Favorite Professional Inks (Black, Blue, And Red)

[AndyYNWA]

Black: No big user of blacks, but I do like Iroshizuku Take-sumi

 

Blue-black: A favorite of mine. Sailor Sei-boku, Bungbox 4B, Iroshizuku Shin-kai and Noodler's 54th Massachusetts are my top 4.

 

Blue: There are lots of nice blues out there. Sailor Sky-high, Montblanc Leo Tolstoy, Sailor Kobe #37 Minatojima Island Blue, Sailor Kobe #51 Kano-cho

 

Red: A tricky one... I almost don't use red at all. But Sailor Oku-yama is a nice dark well behaved red.

 

 

 

I also use quite a lot of teals, like KWZ Turquoise IG, De Atramentis Steel Blue, Sailor Yama-dori and Noodler's Prime of the Commons

[Brianm_14]

In a university teaching environment (and I am senior faculty, watching retirement get closer and closer):

 

Black: Rarely used, but then only J. Herbin Perle Noire. A lovely ink in every way. I was serendipitously shipped my first bottle by mistake, and I was quickly hooked.

 

Blue-black: Pilot, by the 20-ounce economy size. Great for reloading the Preppys (pens, that is). Still have a hoarded supply of the real blue-black Sheaffer, in the old, wonderful jar with the well on the side. But the Pilot ink is just the ticket for a good "working" ink. Good for notes to the deans and higher. Shows gravitas, but doesn't suggest I've already retired, mentally that is.

 

Red: Diamine Oxblood, or if I really want to make a point when correcting a truly bad, I-put-no-effort-into-this paper, Sheaffer red. (Some faculty say these reds are too psychologically damaging to use, but these are same ones who give out "mercy Bs".) I actually use this -the Oxblood- for much of my handwritten correspondence. The trick is to use a fine point and not lay down too much of a good thing.

 

Brown: Given the right shade, a useful and overlooked choice. Waterman Brown is a good place to start. Well-behaved and inexpensive. I like to take notes with it, as they are easy to read later.

 

Green: Only around the Christmas holidays, and then any of three or four Diamine inks. The students like seeing red and green on my attendance sheets. Brings out the smiles.

 

When I need a change inks: Noodler's Swans in English or Australian roses inks. Two creations that show that strange ink man has a truly special artistic gift. These are refreshing, beautiful inks. The type of inks one uses to copy poems from a book or the Internet, just to see the words in those colors. (No, I am not a professor of English -that would be my wife. I teach life sciences and chemistry.)

 

On the one hand, it can be argued that you should put as much care into choosing your inks as picking out a tie or a pair of shoes for work. On the other hand, it can be argued, don't let the b**tards grind you down, so who cares what they think anyway. I think those are the two extremes; pick a point along the scale where you are comfortable.

Edited August 13, 2019 by Brianm_14

[peroride]

Favs:

 

Black: Aurora Black

 

Blue: Pelikan Royal Blue 4001 - tie - Waterman Mysterious Blue

 

Red: I was experimenting a few months on mixes of Waterman Audacious Red + Absolute Brown > Montblanc Corn Poppy Red + Toffee Brown > Akkerman 18 Garuda Rood only to realize I had been recreating variations of Diamine Oxblood

where I finally coagulated.

[inkstainedruth]

Red: Diamine Oxblood, or if I really want to make a point when correcting a truly bad, I-put-no-effort-into-this paper, Sheaffer red. (Some faculty say these reds are too psychologically damaging to use, but these are same ones who give out "mercy Bs".) I actually use this -the Oxblood- for much of my handwritten correspondence. The trick is to use a fine point and not lay down too much of a good thing.

 

"Mercy Bs"? Wow. I had a class where I eked out a C and was ecstatic that I had PASSED. It was my Graphic Delineation class -- which is largely doing isometric projections with (back then) a ruling pen on vellum paper (which back in the late 1970s was IIRC $12 or more for an 11"x17" pad -- the Lord knows what it costs nowadays). And the drawings had to be PERFECT -- you couldn't scratch off mistakes if a line went a little too far over. A couple of guys who aced the class used Rapidographs and that peeved me off so much that I almost reported them to the professor.

I had a social studies teacher in high school who said that in grad school any grade below a B might has well have just been an F. If you didn't get an A or a B you failed....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[MHBru]

yeah,.. i dont think I got a lot of Mercy "Bs" either... and Instainedruth, my grad school experience was the same... less than a B and you were out. (I think you were allowed a total of 2 B courses before getting booted) FYI.. I graduated on time AND met my wife of 40 years in grad school.... I really "scored well"

[Brianm_14]

Ruth and MHBru:

While this varies by place and time, grad schools usually allow one "C" and don't look kindly on the "Bs" piling up. Too high a bar at any level, however, will promote sticking with only "safe" courses whenever possible.

