Ink Recommendations For Thin Paper

[Adonai]

Hello to all. Does anyone have a pen/ink combination they use for thin or cheap paper? I was reading the Bible and I had the urge to write on it so automatically I grabbed my Metropolitan (with heart of darkness) and just before writing I realized the ink might show on the other side of the page. I made a small mark and it does show on the other side.

 

So I was wondering if anyone here has remedied this situation. If you have, can you please share your pen/ink combination?

Thank you to all.

[Arkanabar]

Part of the problem is that your pages are more than a little translucent. Any ink that's dark enough will likely show through. This is one reason why bible highlighters are often crayons or waxes rather than ink-based markers. This may be a use-case where you're better off with a pencil, and probably a slightly harder lead (H or 2H, or #1 if woodcase).

 

Still, I'd suggest a relatively unsaturated iron gall ink, like R&K's Salix and Scabiosa. They'll be dry, and the ink will fade in sunlight, but IG inks are much less prone to feathering, spreading, and strike-through.

[aurore]

Perhaps Sailor Kiwa Guro would work

[XYZZY]

Apologies for the non-FP answer, but I would try a Pigma Micron. Pigment based, and you can get them in may colors, and available in very fine-tipped pens. There are many colors available in 0.2mm. They also have 0.15mm but much more limited color selection.

 

For an FP I would try something pigment based, and in a Japanese EF.

 

I'm actually interested to know what you end up with. Please post back with successes and failures.

 

Also, "Bible paper" is like "copy paper" in that it's a wide field with very different formulations. Publishers will often send different print runs to different printing shops, who will use different papers. I could tell you I have a Bible from Oxford University Press, you might infer some things about the contents of the Bible, but it tells you nothing about the paper.

[DrDebG]

I have not found a fountain pen ink that will not cause problems for most of my bibles - either showthrough or bleedthrough. Generally, I use the .005 Micron pens or colored pencils. In some cases, I might use a colored ballpoint pen.

 

I do have an ESV Single Column Journaling Bible that has a bit better paper and I have used my fountain pens occasionally with it. But most of the time, I stick with the .005 Micron pens.

[NeverTapOut]

I do use a MB 149 EF nib with MB Royal Blue Ink...I just write with the reverse side of the nib...very very minimal bleed through if at all.

I should try a Micron pen 01 in black that does bleed through..

Regards,

David

[Adonai]

Part of the problem is that your pages are more than a little translucent. Any ink that's dark enough will likely show through. This is one reason why bible highlighters are often crayons or waxes rather than ink-based markers. This may be a use-case where you're better off with a pencil, and probably a slightly harder lead (H or 2H, or #1 if woodcase).

 

Still, I'd suggest a relatively unsaturated iron gall ink, like R&K's Salix and Scabiosa. They'll be dry, and the ink will fade in sunlight, but IG inks are much less prone to feathering, spreading, and strike-through.

Hi Arkanabar. Thank you for your reply. I looked up Salix and Scabiosa. In the descriptions it says to not leave in the pen for more than a few days. So I researched a bit and it looks to be some high-maintenance ink. I've tried ordinary pencil before but it fades over time. I'll have to explore H pencils yet. Thank you. You confirmed another idea to use crayons instead

[Adonai]

Perhaps Sailor Kiwa Guro would work

Thanks aurore. I will check reviews on this ink as well.

[Adonai]

Apologies for the non-FP answer, but I would try a Pigma Micron. Pigment based, and you can get them in may colors, and available in very fine-tipped pens. There are many colors available in 0.2mm. They also have 0.15mm but much more limited color selection.

 

For an FP I would try something pigment based, and in a Japanese EF.

 

I'm actually interested to know what you end up with. Please post back with successes and failures.

 

Also, "Bible paper" is like "copy paper" in that it's a wide field with very different formulations. Publishers will often send different print runs to different printing shops, who will use different papers. I could tell you I have a Bible from Oxford University Press, you might infer some things about the contents of the Bible, but it tells you nothing about the paper.

Hi XYZZY. Thanks for this idea. I looked up Pigma Micron and it's relatively cheaper than buying other inks. I'll check it in one of the stores near my workplace and see if I can get some. Looks like it's cheap to share with kids also. I'll let you guys know what I end up with.

[Adonai]

I have not found a fountain pen ink that will not cause problems for most of my bibles - either showthrough or bleedthrough. Generally, I use the .005 Micron pens or colored pencils. In some cases, I might use a colored ballpoint pen.

 

I do have an ESV Single Column Journaling Bible that has a bit better paper and I have used my fountain pens occasionally with it. But most of the time, I stick with the .005 Micron pens.

Thanks 5Cavaliers. I am using Ryrie Study Bible. ISBN 0802438660. Someone also suggested Micron pens so I'll go check it out and come back to you guys.

[Adonai]

I do use a MB 149 EF nib with MB Royal Blue Ink...I just write with the reverse side of the nib...very very minimal bleed through if at all.

I should try a Micron pen 01 in black that does bleed through..

