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There is quite a bit of color variation between pens. I expected the flex pen to be the darkest because it is so wet, but I was surprised that the 580 was so light - it is usually wetter than the Eco. (I'm speculating, but maybe the Eco isn't sealed quite as well, so perhaps the ink has already begun oxidizing before it hits the paper?)

THREE IG INKS Waterproof, bulletproof, all kinds of inks that can withstand abuse from human malice or carelessness, the weather, time; I read about them and fail to find the fascination. First of all, I like inks that wash off easily from my hands, clothes and pens. I'm not that accident-prone but when I used to carry a Pelikan M600 in by breast pocket, many were the times when the cap unscrewed by itself and the pen decorated me with large blue blots. If those blots hadn't washed off, I might have given up on fountain pens - or carrying them around, at least. Secondly, what's the use of resistant inks when I write on paper, a carrier that can be completely destroyed so easily? Does it matter that the ink is still there when the sheet of paper has become pulp? I don't write anything that important that would be severely damaged by a droplet of fluid. So, you appreciate that I didn't get the inks I'm comparing here because they're waterproof; I just liked the colours and was curious to see how they behaved in my pens. The first is IG Blue #1 by KWZ Inks. Since I now have the delight of a local store that stocks KWZ (Fontoplumo), I decided to explore their products, including their IG range, since everybody told me that they were very well behaved. I liked it immediately, although it seemed rather dry for the Waterman Taperite I first inked with it. So, I tried it in one of my gushers, too, a Visconti Homo Sapiens with a medium nib reground into a CI by Oxonian, and the combination was a success. Interestingly, with time, ink flow in the Taperite improved, not to the level of e.g. Diamine Denim, but then that was a bit too much. The second IG ink I got was Rohrer & Klingner's Salix, just so that I would be able to make a comparison. I'm quite impressed by their inks, so I decided that yet another blue ink (I must have about twenty at the moment) was not superfluous if I were to form an opinion on IG inks through a hands-on comparison (I often use this excuse, that's why I have too many inks). It also helped that Couronne du Comte at Tilburg offered a generous discount to a visiting group of pen enthusiasts. Then I remembered that one of my favourite inks, Akkerman's Diep-duinwaterblauw, is reputedly an iron gall one, too, so I decided to include it in the comparison. THE SETUP OBSERVATIONS I love the colours of all three inks. The way the colour of IG Blue #1 and Salix changes as they dry on the page still catches my attention. Diep-duinwaterblauw remains the same but then it's the richest colour of the tree. The final greyish blue of IG Blue #1 is very much to my taste but the brighter blue of Salix seems more interesting in a finer nib. All three have enough shading. Concerning smearing, Diep-duinwaterblauw is the quickest to dry on paper, some twenty seconds ahead of the other two, which seem safe to touch after thirty seconds (or slightly longer in the case of Salix). Water resistance after a minute or so was high for Salix and IG Blue #1 (with the former performing slightly better in this respect) but less so for Diep-duinwaterblauw, which is nevertheless not marketed as water-resistant. In the smearing and water tests, the Taperite was used to represent IG Blue #1, as it was more comparable to the Marlen Aleph that was inked with Salix. In conclusion, I wholeheartedly recommend all three inks to people who know how to care for their pens. I don't know yet what the long-term effects of IG inks on the pens can be. More on that in a year or more; for the moment, I can confirm that the Parker 51 and Sheaffer Targa I keep inked with Diep-duinwaterblauw for a three years now have never given me any kind of trouble. THE PROOF The paper used must be in the area of 80g and is slightly less absorbent that common 80g copy paper. In the scan the colours seem just a smidgeon darker than in real life but their differences are well captured.

(All the writing was done using a dip pen, not the Aurora 888 Saturno that was merely acting as a paperweight while I took the photo above.) The degree to which iron-gall inks are water resistant vary greatly from ink to ink, even when they are in the same product line of the same brand. Sadly, KWZ Ink IG Mandarin does not perform very well at all, and barely surpasses Aztec Gold IGL (which stands for Iron-Gall Light) in that respect. Aside: I was a bit surprised to see Platinum Blue-Black sheen purple some prominently and evenly.

I am in the UK and I was looking for a blue/black that would be getting towards darkness. Well it would be with the iron-gall content... Alright. So Rohrer & Klinger's Salix and there's Diamine Registrar's ink. Both of these I have used. I have also used Hero B/B cartridges. I suspect this to be the same as Hero 232 bottled ink. Furthermore I believe that Hero ink also has IG content. The problem is getting the Hero ink. Amazon UK doesn't have it. It is available on ebay, but I have only found it from a Aussie seller & the shipping is wince-inducing for this Yorkshireman. The three named inks all have different qualities & exhibit different shades, as far as I can see. I have not had samples of all three at the same time, so I can write using the same nib. I think it important to see how they look when using a medium and a EF nib, the sorts that I would usually be using.

Ink Review - KWZI IG Blue #4 KWZI inks are developed by Konrad Zurawski, a Polish chemist and fountain pen enthousiast, who started in 2012 with his own line of inks produced in an artisanal manner – i.e. handmade in small batches with lots of care & craftsmanship. The KWZI IG line consists of Iron Gall inks, that darken over time and are waterproof. Since I was looking at waterproof inks for use at work, I decided to give Konrad’s IG inks a closer look. Be advised that Iron Gall inks require more care from the fountain pen user in comparison to standard inks. Practice good pen hygiene! Update: Thanks to feedback, I learned that this was a very early KWZI ink, that has been discontinued a few years ago, because it didn't live up to its maker's expectations. This review thus refers to my specific bottle of "unobtanium", that contains an ink that oxidizes to a nice waterproof dark grey. In this review, I take a closer look at KWZI IG Blue #4 – my very first Iron Gall ink … although in reality, I would consider this a grey ink, with maybe a hint of blue in the undertones (at least in the bottle I got). But that’s exactly the reason I chose this IG Blue variant, because it is the most grey-leaning ink of his blue range of colours. I was really fascinated by the writing experience offered by these Iron Gall inks. This particular one really shows the writing chemistry. The pen lays down a pale orange-brown line, that quickly oxidizes to a nice grey-black. Fascinating ! This is top-rate chemistry at work. The chromatography of this ink is equally strange. What you see are the orange-brown components, which are most likely the IG chemicals involved in the oxidation process. And then there are the grey-blue parts that are indicative of the ink’s colour palette. Thanks to the Iron Gall chemistry miracle, IG Blue #4 ultimately produces a nice dark-grey text line, with good contrast on all types of paper. This ink works well in all nib sizes – even with EF nibs the resulting line is nicely saturated and contrast-rich. With broader nibs, the ink’s shading emerges with a fine balance between the lighter and darker parts, resulting in pleasing aesthetics. This definitely is an ink with character. To show you the impact of saturation on the ink’s look & feel on paper, I made some scribbles where I really saturated portions of the paper with ink. This gives you a good idea of what the ink is capable of in terms of colour range. With IG Blue #4 the colour ranges from a pale light-grey to almost black. The strong point of IG inks is their waterproofness. And in this area, Blue #4 definitely does not disappoint. This ink is rock solid when confronted with water – see my “water test” at the end of this review. Once dried, the ink is impervious to smudging and easily survives longer exposure to both running and still water. Even a 15 minute soak was easily survived – there is only some minor degradation of the text, which itself remains completely readable. Respect ! I’ve tested the ink on a wide variety of paper – from crappy Moleskine to high-end Tomoe River. On every small band of paper I show you:An ink swab, made with a cotton Q-tip1-2-3 pass swab, to show increasing saturationAn ink scribble made with an M-nib fountain penThe name of the paper used, written with a B-nibA small text sample, written with an M-nibDrying times of the ink on the paper (with the M-nib)Konrad’s IG Blue #4 behaved perfectly on all paper types, and even wrote surprisingly well on Moleskine paper (although with noticeable show-through and bleed-through). The ink is equally at home on both white and more yellowish paper. While writing, the ink lays down a pale wet line, that dries within the 10 to 20 second range (with an M-nib). Soon after writing, the IG oxidation process will start to visibly darken the line, reaching its almost final state after a couple of minutes. After that, the text may still get marginally darker over the next couple of days as the oxidation process tapers off. Conclusion KWZI IG Blue #4 is a good-looking grey ink with beautiful shading. And being totally waterproof, this ink is made for use at the office. If you expected a more blue ink, you’ll have to look elsewhere – to my eye this evidently is a grey ink, with a hint of blue undertones. That of course is exactly what FPN reviews are for : to give you the opportunity to find out what an ink is about before committing to a bottle. If you’re into greys, you can’t go wrong with this one. Technical test results on Rhodia N° 16 notepad paper, written with Lamy Safari, M-nib Back-side of writing samples on different paper types

I have a bottle of KWZI IG #2 Blue from quite a while back (maybe a year ago). Is this the staining blue? I think I only tried it in one pen but can't be sure. I would like to know if it is the stainer, should I shelve it?

I'm looking to add a new fountain pen friendly "iron gall" ink to my stable and would like some input. I regularly use Chesterfield Archival Vault ink (a rebrand of Diamine Registrar's ink) and have also used R&K Salix, old formula Lamy Blue-Black, as well as several true iron gall inks (with my dip pens only, obviously). I love the Chesterfield ink and I really like true iron gall inks, but I am looking to expand my horizons. Right now I am debating between ESSRI, R&K Scabiosa, KWZ Gummiberry, and Platinum Blue-Black. Most of these inks are not available in samples and I do not plan to buy anything other than one of these inks (I already have more pen stuff than I really need), so I want to make the best choice possible right off the bat. Here are my thoughts so far: --Platinum Blue-Black intrigues me (partly because I JUST discovered that it is an iron gall based ink), but I don't know about the color. I really disliked the color of Salix and do not want to find myself with a similar colored ink. If the Platinum is a fairly dark or vivid blue, then I would be happy with it, but a muted blue will end up sitting in a desk drawer. The other issue is that this ink is more expensive than any of the other inks on my list, so it really needs to be great for me to give it a try. On the upside, the bottle has a reservoir in it, and I am a sucker for bottles with reservoirs. --Scabiosa is priced well and is an interesting color, but it seems fairly muted...I'm a bit hesitant due to my dislike of Salix. --ESSRI is well priced and seems like a fairly standard IG ink, but I'm not so sure that it is all that much different from Diamine Registrar's/Chesterfield Archival Vault ink. --KWZ Gummiberry is a pretty cool looking ink, but it seems pretty close to Scabiosa in color. I have only found this ink for sale at Vanness pen shop, and the cost including shipping is a bit high. So, I am having a hard time making a decision. I want an interesting IG ink that I can use on a regular basis. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Diamine Registrar's is my go-to ink for work, because it doesn't feather/bleeds through even the cheapest papier. It's quite expensive though, and I've bought some Ecclesiastical Stationery Supplies Registrars, which is three times less expensive (factoring in shipping costs). After a workday of using both inks, the differences I've noticed : 1. The colour is virtually undistinguishable. 2. ESSRI is less dry than Diamine, so it's the ink of choice for drier pens. 3. ESSRI does feather slightly and does bleed through slightly, whereas Diamine almost never does. See the comparison here : Recto : http://i.imgur.com/gZ5LGby.jpg, Verso : http://i.imgur.com/3PWCJwE.jpg The first two lines are written with ESSRI, and the rest with Diamine.

Hi folks, I use FP at work, and, to this date, I still have not found any dye-based ink that could emulate all the desirable properties of IG. My own field is medicine, but I think the following requirements apply for virtually any businesses : 1. No feathering on the cheapest paper available. 2. No bleedthrough on the cheapest paper available. 3. Fast drying. 4. Water resistant. (Waterproof is better, but rarely an absolute requirement). 5. Somewhat fade-proof. (Medical records -- as other business documents -- are usually stored for a period of ~ 20 years, so the ink doesn't have to be designed to last for centuries). 6. Not overly dry -- I want to write as fast as I can. I am yet to find a non IG ink that fulfills those requirements. The closest I got is Noodler's X-feather, but its definately slower drying than IG and does bleed through some of the cheapest papers I use. Any suggestions ?

Here are some KWZI green inks I was graciously sent to allay my confusion between #26 IG Green #1 and #25 IG #2. I must say that after trying them both out, they appear to be just about the same ink. Though an error in the labelling of sample of #2 and the bottle of #1 I used is a possibility. In my written example the two seem a bit different. #25 IG green #2 is more green and is a slightly lighter and less saturated colour. #26 IG Green #1 is a bit richer and has a tiny bit more blue in the darker parts. But the line separating the two written examples was done at the end of writing with IG Green #1, yet looks exactly like IG Green #2. And both have some blue as seen from the wet drops. Apparently #2 Green should not have any blue. #26 IG Green #1 had more blue throughout initially and was less obviously green, but then upon drying the inverse became true. But they are very, very close. I have to say, it almost seems that if #26 were diluted slightly it would be exactly like #25. On a further wet drop test I can hardly tell the difference between the two. And in a q-tip swab test there was absolutely no difference between the two inks. I am convinced that any differences on paper were due solely to differences in the pen's nib/feed wetness at the moment of writing. #36 Menthol Green is a vibrant but messy colour!! I got splashes on the table that usually if cleaned within seconds comes right off. But Menthol Green was hard to clean and stains remain. The demonstrator was also difficult to clean out after only a few minutes of exposure to the ink. It's a beautiful colour, but be careful with it. #42 Rotten Green is a unique colour. I'm not sure where it would come into use, but it was certainly interesting to try out. #27 IG Turqoise goes on sky blue and darkens dramatically to a colour that could almost be used for business correspondence. The more I look at it the more I like it. #75 IG Green Gold went on so light and lime coloured with the Nemosine Singularity medium nib that I flushed the pen and tried again. With a wetter TWSBI 580 it went on darker, but still pale, yet darkened quickly and dramatically. It has a minor amount of sparkles and is much more toward green than gold. Shading is spectacular. Drops: Top left - #42 Rotten Green Below that - #27 IG Turquoise - Note there is no green in it. The green you see is transfer of another ink. Below that - #75 IG Green Gold Top right - #36 Menthol Green Below that two drops on rightmost side #26 IG Green #1 Left of that 2 smaller drops #25 IG Green #2 http://i62.tinypic.com/2ce2c92.jpg http://i57.tinypic.com/jpx91w.jpg http://i57.tinypic.com/29lmpp5.jpg http://i59.tinypic.com/2mo2og0.jpg http://i58.tinypic.com/29orabt.jpg http://i60.tinypic.com/zkmxsh.jpg http://i60.tinypic.com/29gkgnc.jpg

Hello FPN!!! This will be my first Ink Review ever so please be easy on me. I got a super exclusive ink from Cyber6 to review. I had heard of KWZI and saw some amazing review on FPN but seeing it in person....wow!!! I got to see...wait..no...experience KWZI for the first time at the Scriptus Toronto Pen Show. Cyber6 was nice enough to show us the amazing color and properties of KWZI & Black Stone Inks (aka Susemai ink....another Awesome ink). Both the IG & Non-IG inks were amazing. It was an eye opener for me to see an IG ink in a color other than Blue! I have only used the following IG inks in the past: Lamy Blue Black, R&K Salix, and Platinum Blue Black. OK on with the review!!! http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh568/uchinanchukg/KWZI74ColorCorrected_zpsa222c334.png KWZI #74 IG Orange Paper: HP 32lb Laser Jet Paper Pen: Noodler's Nib Creaper with Flex nib Noodler's Nib Creaper with OBB nib Shading: Amazing!! The color shades from Yellow to Orange at first (ala Apache Sunset) but as it oxidizes the color turns a more Olive to Very Dark Brown. The color transition is Super Fast! I tried to capture it but FAILED. I tried to take a picture right after writing but the color turned even before I could capture it. Feathering: None Bleedthrough: None Water Resistant: Yes! It leaves behind a greyish line. Alcohol Resistant: Yes. You might be wondering why did I test alcohol? At my work paperwork are prone to damage from water and/or alcohol. NO, not "booze" alcohol!!! Hand sanitizers and alcohol swabs etc. http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh568/uchinanchukg/PB090021_zpsdc48cf28.jpg http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh568/uchinanchukg/PB090026_zpsb951d8cd.jpg http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh568/uchinanchukg/PB090027_zpsa325a180.jpg http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh568/uchinanchukg/PB090029_zps1d134305.jpg This is my futile attempt to capture the color change. Since I was trying to write as fast as possible and take a picture I misspelled KWZI as KWSI. Sorry Konrad! I tried to do the same here. http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh568/uchinanchukg/PB090031_zps22cf45cf.jpg http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh568/uchinanchukg/PB090036_zps0f68f0be.jpg It starts out yellow/orange and very quickly turns olive/dark brown. I've never seen anything like it. Such a cool ink. Thank you Konrad for making such an awesome ink! and Thank you Cyber6 for letting me try it out! KG