 

Undergrad grade inflation is a major issue. Have I broken down and given my share of mercy "Ds" in non-majors science courses, where there were special cicumstances, and the best thing was for the student to move on? You bet I have. But the first time I heard about "mercy Bs" I almost fell out my chair. My wife, who is an excellent professor of English at another institution, reported similar instances.

 

So when you hold to higher, but very fair, traditional standards, where does this fit in to this mix of not just passing but giving good grades just for (not even) trying and not grading for performance? I used to teach chemistry, then anatomy and physiology to nursing students. These are "gatekeeper" courses; if a student can't do this work, passing she or he is unfair to future patients,and cruelly sustains an illusion of eventual success. Better that the students learn the truth early on.

 

Glad I am headed toward retirement rather than starting out, early in my teaching career. So much in education is badly messed up. Administrators who have taught little, or not at all, think they can dictate the correct way to teach courses, and accreditation is largely a joke when it comes to the real issues.

 

So yes, Virginia, while there is a Santa Claus, real teachers use serious red ink even if it scuffs the self-esteem of the odd student or two.

[stenolearner]

Black: Noodler's Bulletproof Black (good on all papers, and high solvent resistance)

Blue: Platinum Blue-Black (it's actually more of a blue, good on all papers, good water resistance, designed by Platinum for documents which need long term storage)

Blue-Black: Diamine Registrars Ink (good on all papers, good water resistance, archival)

Red: De Atramentis Document Red (good on most papers, waterproof)

[SwipedFromTruman]

With the disclaimer that I have strong preferences for Robert Oster Inks, here's my 2 cents worth:

 

• Black: Noodlers Air-Corp Blue-Black
  • extremely well-behaved, slight green-hue to it, otherwise quite professional. Medium dry time, but not too bad for work/planner applications, mostly waterproof, semi-permanent.
• Blue: Robert Oster School Blue
  • basic, well-behaved, but not waterproof. It's a standard blue that looks like it could have come straight from a ballpoint pen, but I find it rather boring - even for the office. Kind of a long dry time for my preference.
• Blue: Robert Oster Lake of Fire
  • my go-to office blue, has some decent depth, dark enough to be professional while still being fun enough for me to enjoy writing with. Same longer dry time as school blue, but the combination of fun/professional makes it worth it to me. It's good enough for my use in the cube farm.
• Red: Robert Oster Blood Crimson
  • deep, but not overly saturated, it's professional enough for the office while still offering a touch of shading based on which nib it's flowing through. Like the other Robert Oster inks, it's not waterproof but it is a quicker drying ink than the blues up top.
• Honorable Mention: Robert Oster Thunderstorm/Diamine Eclipse
  • fun little not-quite-black, not-quite-grey, maybe-its-blue, is-that-purple? colored inks. Neither are waterproof, but both are fun and still professional enough for the office. My wife is a nurse and uses them both in her TWSBI without issue.
• Honorable Mention: Diamine Ancient Copper
  • Basically a wonderfully shading sepia, I use this ink as my daily journaling ink. Quick dry time, full flowing - but never gushing, well-behaved ink. It gets lots of compliments in the office, but doesn't fit into the blue-black-red rotation so it's mostly just used for note-taking.

I hope this helps.

[SwipedFromTruman]

 

Blue-black: A favorite of mine. Sailor Sei-boku, Bungbox 4B, Iroshizuku Shin-kai and Noodler's 54th Massachusetts are my top 4.

 

What do you like most about 54th? I've used a couple of samples of it and just can't bring myself to like it. I want to like it, it just doesn't behave well enough for me to thoroughly enjoy it.

[sansenri]

simple and straightforward colors for everyday use

Waterman Serenity Blue

Pelikan Royal blue

Aurora Blue

Visconti Blue

Diamine Sapphire

Montblanc Royal blue

Iroshizuku Asa Gao
(and quite a few other blues, I don't use any black, nor red).

Regarding being professional to imply an office setting, the only possible use is signatures.

I take notes at work for my own purposes and use any colour I wish, no-one would object, I'm a blue only user anyway...

But honestly, besides signatures and at best post it notes, there is no other use of written writing in my office...

Everything is done on the PC and very often we even send each other emails from one office to the one next door...

Communication in writing has been totally lost (too slow).

I strive very hard to always use pen paper and ink, for my own notes, thoughts, planning, projects, etc.

Edited September 17, 2019 by sansenri

[Flaxmoore]

Hm.