Regards,

David

Thank you David. I'll also try writing on the reverse later. I'll get back to you how it goes.

[Arkanabar]

Hi Arkanabar. Thank you for your reply. I looked up Salix and Scabiosa. In the descriptions it says to not leave in the pen for more than a few days. So I researched a bit and it looks to be some high-maintenance ink. I've tried ordinary pencil before but it fades over time. I'll have to explore H pencils yet. Thank you. You confirmed another idea to use crayons instead

I think somebody is recommending an excess of caution. I should explain iron gall inks. Iron gall inks are a solution of tannoferrogallic acid, which is transparent. A colorant (traditionally blue, but purple in the case of Scabiosa) is added so you can see what you're writing. When it dries, it oxidizes, forming a solid, water-insoluble dark grey precipitate. Many people use this stuff for months or years at a time without flushing. And Salix and Scabiosa are easily the most benign of iron-gall inks, which is why I recommended them in particular -- they have the weakest solution of tannoferrogallic acid.

 

As for cleaning, if (and that is IF) the pen starts to balk, empty it, rinse with dilute acetic acid, i.e., white vinegar (a few times, if need be), then distilled water (several times, to get rid of all the vinegar), and then dilute household ammonia (which is a base), and finally with more distilled water. Search this site for more information on iron gall (or IG) inks. I myself don't much like them, but I recognize that others do, and they do have their uses.

Edited August 31, 2019 by Arkanabar

[NeverTapOut]

Thanks 5Cavaliers. I am using Ryrie Study Bible. ISBN 0802438660. Someone also suggested Micron pens so I'll go check it out and come back to you guys.

 

I have a Ryrie as well...it is an 84 NIV. I got it couple months ago for $20. The pages are thicker than my 84 Giant Print NIV.

You can also use a Platinum Preppy 02. The ink is important. I have no bleed through using MontBlanc Royal Blue. I also use a light hand.

[Adonai]

As promised..

 

From left to right:

 

1 - Micron 003

2 - Copic Multi liner 0.03

3 - Micron 003

4 - Copic Multi liner 0.03

5 - metropolitan F, heart of darkness, reversed

6 - metropolitan F, heart of darkness, normal

[Adonai]

As promised..

From left to right:

1 - Micron 003
2 - Copic Multi liner 0.03
3 - Micron 003
4 - Copic Multi liner 0.03
5 - metropolitan F, heart of darkness, reversed
6 - metropolitan F, heart of darkness, normal

[Adonai]

Oops. I don't know how to attach a photo. I'll return after I sort it out.

[Adonai]

There it is. I didn't know I had to hit "attach"

 

This is the other side of the page where I wrote the strokes

[LiquidInk]

If you are up for tinkering with inks, and have access to a centrifuge (you could make a hand powered one as seen on YouTube). I took the shimmer particles out of a Nemosine shimmering ink and washed them with water. Now I add them to other ones to make them shimmer but putting it on paper straight without the addition of ink leaves behind a metallic sheen on the paper after the water evaporates. The shimmer sets on top of the paper so it might not bleed through and the water dries out so you don't see it.

 

But it has the same maintenance of a shimmering ink and if you rub it hard enough the shimmer can spread like small confetti

 

I don't have a Bible to test this on for a thin paper however...

 

Example would be my avatar picture

 

It's like an iron gall ink without the iron gall? Not sure if the shimmer particles themselves are safer than iron gall since I have no clue what the shimmer is made from.

Edited September 17, 2019 by LiquidInk

[BaronWulfraed]

There it is. I didn't know I had to hit "attach"

 

This is the other side of the page where I wrote the strokes

 

Don't think I've ever used "attach".

 

At some point (# of posts) one gets the ability to use the (top of page) "Upload" tab which allows sucking up images that fall under some file-size limit. Once uploaded, one gets a list of URLs for the image -- I usually use the top URL ("direct link"), select and copy. Then in the post click on the square "monitor" icon (if you hover the pointer over it, it displays "image"). It will pop up a requester into which you can paste the link to the uploaded file.

[inkstainedruth]

+1 to what Arkanabar said about flushing out iron gall inks from your pens, with the caveat that when I do it I start with distilled water, and use distilled water between the vinegar solution (about a 1 to 9 ratio of distilled white vinegar to distilled water, with a drop of dish detergent added -- Dawn works but I don't know what a local equivalent for you would be, Adonai) and then use the same ratio of non-sudsing house ammonia to distilled water for the basic rinse. Then flush that well with more distilled water....

It's an extra step, but really isn't that onerous. Modern iron gall inks for fountain pens are in fact designed to be safe for the pens. Yes, old formulations would be very corrosive for nibs -- but we are talking about non-stainless steel dip pen nibs. I use IG inks in pens with stainless steel nibs all the time; I just am a little more scrupulous about not leaving the ink in pens for long periods of time and use the (slightly) stricter flushing regimen. But I also don't leave pigmented inks or shimmer inks in pens for long periods of time, either -- or Noodler's Kung Te Cheng, for that matter (that tends to get cloggy but I love the color).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth