black Inks, Which Ones Do You Use And Why?

[chromantic]

The only bright colors I use with any regularity now are GvFC Deep Sea Green and Skrip Turquoise/Waterman Inspired Blue. I have gravitated to darker shades of non-standard colors, KWZ Maroon, Yama-guri, etc.

[blackdrago]

As far as colors that stand out, I only have three: Violet (Cross), Red (Cross), and Moonlight of Higashiyama (Kyo-iro).

 

The violet is a lovely purple that's simultaneously dark enough to read but also always reads as purple -- some of the other inks that read clearly seem more red or more blue, though I've only tried a handful. I got the red as a gift, and it's good for writing eye-catching messages, but I find that it's too bright to write entire pages with...

 

Moonlight of Higashiyama was my first brown ink, and it's a softer brown that's very orange to me (for lack of a better description). Even though it's a softer brown, the orange still makes it feel very bright, which makes it jump off the page as "bright, odd ink color" in the same way that many of the bright green inks do. (At least, this has been my experience.)

However, I have an affinity for brown ink, and I have several different browns that I frequently use:
- Valentine's Brown (Bungubox/Bung Box)

- Tortoise Shell Brown (Bungubox/Bung Box) - a nice dark brown that I use all the time for "formal-looking" documents because it reads so well
- Kabayaki / Eel Brown (Bungubox/Bung Box) - currently my favorite.. lovely shade, beautiful under tones
- Piano Mahogany (Bungubox/Bung Box) - more reddish brown, sticks out a little more than the others
- Nostalgia (Bungubox/Bung Box) - a bit lighter than the others, it also sticks out a little more, especially when writing lightly

Why do I write with them? Well, why not? Black and blue are perfectly respectable, but they're not the only colors out there. Most of the arguments people use against other colors come from a lack of contrast between paper and ink (and I'll admit, I've found that very bright colors against sharp white paper can be tiring for the eyes...). But that's no reason to be stuck with only two color options -- after all, there are very bright blue inks that can produce the same effect on bright white paper.

As for "official" documents, there's no reason why dark brown ink shouldn't be acceptable - it not only reads just as well (darker/better, actually, than some of the more common blue inks I've encountered), but it's just as permanent as blue or black ink. So what about the color makes it "unofficial" exactly? I've only ever skipped using dark brown over black for a few government forms that explicitly stated black ink only (yes, you COULD use blue ink, but it wasn't recommended). No reason was given for this, but I assume it has to do with how the forms are processed/digitized. But other than that, many of the official forms I've filled out used dark brown (and a few times, purple). There's never been a problem with this -- so long as the ink was readable and permanent, it was fine.

I personally like to mix warm, off-white stationary (or sometimes "parchment colored" paper) with brown inks, especially for writing letters, notes, etc. I find it no more ostentatious that using a thick, black sharpie on a wildly bright-colored post-it note. (Though I find one of these things more pleasing to the eye, of course...)

drago

[dojocho]

1995-2010 Parker Penman Ruby

2010- Binder Burgundy/Diamine Syrah

 

Why? Burgundy ink is just stunning, esp, BB with its blue undertone vs the brownish udertone of PPR. In Belgium, we're allowed to sign with whatever colour we choose anD as a highschoolteacher, I sign, write, grade and draw sketches with BB.

I'm quite fond of Diamine Syrah as well but I like the mad scientist touch of the mixing. Granted, it's an easy recipe but 'two drops of this and three ml of that' is too much of a hassle for me.

 

regards,

Hugo

[Nick T]

J Herbin 1670 Emerald and Noodlers Apache Sunset are currently loaded in my office. Life is too short to limit ones pallet of color:)

[Aquaria]

I've found with demonstrators that the best inks to show off the pen itself are the lighter or less saturated colors of ink (but not too light!), because darker inks wind up looking more or less the same in the pen. So while there are literally dozens of non blue, black or blue-black inks that I love, if I want a color that "shines" in my demonstrator pens, these are the colors that do it:

 

Diamine Shimmertastic Golden Sands is amazing in a demonstrator, as is Blue Lightning.

