Why One Brand Of Ink Over Another?

[cadfael_tex]

Another newbie question but as I try to decide what ink to buy as my fist bottle sized investment I'm stuck with the array of choices. I've tried several samples and still not come to much of a conclusion. Most brands seem to have similar color choices for the most part. Some have better characteristics (bleed through, feathering, etc). Those being about equal, what are the reasons you buy one brand over another. Take for instance (but not to limit discussion) me trying to decide between Caran d'Ache Saffron and J Herbin Orange Indien (and the similar colors from Noodler's, Private Reserve, et Al).

[jaqcp]

Another newbie question but as I try to decide what ink to buy as my fist bottle sized investment I'm stuck with the array of choices. I've tried several samples and still not come to much of a conclusion. Most brands seem to have similar color choices for the most part. Some have better characteristics (bleed through, feathering, etc). Those being about equal, what are the reasons you buy one brand over another. Take for instance (but not to limit discussion) me trying to decide between Caran d'Ache Saffron and J Herbin Orange Indien (and the similar colors from Noodler's, Private Reserve, et Al).

 

Pick the color you like and the qualities you need without regard to brand name. I like the bulletproof qualities of Noodler's, but found a Noodler's color that always clogs. I like Levenger's colors, but they are a bit expensive. Private Reserve is inexpensive, but have a wide array of beautiful color. Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue is sort of ordinary, but is among the safest and most reliable of all inks.

 

I see no reason for "brand loyalty" in the arena of fountain pen ink.

 

 

 

[Trebster]

Some brands and some selections within brands require more TLC than others. See Richard Binder's Inks: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.

[bassopotamus]

Get samples. Try stuff. If you like the color, it doesn't clog your pen, and writes fine on the paper YOU will be using on, buy a bottle.

[Possum Hill]

Another newbie question but as I try to decide what ink to buy as my fist bottle sized investment I'm stuck with the array of choices. I've tried several samples and still not come to much of a conclusion. Most brands seem to have similar color choices for the most part. Some have better characteristics (bleed through, feathering, etc). Those being about equal, what are the reasons you buy one brand over another. Take for instance (but not to limit discussion) me trying to decide between Caran d'Ache Saffron and J Herbin Orange Indien (and the similar colors from Noodler's, Private Reserve, et Al).

When we're choosing inks most of us like more "ands" and fewer "ors" but since you insist, here are a few thoughts.

 

Some brands come in better looking or more convenient bottles.

 

Some brands are stocked by our favorite supplier.

 

Some brands have a long and interesting history.

 

Bottle size.

 

Pri$e.

[tanalasta]

There are so many different variables that at the end, it comes down to personal preference.

 

Hue, saturation, a particular shade.... bottle size, ergonomics or artistry... cost, ink behaviour, flow, reliability.... safety and maintainance in a pen.

 

Take black: There's one for every brand, yet they're still all different from each other, subtle in some cases.

 

I don't really care so much about cost in that I know a $30 bottle of ink will last me a very long time. The only way to decide is to try them yourself. Brian Goulet and others offer ink samplers at low cost. If you have a good penstore, they may also let you swab their inks. Most of all, have fun!

[kushbaby]

Besides color? (Which overrules everything, naturally...) :roflmho:

 

I love, have, and use inks of all brands, including all listed below. (Trust me, you don't want to know how many bottles I have - it's terrifying...).

 

Some have a "gentle" reputation, and if one has a (potentially fussy or fragile or rare/expensive) vintage pen, they are good to use for those. For me (and others), some of the Waterman inks in the blue color range fit this niche (esp. Waterman Blue-black). See Richard Binder's ink discussions on this (indeed, see his discussions on all inks). www.richardspens.com.

 

Some have a reputation of being particularly wet, and therefore may be preferable in a pen that "writes too dry". Aurora Black is an example of this. I have a few vintage dry pens that skip with most inks (despite an ok nib), but do great with this one.

 

Some have a reputation of being particularly dry, and therefore may be preferable in a pen that "writes too wet." Many examples...

