Blue Inks For Not-So-Great Paper

[sansenri]

In theory, the best ink for bad paper, particularly when this depends on the fact that the paper is not sufficiently coated so it absorbs a lot and causes feathering, would be iron gall ink.

That is because the way iron gall sets on the paper is different from ordinary ink.

At any rate, although I don't use iron gall so much because in general it requires more frequent and careful washing of pens, one test I did, comparing Pelikan Royal blue and KWZ IG #5, resulted in evident feathering with royal blue on a very bad paper, and much less so, almost invisible feathering with KWZ IG blue.

Despite being an iron gall, KWZ IG #5 is a nice dark blue which remains blue with time.

[Dimy]

Don't you find Serenity Blue runs out rather fast on cheap paper? Unless the pen is dry you'll see a lot of bleed through- as much as any ink I own, I'd say.

 

Edit: Serenity Blue is extremely well behaved on quality or coated paper, where it doesn't bleed through at all, even in wet pens, and show through is minimal.

Odd mine doesn't do that on most papers, but as pointed out it does run a bit on wet nibs, I have not seen this issue yet maybe because I only using fine or Extra fine nibs. Will have to see on Medium or above nibs (I don't own them apart from Japanese ones, again a fine in western case)

I agree though that it has some small bleed in edges of writing on very cheap papers (but they are really bad type and anything will run on them so I don't take those guys in account, cheaper then most office papers)

 

Yes it is very well behaved ink when on quality and coated papers no question on this.

 

EDIT- among all my inks only sallix works perfectly on these papers (a dry ink and IG type), or other IG I presume by their basic nature.

Edited October 21, 2020 by Dimy

[aimi]

This is interesting to me because Kon Peki in my driest pen- a Pilot 912 with a posting nib- is serviceable but not great on printer paper. I found Waterman Serenity Blue to perform far better (granted, its not as wet as Kon Peki either).

[Runnin_Ute]

This is interesting to me because Kon Peki in my driest pen- a Pilot 912 with a posting nib- is serviceable but not great on printer paper. I found Waterman Serenity Blue to perform far better (granted, its not as wet as Kon Peki either).

It really is a combination of pen(nib), ink and paper.

 

I love Kon Peki the color, but hate how wet it is. I have yet to find a pen that I love it in. So far the best has been my Pilot Metropolitan (go figure). Hated it in my Platinum 3776 Century Borgogne, any of my Pelikans, a Parker 51 Special among others.

[XYZZY]

It really is a combination of pen(nib), ink and paper.

 

I love Kon Peki the color, but hate how wet it is. I have yet to find a pen that I love it in. So far the best has been my Pilot Metropolitan (go figure). Hated it in my Platinum 3776 Century Borgogne, any of my Pelikans, a Parker 51 Special among others.

 

Well, it's ink/pen/paper/person :-) I used to be confused at people that love Kon Peki until I used it with a fat web nib and then Wow! Thin and/or dry nib, and i think it's just "meh".

[Honeybadgers]

I find pilot blue to not be very good on truly horrendous paper.

 

The two that I have noticed to not have any problem are 4001 blue and noodlers liberty's elysium

[RJS]

Odd mine doesn't do that on most papers, but as pointed out it does run a bit on wet nibs, I have not seen this issue yet maybe because I only using fine or Extra fine nibs. Will have to see on Medium or above nibs (I don't own them apart from Japanese ones, again a fine in western case)

I agree though that it has some small bleed in edges of writing on very cheap papers (but they are really bad type and anything will run on them so I don't take those guys in account, cheaper then most office papers)

 

Yes it is very well behaved ink when on quality and coated papers no question on this.

 

EDIT- among all my inks only sallix works perfectly on these papers (a dry ink and IG type), or other IG I presume by their basic nature.

I agree with you- not many inks are great on cheap absorbent paper, and only dry inks (or dry nibs) seem ok. My current bottle of Serenity Blue is only a couple of weeks old, so it isn't out of the realms of possibility that the formulation is a tad different to yours by design (or accident). I don't have any of my old bottle left to compare.

[RJS]

 

Well, it's ink/pen/paper/person :-) I used to be confused at people that love Kon Peki until I used it with a fat web nib and then Wow! Thin and/or dry nib, and i think it's just "meh".

The wettest of your inks works best in a broad wet nib? That's counterintuitive, but I'm not denying it.

 

I don't own Kon Peki- what is everyone else's wettest ink?

[tonybelding]

I find pilot blue to not be very good on truly horrendous paper.

 

The two that I have noticed to not have any problem are 4001 blue and noodlers liberty's elysium

With regard to truly horrendous paper… It’s out there, and if you search for it you can find paper that no combination of pen-and-ink is good with. Even Noodler’s Black fails on some of the stuff.

 

It’s been many years since I used any 4001, and all I really remember about it is that I didn’t care for the color at the time. As for Liberty’s Elysium, I found it wet-and-penetrating in line with most typical Noodler’s. However… My major gripe with Noodler’s is the inconsistency from one batch to the next, maybe even from one bottle to the next. It seems like this has gotten worse in the last few years, and you just never know what you’ll have when you open a fresh bottle.

 

In the last few years I’ve received some bottles of Noodler’s that were so crazy fire-hose-wet that it didn’t seem like they were even designed to work in fountain pens.

[XYZZY]

The wettest of your inks works best in a broad wet nib? That's counterintuitive, but I'm not denying it.

 

I don't own Kon Peki- what is everyone else's wettest ink?

No. I'm not sure what ink that I have would be my wettest, but kon peki doesn't jump out as unusually wet. It's the color, though: put a lot of ink down and it's great, put just a little down and it's just another light blue. Imo, of course, but that was my point.

[Dimy]

The wettest of your inks works best in a broad wet nib? That's counterintuitive, but I'm not denying it.

 

I don't own Kon Peki- what is everyone else's wettest ink?

Don't have too many inks to start with, but among my lot I find Platinum carbon black to be very wet (oddly it has less bleed then sheaffer skrip black in my pens...), then will be murasaki shikibu (not really too wet really).

 

Rest are lot of good behaved guys or dry dudes, cheap paper user as well so cant really go for too wet inks by default.

[tinta]

If you can get it, Pelikan's 4001 Blue Black will also handle "less than the best" of papers. You'll need a wet pen for this particularly dry ink.