Highlighter Smear-Proof Ink?

[jgsparks]

I like to highlight notes I've taken with my fountain pen. The commercially available highlighters that I've tried smear the ink on the paper. I've tried Sheaffer black and Parker Quink black; both smear. Has anyone had any experience with highlighting their fountain pen writing? Are there any inks better at resisting smearing from highlighting than others? Many thanks! Gary

[ThirdeYe]

I just tested a few of my inks... Waterman Florida Blue disappears when you highlight it (!!), Noodler's Bulletproof Black smears even when letting it sit overnight to dry. Noodler's Green Marine didn't smear, but time will tell if it disappears like my Florida Blue did.

[comfortableshoes]

noodler's BP black in the right pen or watered down on the right paper won't smear as much. I found that on cheap paper (staples recycled) it doesn't smear with a F or EF nib. It smears slightly on the eco easy (bagasse) paper. I don't dilute it but on another thread someone suggested it.

 

Some of my blue inks disappear with highlighter ink.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

Member 'lapis' produced a Review of the recently released Pelikan hi-lite ink. I suggest looking at that.

 

http://www.fountainp...ighlighter-ink/

 

Bye,

S1

Edited January 21, 2011 by Sandy1

[Goodwhiskers]

If you don't want the highlighter to limit your choice of writing inks, switch to a dry highlighter.

Dry highlighters are specialized colors and applicators of wax crayon, and they work as well as liquid-ink ones.

If you already have wax-based colored pencils or hard-plastic-sleeved crayons, try those to see if they are light enough for your highlighting needs.

Highlighters that use ink have water-based (dye) inks, and so do fountain pens.

The waterproof inks from Noodler's can leave some unbound and therefore smearable ink after they dry on dense paper.

 

If you want a writing ink that doesn't smear when wet-highlighted, use any of the following inks. The iron and pigment inks require slightly more (not tremendously more) pen maintenance, and they need truly airtight cap seals.

 

Water-based (dye) but strongly resistant to plain water (and therefore water-based ink) after drying:

Pilot/Namiki Blue (bottled or in proprietary cartridges)

Pilot/Namiki Blue-Black (proprietary cartridges or Pilot-branded bottles, no Namiki bottle)

Platinum Blue-Black or Black

 

Iron sulfate or iron gall, mixed with light dye so you can see your writing before the iron finishes oxidizing:

Lamy Blue-Black (bottled; the cartridges don't have iron)

Montblanc Blue-Black (new old stock) or Midnight Blue (new stock) (both bottled; the cartridges don't have iron)

Diamine Registrar's Ink (blue-black, bottled and in international short cartridges)

Rohrer & Klingner Salix (blue-black) or Scabiosa (purple-black)

U.K. registrar's ink (blue-black; forgot the name of the manufacturer, someone who competes against Diamine)

Note: No other "blue-black" inks contain iron. Only these five do!

 

Pigment or particle (expensive!):

Platinum Carbon Ink, Blue Pigmented Ink, or Rose Red Pigmented Ink (very wet-writing pens only; Platinum makes specialized pen models)

Sailor Kiwaguro (black, works in both drier and wetter pens)

Sailor Seiboku (blue-black, for wetter pens but not as picky as Platinum's)

 

The easiest of these to find in "bricks and mortar" shops around the world are Lamy, Pilot/Namiki, and Montblanc. The cheapest are Lamy, Pilot/Namiki, Diamine, and R&K.

 

I recommend dry highlighters if you don't want to buy new writing ink.

Edited January 20, 2011 by Goodwhiskers

[jgsparks]

Thank you all!! I just ordered some dry highlighters -- I didn't even know there was such a thing. Also the list of inks is most appreciated!

[jomielll]

I like to use the Sailor nano inks and highlighting over them is exactly one of the properties that I love them so much.

[Chris]

U.K. registrar's ink (blue-black; forgot the name of the manufacturer, someone who competes against Diamine)

 

Thanks for this list - very helpful.

 

The other supplier of Registrar's Ink in the UK is HSS. It comes in 100ml plastic bottles and is, to my eye, very slightly paler than Diamine's version.

 

Chris

Edited January 24, 2011 by Chris

[LeBrusc]

I have just tried to highlight with a blue Stabilo Boss on Kung Te Cheng (Noodler's)(cheap copy paper). This ink does not smear at all after only one minute drying.

[nicholasyeo]

Dry highlighters! Like those used in Bibles...

[picautomaton]

Noodlers Lexington Grey works for me