 

Some are really easy on pens, rarely stain, and are especially easy to clean out of a pen - for me (and others), J. Herbin inks (pretty much all of them) fit this niche - and are quite pretty, color-wise. (I and others like using these in light colored pens or demonstrators to avoid staining. They smell nice, too. Ghost Plane swears by Herbin inks, and got me stuck on them...)

 

Some have a reputation of being "high maintenance" - what I have distilled from all of my reading (and all of the gnashing of teeth on FPN) is that these inks, by dint of their composition, are" harder" on some pens (for lack of a better term). Usually these are higher saturation inks. That doesn't *necessarily* mean you shouldn't use them, but you're less likely to get away with letting a pen sit around and dry out, and you will probably need to be more fastidious about pen hygiene with these. Examples of these inks are Noodlers (some more than others) and Private Reserve. This also includes any iron-gall ink (e.g., Montblanc Blue-black, and others). I use these all the time (for their permanence), and love them, but they do require more frequent flushing. People have differing opinions on the risk of using these in vintage/fragile pens.

 

Some have a reputation of "killing" pens - that is, reacting aversely to plastic or other components of a pen, including feeds or other material, causing actual damage or "meltdowns". (And if not, are still very high maintenance requiring careful flushing and hygiene.) For these inks, it is up to you to determine your tolerance for risk. The classic example of this is Noodlers Baystate Blue (and the other Baystate colors). Note that 1) IMHO, Baystate Blue is a STUNNING blue ink, one of the very, very best blues EVER and 2) for each "flameout" experience with one of these inks, there may be several others who have success with the same ink in the same model pen. There is a well known example of Baystate Blue that melted (so to speak) a Lamy Safari feed (as I recall). I and several others have had Baystate Blue in Lamy Safaris subsequent to this with no issue (reported on FPN - search for Baystate Blue). Putting it in an expensive and possibly fragile pen is a bit of a risk - might be fine, might not. Again, it's about risk tolerance. (That being said, I have it in three pens... though all are worth less than $50). Peeps also seem to stand up to it (ok, so that was a slightly twisted experiment of mine...)

 

Some inks are a nifty color, but can cause cruddy build up on the nib (do a search for Diamine Pumpkin if you're curious). You need to decide on your tolerance when using one of these. I dumped mine out, others are not bothered by it at all. I'm not aware of actual damage done by this sort of situation - people (me included) were just wigged out/grossed out by it.

 

Then, of course, there are lots of inks that are just middle of the road (performance-wise), or at least not in an extreme category, in which case, you need to decide which color you like the most. FPN is a great place to get info.

 

Remember, of course, that different pens (vintage and modern) will dry out and/or tolerate different inks differently. Inks that thrive in one pen may crash and burn (well, skip and clog) in others...

 

Hope this helps. Dig around on FPN and you'll find lots of reports (often conflicting) of ink behavior...

[welch]

Trial and error...plus careful reading of any ink review by "Sandy1".

 

I write in blue, shading from purplish blue to blue-black. That cuts out all the reds and oranges and such. While spending too much, I found that I like Diamine Saphhire Blue, other Diamines like Imperial and Majestic and Blue-Black. Disliked Presidential and something else. Did the same with Private Reserve: liked American Blue, Lake PLacid, DC Supershow and Electric Blue. Disliked three types of Noodlers, so I quit trying to find a good one. Decided that Herbin is too thin. Tried Aurora Blue and liked it. Nobody dislikes Waterman Florida Blue and Blue-Black.

 

It was expensive, but I now have a variety of inks for different types of paper and different nibs. Your taste is bound to be different, so you'll have to try some.

[kushbaby]

+1 for taking a good look at Sandy's ink reviews...

[Oranges and Apples]

Price. Not just price but the price for the volume. Noodler's and Hero inks are the winners in this field.

[wallylynn]

Not exactly an inky answer but the reasons I bought mine are:

- Lamy - nice ink bottle and low price

- MB - fancy ink bottle

- noodlers - fancy labels and low price

[KCat]

Another newbie question but as I try to decide what ink to buy as my fist bottle sized investment I'm stuck with the array of choices.