 

Noodler's Apache Sunset is an ideal demonstrator ink. All of its famous shading qualities really shine through in a demonstrator. Diamine Orange and Pumpkin, and Akkerman Oranje Boven can also be good oranges.

 

Diamine Hope Pink is one of my favorite pinks, but I also like Standardgraph Lilac Rose and Kyo-iro Cherry Blossom of Keage.

 

Reds can be good, depending on the red. The problem with reds is that they are notorious for staining demonstrator pens. The only red I've felt comfortable risking is Sheaffer Skrip, because I trust it.

 

One of the best greens for a demonstrator has to be Rohrer and Klingner's Alt-Goldgrun.

 

Standardgraphs Maisgelb is definitely a winner in the caramel/cognac brown category. But then most of the caramel/cognac colors are good.

 

My favorite gray ink for a demonstrator is Iroshizuku Fuyu Shogun. If it's not too light for you, the Diamine 1864 Silver Fox can also be a good choice.

 

Purples can be tough, because they tend to be so heavily saturated, and it can be difficult to find paler shades. DeAtramentis Pearl Violet is one of the few that looks good in a demonstrator, but it's an extremely pale color of ink for writing purposes.

 

Lamy Turquoise is dynamite in a demonstrator.

 

All of those "way too pale" J Herbin colors are terrific in a demonstrator: Bleu Azur, Bouquet d'Anton, Bouton d'Or, Diablo Menthe, Gris Nuage, Rouge Tendresse, Rouille de Ancre, Vert Olive, Vert Pre, Vert Reseda--all can be very good in a demonstrator. You probably won't be able to read anything you write with some of them, but they'll look great in the pen!

Edited October 4, 2017 by Aquaria

[deepak23]

Am someone who used exclusively blue inks for more than 30 years to now having just one pen inked in blue, i love the brightness of colors in my book. The purples, burgundys, the browns, the greens - my notebook is a color explosion...

 

Currently inked

4001 Turquoise

Herbin Lune

Herbin Lie deThe

Diamine Ancient Copper

PR Ebony Green

Sailor Oku Yama

Sailor Sweet Violet

KWZ Gummiberry

Krishna Kurunji

FC Urushi Eed

Noodlers Baystate Purple

Noodlers BSB (the only blue)

Edited October 11, 2017 by deepak23

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

This is an interesting, informative thread. So many inks that I didn't know. I'm googling some of them and jotting down the name of others. Thank you, everybody!

 

I am still a beginner in bottled ink since I couldn't afford to stray from books during university, but what little experience I have I'm glad to share it:

 

Pelikan 4001 series:

 

Brillant-Rot: I use this to underline text instead of a highlighter. Pink/salmon color.

 

Brillant-Braun: I use it in tandem with Brillant-Rot for underlining text when I can't wrap my head around the absurdity of Brillant-Rot.

 

Violett: Almost no shading to speak of but it's a rich, deep violet which I like for random note-taking. I love attending conferences with this ink and having my neighbors stare at it.

 

Dunkel-Grun: same as Violett. It's dark enough that I can use it for peculiar note-taking and surprise un-suspecting conference-attendees.

 

 

Diamine:

 

Matador: A true red. I love the hell out of this sample and will buy the bottle. I use it for titles, key words, schematics, anything that I would use a good red for. Highly recommended.

 

Kelly Green: Lovely, shading light green. I use it to underline text and for secondary key-words or footnotes. Will buy the bottle of this one too.

[-natalie-]

My first bottle of ink was Sailor Shigure (dark purple-black) but then I realized I could get away with much more interesting colors at work. I was using Robert Oster Fire and Ice (blue-green with a red sheen) for the longest time but then the Colorado Pen Show happened and I walked away with Robert Oster Melon Tea (brownish green) and Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-budo.