 

Black- this one fluctuates. My standby is Higgins Fountain Pen India, though Diamine Jet Black makes a frequent appearance. Higgins is waterproof, so a slight edge.

 

Blue- One of my favorite colors overall, so one that gets a lot of variance. Parker Quink Blue, Diamine Sapphire, Monteverde Horizon Blue or Documental Blue (the only permanent one on the list).

 

Blue-black- Aside from my own blends? Iro Tsuki-yo, Noodler's Ellis Island, Pilot BB.

 

Red- There, there is but one. Sheaffer Red. All others pale. It's a rare RED red in fountain pen inks- many of those are oranges or pinks. Biggest disappointment was Pelikan Brilliant Red- that's an orange-pink, and a paper towel chromatograph of it looks like a 70s den, all pinks and yellow.

 

[AndyYNWA]

 

What do you like most about 54th? I've used a couple of samples of it and just can't bring myself to like it. I want to like it, it just doesn't behave well enough for me to thoroughly enjoy it.

 

I like the colour and the permanence. But as you say, the performance could be better, just like most Noodler's inks.

[Flaxmoore]

 

I like the colour and the permanence. But as you say, the performance could be better, just like most Noodler's inks.

 

I second that on 54th. It's a fine color, but I've found it prone to feathering and nib creep. If those were fixed I'd have little need for any other BB ink.

[bemon]

What are your favorite inks that are simple and straightforward colors? Nothing fun and crazy, just classic colors for everyday use. Specifically inks in black, blue, and red.

 

(I used the word professional to imply an office setting or somewhere that traditional classic colors are usually needed.)

Blue: Sailor Shikiori Yonaga and Iroshizuku Shin Kai. In both cases nicer than plain blue or boring black but still classic and professional.

Red: I only use blue inks but I've tried Diamine Oxblood. It's pretty subdued and behaves well.

Black: I don't own any black inks.

Edited September 18, 2019 by bemon

[welch]

Blue: Iroshizuku Asa-Gao, Visconti Blue, Diamine Sapphire Blue, Monteverde Horizon Blue, Parker Penman Sapphire, Edelstein 50:50 mix of Sapphire and Topaz, Private Reserve American Blue

 

Dark Blue / Blue-Black: Diamine Midnight Blue, Diamine Oxford Blue

 

Black: Long ago, I used Sheaffer Skrip Black and Washable Black

 

Red: Not my profession! ("Software Engineer" in financial services)

[LuisAAbrilRomero]

Blue:

 

Visconti Blue, Sailor Blue, Sailor Sei-boku Blue, Aurora Blue

 

Blue-Black:

 

Pilot Blue-Black, Noodler's Blue Belted Kingfisher

 

Teal-ish:

 

Noodler's Prime of the Commons

 

Black:

 

Noodler's X-Feather for cheap paper, Noodler's Heart of Darkness for better paper, Sailor Kima-guro Nano Black for everything

 

Green-Black:

 

Noodler's Aircorp

 

Red:

 

Diamine Oxblood or Crimson

[displacermoose]

Blue (when I'm feeling rebellious): Noodlers Baystate Blue, Monteverde Capri Blue

Blue (when I'm behaving myself): Monteverde Horizon Blue, Pilot Blue

Blue-Black (planner/calendar): Pilot Blue Black, Sailor Yonaga, Sailor Souboku, Iroshizuku Tsyki-yo

Black: Platinum Carbon Black, Sailor Kiwa-guro, Noodlers Heart of Darkness

Red: not in my office, so I have not bothered to find a suitable red that I don't mind using and also don't mind ruining for other purposes

 

I separate both my inks and my pens into "work" (meaning office) and "personal" (everything else) as a measure to keep the two separate. The planner inks do some crossing over (as does my planner pen) and my Lamy 2000 can serve either purpose depending on what ink I have in it. The upshot of this is that all my "work" inks are good performers (BSB being the exception) that I find rather meh. They don't wow me. I save the wow inks for creative writing so I can enjoy them properly.

 

Edit: to correct the over-zealous autocorrect

Edited September 20, 2019 by displacermoose

[inkobsessed]

Black: Lamy or Pelikan 4001, (a bit dryer)

Blue: Mont Blanc Royal Blue

Red: Parker

 

Joop

[Charles Rice]

No favorites in blue and black, but my all time favorite red was the old Sheaffer. I should have bought a LOT more

Edited September 21, 2019 by Charles Rice

[inkobsessed]

Black: Lamy, (not completely black so better on the eyes/less contrast on longer writings) or Pelikan 4001, (a bit dryer)

 

Blue: Mont Blanc Royal Blue (classic with some shade)

 

Red: Parker

 

Joop