 

I vote that for understatement of the week. Perhaps of the month.

 

I've tried several samples and still not come to much of a conclusion. Most brands seem to have similar color choices for the most part. Some have better characteristics (bleed through, feathering, etc). Those being about equal, what are the reasons you buy one brand over another. Take for instance (but not to limit discussion) me trying to decide between Caran d'Ache Saffron and J Herbin Orange Indien (and the similar colors from Noodler's, Private Reserve, et Al).

 

well, I hate to be the moderate that I am but I think this is totally up to personal taste. For me, color is high on my list of requirements. If the ink behaves beautifully but gives me migraines or bores me to tears, I won't use it. OTOH, if the color is stunning but it feathers like mad and makes me want to pull my hair out, what use is that? I don't choose based on brand but based on experience with a sample (or as in the case of my latest impulse buy - the purty bottle ) Therefore, having gone through about 11 samples of browns, I have come to the conclusion that like it or not, I love love love the most expensive dang brown ink out there. :bonk: An Ink Angel has bestowed a large sample upon me so that I can further my addiction until such time as I can admit to myself that I cannot live without that freakin' $30 ink!

 

Okay - a bit of hyperbole but you get the idea.

 

That said - some brands just seem to consistently work for me in my pens and make me happy with a variety of colors. So far, the most consistent for me has been Diamine. So I try to find colors in Diamine's line-up that do the trick. I liked their browns but I didn't LOOVE them. But I do love their Mediterranean blue, Umber, Prussian Blue, Orange, Vermilion, ... They behave well, lubricate well, look pretty and I don't find colors close enough to any of those in other brands that I am interested in. I choose not to buy some other brands because they are too saturated fo r my tastes or too dry. But sometimes, dry works well for certain pens. So I may have one or two of their inks available. Or maybe I want a really good waterproof ink that really behaves well (I won't mention it again but it has the initials VV).

 

What it comes down to, for me, is don't choose based on brand. Choose based on what jumps off the page at you and says, "wuv me" or what makes your pens glide happily across the page or what relaxes you on a stressful day or cheers you on a cold winter day (Mediterranean Blue for me) and so on. to me, ink is as emotional a choice as pen. Likewise, paper.

 

If it's purely rational for you - then well, you got a whole lot of excellent inks to choose from and you'll have to just try them all (samples, I mean, not bottles).

 

I admit too, Diamine and some other ink companies are very attentive to the needs and desires of their clientele. This too influences my "first place I look" when it comes to inks. First place I look for waterproof ink - Noodler's (I don't like iron gall inks just 'cause). First place I look for a lovely blue - Diamine. First place I look for a dry ink - CdA, Pelikan, Lamy. blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda.

 

edited to add: unfortunately, price no longer influences my decision as much as it should.

Edited October 23, 2010 by KCat

[Jadedgn]

Ultimatly we buy them because we want to use the color. I'd get a bottle of good waterproof ink in a semi professional color like a dark green or blue. And then just pick the ones that call out to you.

 

I went with noodlers for my first inks because all the information available on the noodlers site made me comfortable. Now I still live noodlers but i usually chose my ink for the color and just deal with it's quirks

 

Your unlikely to run into a modern ink that will do unrepairable damage to a modern pen. Plus you get into a whole new side of fps when you start repairing and tweaking your own.

 

~ Jade

[Joane]

Colour is definitely a consideration for me but good flow is equally or more important. I like an ink that flows in such a way as to form my characters in the exact shape I aim for, regardless of which pen I use. That is my number-one consideration. I don't like inks that are "picky," no matter how pretty the colour. Ink has to conform to my style, not the other way around. No matter how gorgeous the colour, if an ink will only perform the way I like in limited circumstances, it's out of my supply. It can take a long time to find an ink that has a satisfying combination of colour and writing performance but the ones I have narrowed down to having both on a consistent basis are the inks I will keep in the rotation.