Ink Fade Testing

[eldritch17]

I am obsessed with inks that are fade and water resistant. In fact, whenever I use an ink that is not, I feel a little uneasy like my words are on the verge of disappearing. So I wanted to test several of the inks I have for fade resistance. Most of these have been tested before, but I was interested in going longer and more intense than other tests I have seen.

 

Setup: I wrote the same thing with each ink on two halves of a piece of Black 'n Red notebook paper, then taped one to the inside of the rear window of my car and kept the other protected from light. I live in the sunny Texas panhandle and my car is always parked outside, so the exposed strip gets a lot of sun every day. After one month and nine months I put the strips side-by-side and photographed them.

 

One month

 

 

Nine Months

 

 

Not all of these inks are waterproof, but I put a few that had in for comparison along with some non fountain pen inks.

 

Totally or mostly faded:

 

Noodler's Baystate Blue

Noodler's Rachmaninoff

J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor (The gold flecks are still there, but no color)

Diamine Ancient Copper (still just barely readable)

 

Unchanged or nearly unchanged:

 

Noodler's El Lawrence

Noodler's La Reine Mauve

Noodler's Heart of Darkness

Noodler's Upper Ganges Blue

Noodler's 54th Massachusetts

 

If fade resistance is important, these are all good bets.

 

 

Other inks tested for comparison:

 

Uni-ball Signo 207 black

Pilot G-2 Black

Retro 1951 ball point

Uni-Ball Signo UM-153 Gold

Uni-Ball Signo UM-153 Silver

Pencil

 

These all fared very well. After nine months the Gold looks indistinguishable from the silver

 

I was very surprised by Iroshizuku Kon-Peki. If only it were more water resistant.

Edited May 24, 2017 by eldritch17

[amberleadavis]

Eldritch - HEY I LOVE THESE!!

 

Thank you!

 

 

Yes, in my tests KP was a stunner. I have decided to not worry about the water resistance or ADD Ghost Blue if it's really important.

 

BSB is my test ink because it was my first ink to fade. (Which is sad).

 

Anyway, keep us informed.

[T4TEXAS]

Thanks for doing this very helpful test. Among these that fared well, which are more water resistant?

[eldritch17]

All the Noodler's inks that did not fade are also very water resistant. My experience shows that soaking a page written with El Lawrence will result in some of the yellow/green part of it to leach out or spread on the page, but you're still left with very legible black writing.

[Andrew_L]

Hi everybody! I also maked a small light-resistance test of my little ink collection. I some sketch by fountain pen and I wonder how long color sketches can hang on the wall without fade

 

https://images.vfl.ru/ii/1541169371/dc0539f5/24039303_m.jpg

 

https://images.vfl.ru/ii/1541169371/e7d7735c/24039304_m.jpg

 

Read more in my post.

[amberleadavis]

OOOOO I love fade tests!!

[amberleadavis]

Here is a list of fade tests.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/282789-start-here-inky-t-o-d-topics-oday/?do=findComment&comment=3917329

[Andrew_L]

Thank! Very informative selection.