Noodler's Hod Vs Bulletproof Black On Checks

[pvdiamon]

This has been discussed, and I see that there is no slam dunk. Some say BB actually dries faster. The biggest problem I've had is on writing checks. That sort of smooth paper is where I find BB really smears. Would HOD be any better on that kind of paper, in terms of drying and not smearing readily? I find that BB sometimes takes an exceptionally long time to dry on a check so I don't use it. Of course I don't write many checks these days, but it's a good ink test I think.

[jmccarty3]

Many checks now are printed on less expensive paper. It's like writing on newsprint. Just another nail in the coffin of Western Civilization.

[pvdiamon]

Good point. I still have those older type and I think it's interesting how they handle ink. Has anyone tried HOD on the old style checks?

[Runnin_Ute]

If you have carbonless checks a good roller ball might be best....

[doggonecarl]

I've had no issues with Noodler's Black on my check paper. Not with dry time, not with smearing. HoD spreads too much. Not feathering so much as a line much wider than the nib should lay down.

[KKay]

Many checks now are printed on less expensive paper. It's like writing on newsprint. Just another nail in the coffin of Western Civilization.

I agree! The last time I went to the bank, I did complain about the paper quality of the newer checks I received. The lady said she would mention it. She said they take complaints seriously. I like to use Warden series inks on my checks too. You can do it with an XF nib, but the line width is a bit much. I told the lady even the envelopes I get from my bills have better paper quality than those checks do.

[jmccarty3]

Unexpectedly, I found myself having to order new checks today. A personal check was stolen from my office, forged, and cashed for $600. My bank caught it because the signature did not look like mine. The name of the payee was not familiar, so we are investigating the people who might have access to my private office. Even if the thief is caught, it still is necessary to close the old account and open a new one, since there is no way of knowing who has the old account number. It will take time to notify all the businesses that draw on that account, and, along with an accounting error by a payment intermediary that has been depositing money into the wrong account, I will be spending several hours getting everything squared away. I can get large size voucher checks to use with Quicken in my laser printer, but all the smaller checks that one carries around appear to be printed on the same garbage paper.

[inkstainedruth]

Unexpectedly, I found myself having to order new checks today. A personal check was stolen from my office, forged, and cashed for $600. My bank caught it because the signature did not look like mine. The name of the payee was not familiar, so we are investigating the people who might have access to my private office. Even if the thief is caught, it still is necessary to close the old account and open a new one, since there is no way of knowing who has the old account number. It will take time to notify all the businesses that draw on that account, and, along with an accounting error by a payment intermediary that has been depositing money into the wrong account, I will be spending several hours getting everything squared away. I can get large size voucher checks to use with Quicken in my laser printer, but all the smaller checks that one carries around appear to be printed on the same garbage paper.

 

Wow. That really sucks. Hope the thief is caught quickly.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[KKay]

I agree, Jim I hope that catch that crook!!!!

[Inkling13]

And string him up by their toes. Can't trust anyone these days. I wish checks were printed on a standardized paper, but they aren't and it's whatever your financial institution hands out to you. I suspect there are only a few companies printing this stuff anyhow.

I bet they didn't bother to use HOD or Bulletproof Black, and in the long run, I think that this just illustrates how futile our worries over what ink to use. If they want to steal your money, they will, and it doesn't matter what ink you use.

Edited February 15, 2018 by Inkling13

[wallylynn]

Theoretically HoD would absorb more, dry faster and smear less. In practice, probably not by much.

 

I suggest diluting your BB before buying a bottle of HoD just for checks.

[welch]

For safe checks, order safety checks. Banks use them for their own checks to customers. They were created about thirty years ago to block "check-washing", which was a crime in which crooks slipped into big banks and stole trays of dividend checks. The crook's gang would "wash" the "pay-to-the-order-of" name from a check and substitute. These were often big $ checks, and bank employees did not want to be found to have cashed one, or to have been on duty when checks were stolen.

 

Solution: check stock that changes colors if a crook tries to modify anything. My bank offers them, and probably so does every bank.

 

**

 

If a thief stole an entire check-book from Jim, then neither safety checks nor special inks are protection.

 

The bank's employees should be ale to help. (For instance, the thief might be able to write him/herself a check for "cash" and take it to a cashier. But the cashier should demand identification. Even if the cashier paid, Jim's bank can reach out and take the money from whatever bank cashed the bad check. Anyway, bankers know what to do, and if staffer at a branch just tells a customer to call the "No Help Whatsoever", then they are asking that customer to change banks.

 

**

 

Anyway, that's what I remember from working on payment systems.

[jmccarty3]

The check that was stolen was the bottom one in a stack of single sheet voucher checks that I print with my Quicken software. I guess the thief thought that it would be a long time before I realized that a check was missing--my bank discovered the forgery the day after the check was cashed. Welch is correct: my bank will not pay the bank that cashed the check, and in turn that bank will go after the person who cashed it. Meanwhile, my supply of new checks is being kept under lock and key. I have to say that Frost Bank, in additional to being diligent in suspecting the check, provided superb customer service during the whole episode. I am impressed.