Ink Brand Loyalty

[jabberwock11]

I am a huge fan of Chesterfield ink, and before I consider buying an ink from a different company I always look to see if I can purchase a similar color from Chesterfield first. (I realize that Chesterfield is just a repackaged and rebranded Diamine, but Chesterfield inks come in spiffy Nalgene bottles, cost far less than Diamine, and have more sizing options. They may be the same ink as Diamine, but I think of them as a separate entity.) The only other ink company that I use as often as Chesterfield is Rohrer & Klingner. With these two companies covering the vast majority of colors and options (both have iron gall inks, permanent document inks, and a wide variety of colors) I rarely see the need to go elsewhere for my inks. I have an ink or two from other companies and I have a hand full of samples from other companies, but to be perfectly honest I always end up coming right back to my big two.

 

This realization really hit home when I realized that I will buy a full bottle from either Chesterfield or R&K without first sampling the color, but I will not even consider buying ink from another company without trying a sample first. As it turns out, I am a loyal user of these two inks and I didn't even know it. So, my question is: how many folks out there find themselves loyal to certain brands of ink? What is it about those inks that keep you coming back? I am curious to know if I am alone in sticking mostly to one or two brands or if there are others like me out there.

[FayeV]

I'm a huge fan of Rohrer & Klingner inks and always find myself returning to them. I've bought full bottles of them without seeing the colors (in samples) first. And I have all colors except for three -- helianthus, sepia and black. I have no idea what I would do with a bright yellow. Ideas? I never write with black ink. I'll eventually pick up sepia.

 

I feel almost the same about J. Herbin.

[Joe in Seattle]

I'm a butterfly. Flitting from brand to brand.

[Pensei]

I'm a huge fan of Rohrer & Klingner inks and always find myself returning to them. I've bought full bottles of them without seeing the colors (in samples) first. And I have all colors except for three -- helianthus, sepia and black. I have no idea what I would do with a bright yellow. Ideas? I never write with black ink. I'll eventually pick up sepia.

 

I feel almost the same about J. Herbin.

Definitely get the Sepia. It's one of my favorite inks. Looks absolutely beautiful on ivory paper. Which R&K is your favorite, by the way?

 

And to answer the question, I also flit, but with a leaning toward Sailor just because I have found so many of their inks to be very pleasing to me in terms of color and performance. But I love many inks from other makers as well.

[zaddick]

Like with food, I love the options. Variety is the spice of life! But, just like food, I have my favorite brands: MB, Visconti, and Sailor. I am item to try most inks, but only use established brands with easy cleaning for my vintage pens.

[amberleadavis]

I'm a butterfly. Flitting from brand to brand.

 

I'm even worse, I'm like the bumble bee, not only do I flit from brand to brand, but I zip over to try new stuff and test out never before made inks. That being said, I am enamoured with Noodler's inks.

[Arkanabar]

I have yet to develop that kind of loyalty to any maker.

I like the idea of sampling before buying, although the last bottle of ink I purchased (Diamine Sherwood) I didn't sample.

My wife is not so careful. She happily bought four bottles of Noodler's based solely on swabs on laminated cardstock at Origami Ink. And while I've strongly considered buying a bottle of Iro Yama-Guri, and I'm pretty sure I hinted at that with precision, but she got me Ku-Jaku instead (again, without sampling).

The next two colors I'm considering are Yama-Guri (and I'll really want a sample first) and Noodler's Violet (which I have sampled).

[Misfit]

The brand I have the most of is J Herbin. But I have several of Waterman, De Atramentis, Pelikan Edelstein, and Diamine. I have one Rohrer & Klingner and

Noodlers.

 

I don't search out the color in a specific brand first, but I can understand that.

[sakayume]

I like Sailor and Iroshizuku best, but since some pen materials aren't suitable for use with alkaline inks I've been forced to branch out into R&K, Herbin etc. I don't really care for Herbin much, but for some reason R&K really appeals to me. Maybe it's the bottles.

[rxgus]

I have absolutely zero.

 

I am addicted to ink samples though, and probably have 30 samples hanging around waiting for me to use them. When one sticks out to me, I add it to "the list" and off I go to the next. Brand doesn't matter to me at all- just color and feel.

[sharonspens]

I just pulled almost all of my inks together a couple of weeks ago. I have a smattering from several makers, but my favorites are Iroshizukus, by far. I have used them in vintage and modern pens, currently own six, and have turned several other people onto them. I think my second favorite would be Diamine.

 

I would definitely buy without trying a sample first.

 

Sharon in Indiana

[zwack]

We have bought inks without sampling, and with...

 

We have mostly Noodlers, J Herbin, then some Pelikan. Sample wise Diamine is currently the one we have most of, and some of those will be purchased soon.

 

We are not particular to any brand.

 

When I say we I am of course referring to my wonderful wife and I.

[FayeV]

Definitely get the Sepia. It's one of my favorite inks. Looks absolutely beautiful on ivory paper. Which R&K is your favorite, by the way?

 

 

I haven't been in any hurry to pick up Sepia because I'm a not a big fan of brown. I only own one bottle of brown ink, however it is a gorgeous brown color which I love. (Iroshizuku Yama Guri) I'm sure I'll add Sepia to my collection someday, just to help complete the set.

 

My two favorite R&K colors are Verdigris (which permanently lives in my Lamy 2000) and Alt Goldgrun (which permanently lives in my Pelikan M400 White Tortoise). My other pens rotate through the other R&K colors I own.

[Barkingpig]

I haven't encountered vast differences between brands used so I select by colors & reviews of inks here from reviewers that I feel comfortable with based on frequency of their reviews. Only once have I tried a sample before wanting the ink & I had the sample among probably a hundred or more that I have NOT used. A review here caused me to "look about" in the sample boxes & sure enough it was every bit as pleasant as the review indicated. If I hadn't found the sample I would have assuredly purchased the ink anyway.

 

I am impatient & would not want to:

 

1.Order & pay for sample to be shipped

2. Wait for sample's delivery

3. Order ink & wait for delivery

 

I would just as well skip 1 & 2, besides cost of sample & shipping & "MOVE along to Number 3!"

 

I read about people making lists of inks they will consider for later purchase...............& not really "understand" how that is possible. I have ordered newly released books from the UK to receive them before American release; & found I am equally willing to pay European post to receive inks before they are "stateside." I could be dead before they are released HERE!

[OCArt]

As with the first poster I love Chesterfield inks. I loved them even more when they were on sale last year. Archival Vault is a wonderful iron gall ink, and I also use Ancient Yankee, Ancient Oxford and antique copper.

 

I am also a fan of Private Reserve inks, especially Ebony Purple and Electric DC Super Show Blue.

 

Noodles inks have not captured my attention beyond being the ingredients for faux penman sapphire.

 

I have become very fond of three of the Diamine 150 years anniversary inks-- Regency Blue, Blue Velvet and Terracotta. Silver fox is under consideration with a large nib.

[Miz Black Crow]

I'm loyal to Noodler's, not because I find their inks so fantastic, but because they (let's face it, HE) makes inks that do two things I find indispensable: they shade and they resist water.

 

Having lost many, many items to flooding some years back, I think the idea that my words would just run off the page hard to swallow, and as for shading, well, that's part of the FP experience, at least for me.

 

I'm sure there are beautiful inks made by other makers that would do these things, but usually one or the other (not both). If someone points me in the direction of an ink that has those properties combined, I would be more than willing to sample and buy.

 

Also, I LIKE the slightly crazy man from Massachusetts.

[vorpal]

I like drier inks, so I adore Diamine. But I tend to buy ink samples instead of bottles. I do have a few bottles of Noodler's, but I have not been happy with their inks for various reasons...one never dried, one was too runny... Diamine has never disappointed me, so if I am looking for a particular shade, I usually cruise the samples at Goulet.

[misterdimeo]

I have bought ink based on the fact the title had the word Zeppelin in it !!!!!!

 

The ink was De Atramentis Ferdinand Von Zeppelin and luckily the ink looks really nice and is very well behaved. It is also sold under the name Atlantic Blue

 

Other than that, I have become fond of J Herbin, Diamine, Noodlers and Private Reserve.....

Edited January 13, 2016 by misterdimeo

[torstar]

I'm more inclined to enjoy the qualities of a given ink rather than the brand, there are a dozen brands in my favourite bottle stacks.

 

And I embrace the fact that I'm never going to be able to smugly be superior to the FPN and have some secret brand or pattern that they can't enjoy to the level that I do.

[tonybelding]

For me it's been Noodler's, Noodler's and more Noodler's.

 

Lately I have been branching out and trying different brands, and the fact is, most of them are quite good these days. The days when we had to settle for three or four weak-and-watery colors from pen manufacturers are long gone.

Edited January 13, 2016 by tonybelding