Do You Primarily Use Waterproof Ink At Work?

[mrchan]

In my line of work, the notes I write will be archived for at least the next 10 years so I have to use a good dark ink which is waterproof. We are told to NOT use fountain pens however I think they aren't aware that the newer inks can be water-resistant too. I do it anyway

 

Anyway my ink of choice for work is Montblanc Midnight Blue, the older iron gall formulation which darkens further as it dries. My hands down favourite blue/black of all time.

 

I also use sailor's stone gray as it is dark enough, and I like a bit of grey from time to time too. I have found this ink to be fairly water-resistant and not as light as some other grey inks which means it can be photocopied and human resources can't complain about it!

 

If I am in the mood for black, Iroshizuku Take-Sumi is my favourite black as some hints of charcoal can be seen, only tested it's water-resistance once and was fairly happy with it.

 

I use only these 3 for work and have been for the past 2 years.

Edited August 26, 2014 by mrchan

[MusterMark]

No real consideration. I just use inks that I think will be gentle with my pens, as I use primarily vintage pens.

Edited August 26, 2014 by MusterMark

[rockydoggy]

I keep several pens inked at work at any one time, two or three of them with waterproof black or blue-black ink that I use for signatures and for writing up my lectures. For marking student papers, I tend to use non-black waterproof or water-resistant inks (eg, iron-gall, Noodlers 54th Mass, PR Invincible blue, Noodlers Legal Lapis, Pilot blue, Noodlers Swishmix Burgundy). For my other writing, it generally doesn't matter that much.

[Davis19942003]

I am still a student. Sometimes we drink cold drinks when revising the note and have to write in lab. I tend to use pilot blue but if that doesn't work, I will just pull out a mechanical pencil.

[valthon]

I keep a daily task journal at work. I've only spilt coffee on it twice in the last 10 years, but both times I've been grateful I was using a waterproof ink. Also, I've found that iron gall inks (I've been using R&K Salix & OS Aristotle, lately) perform extremely well on the "paper" at work.

[TaylorT]

I write with Parker Quink in Black mostly (ok entirely) because the hospital I work at has a Staples account.

[xwingrox]

Thanks for all the replies! I just with more companies would make waterproof ink. Noodler's does an excellent job but I still think the selection is a bit limited. That, and Noodler's waterproof inks often come with some less desirable attributes (feathering, super long dry time on some paper, etc)

[Christi0469]

For contract signing I use Pilot Blue (water-resistant) and for everything else (notes, etc.) I use whatever I please. I am transitioning to scanning all crucial documentation as a backup so pristine hard copies are getting less important. Clients and almost everyone else in my industry use a hodgepodge of pens and waterproofing isn't taken into consideration. In addition having my signature outlast the the printed document isn't entirely advantageous. If I do need waterproof ink in the future I will probably use Noodlers Navy.

[Fox Point]

Student Chemist. Have dripped water, alcohols and acetone on lab books written with Noodler's HoD or eternal inks. It makes my day when I see the page numbers spreading but the writing staying crisp!

[Arkanabar]

I'll use anything at work for notes and communication. But I have the idea that for stuff I have to put in the medical record, I ought to be using a waterproof or water-resistant ink (black, of course). But I don't worry myself about it too much. I am more concerned about lightfastness. Everybody's pretty careful about their beverages, and black Pilot G2 gel pens (not waterproof) abound. Contigo Autoseal travel mugs are pretty popular, and worth the $10 or $20 you pay for them. I recommend spending the money to get one with an easy-clean lid.

If ever I use all of my Noodler's Borealis Black, Waterman Black, and vintage MB and Quink blacks, then I'll probably go to Noodler's Black for my newer/more repairable pens, and the denser of either Diamine Jet or Onyx black for my dad's "51" and my PFM.

Thus far, I've taken Noodler's Red-black, Waterman Black, some vintage MB Black from a conical plastic gold-colored school bottle, Waterman Violet, Sheaffer blue, Sheaffer Slovenian Turquoise, and Visconti Sepia to work. I always have black, though, and I always have a black Fisher Capomatic for outguides. Whenever I use color on something, I know (and others should know) that it's not part of the record.

Noodler's Red-Black was my goto workhorse ink for years because a) I have a lot of it -- a 3oz bottle goes a long, long way, and the black is Noodler's black, utterly totally bulletproof, and fully legible even as the red spreads, runs, fades, and washes away. I don't need for my ink to be Eternal, but I like for it to stay legible when wet.

Edited September 21, 2014 by Arkanabar

[georges zaslavsky]

I am using herbin encre perle noire which is a very waterproof ink as well as MB irish green which is pretty water resistant too

[Tenkai]

I use Pilot Blue Black, mostly waterproof, but falls off with bleach and ethanol.

 

I am getting Pilot Black (I haven't found a black like Noodler's Black but only waterproof but allows you to wash off stains off clothes).

 

I am still using up 2 bottles of noodler's black though.

[BrandonA]

There wasn't a suitable option for the second question. I needs to answer "yes I do take water proof ness into consideration because I don't want it"

[knarflj]

I voted, but none of the options presented really matched too accurately. I had to look up whether the ink I use at work is water-resistant or not, because I didn't know and don't care - not, in this case, because I like pretty colours, but because other factors, particularly drying time, are much more important. I work in a library, and my pen is mostly used for filling out forms to be immediately tucked inside books or media cases. Obviously, if those forms get wet, I'm in much bigger trouble for damage to the book than because the ink ran.

[tdzieman]

Most of the documents I sign need to be permanent. Since it is available I feel I need to use it.

[cellmatrix]

not, in this case, because I like pretty colours, but because other factors, particularly drying time, are much more important.

I hope the OP now understands that its more than just pretty colors that make people opt for non-waterproof.

 

Personally, I would choose a bland colored non waterproof ink with good properties over a pretty colored waterproof ink that gunked up my pen, or dried inside my nib too easily.

[Blade Runner]

Yes, MB iron gall blue black.