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Colorful Journaling Ink That Doesn't Hurt The Eyes?


InkyPoetess

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Hi all,

 

I do a lot of creative writing/journaling and used to use those multi-colored gel pen packs until I switched to fountain pens (My EDC is a Safari EF).

I am looking for suggestions of ink with the following properties:

 

  1. Not blue nor black.
  2. Easy on the eyes for long writing seasons.
  3. Behaves well with little feathering or bleed-through on mid-grade paper (i,e, better than a composition book, not as good as Rhodia).
  4. Inexpensive (Noodler's price range).

One of the main draws to fountain pens is the ability to use interesting colors and switch them whenever I like, but the platinum violet hurts my eyes and J. Herbin Terre de Feu isn't artistic enough for me (though I do love the shading). I prefer rich colors to dusty/pastels.

 

Thanks for your help!

Edited by InkyPoetess
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You want a mid to dark tone color.

So if your rich color is a lighter color, that will not work.

Certain colors need to be dark toned, because even the mid tone colors are hard on the eyes.

 

Some colors are OK for about half a page or less, but a whole page of it can be too much to look at.

In general, I find that warm tone colors (orange and red) are harder to look at than cool toned colors (blue and green)

 

Example1, Noodler's Forest Green is OK, but Gruene Cactus may be too bright.

Option: Noodler's Hunter Green is darker than Forest Green.

 

The reaction to some colors are individual specific.

Example2, person A may like color X, but person B may not like looking at more than a few lines of it.

 

The pen and paper makes a difference in how the ink looks. Some inks look darker out of a wet pen, other inks do not seem to make a difference.

Example3. Sheaffer Turquoise out of most of my pens looks like a medium turquoise. But out of my Esterbrook, it looks like a dark teal.

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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I would say that Montblanc Toffee Brown is a good journal ink. It's a pretty rich colour. Iroshizuku Shin Ryoku is also a pretty good colour, and if you don't mind a red Diamine Oxblood or Monaco red are both rich and also pretty easy on the eyes for something in that colour range.

 

Lately I've been enjoying grey inks and I would recommend Graf von Faber Castell Stone Grey too, though it may be skirting it too close to black, and I wouldn't call it "rich."

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I too switched from colorful gel pens to fountain pens recently. My favorite color is Diamine Ancient Copper. It shades wonderfully, behaves well on all my cheap papers, and is a lovely color to look at, warm and pretty.

Edited by Miaxina
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Burgundy would fill the bill.

 

Black Cherry, Burgundy Mist, if you can find it, King Philip Requiem.

Peace and Understanding

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Not sure how helpful this will be to you since you prefer brighter colours and want a cheaper ink but I use Herbin's Poussiere de Lune and Iroshizuku Yama-Budo in my journal. Poussiere de Lune is a dustier colour, not as bright as Yama-Budo. Yama-Budo is on the pricey side being an Iroshizuku but I think it's worth every penny for its performance.

Edited by merepuffery
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Ancient Copper is a very nice colour. Depending if you use a flex nib, or not, it is a bright / dark colour with a beautifu shading. I believe it is a great journal ink.

WomenWagePeace

 

SUPORTER OF http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/100x75q90/631/uh2SgO.jpg

 

My avatar is a painting by the imense surrealist painter Remedios Varo

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Hi Inky Poetess,

 

Consider J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage or Diamine Ultra Green; alternatively, a nice rich brown would be Diamine Chocolate.

 

Hope you find that which you seek. :)

 

- Anthony

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Noodler's Saguaro Wine is colorful and legible. I use a Dot composition book which has fairly nice paper made in India, on which it makes no problems. It is close to Yama Budo, but has no sheen.

 

You might want to get samples and see what you like. Diamine inks are available in a huge array of colors, and come in an economical 30 ml bottle.

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Loving these suggestions. The Diamine 30ml bottles are a great way to get a good range of colours at decent price and there is a great range. Oxblood, Merlot, Syrah, Evergreen, Bilberry, Grape... all rich colours.

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Don't be too sure that there are no blues for you. Noodler's Blue Eel is a rather startling blue that I find beautiful and easy to read. I also use a lot of Diamine Sherwood, which is very clearly green, but also highly legible. I am on the hunt for the Essential Brown and the Essential Purple. Right now, the best brown I've tried is Iroshizuku Yama-Guri, diluted 2:1 with distilled water. But I still have Diamine Chocolate, J. Herbin Lie de The, and Noodler's original Brown to test.

 

As for the essential Purple, you might consider Noodler's original Purple, Purple Martin, or Violet, and Diamine Damson. Finally, my current workhorse ink is dilute Noodler's Red-Black. It might be mixed anywhere from 10:1 to 4:1 with water, to remedy smudging. It doesn't feather much, IMX, and it's highly legible, and the black component is entirely waterproof.

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One of my inked pens has Rohrer and Klinger's Alt-Goldgrün and it's a very restful and relaxing color. Kind of an antiquated gold-green, legible on white or cream paper and easy to read in either a stub or extra-fine.

I'll come up with something eventually.

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Wow! Thanks guys! There are so many suggestions for ink I didn't even know about! My sample wish list has grown exponentially! This is great! :)

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Browse the various online stores that have ink samples and see what the various inks look like.

Example, there are LOTS and LOTS of blue inks. You could spend a long time going through them all.

So use the online sample to narrow down the inks you want to try.

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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Some others to consider might L'Artisan Pastellier Callifolio inks - particularly Andrinople for a very nice red, Olivastre or Teodora for greens, and they have some lovely, easy on your eye blues. Vanness Pens sells them and they are very reasonably priced. They are not as heavily saturated as other inks, but all of the ones I have tried (about 20) are all well behaved.

Edited by DrPenfection

"Today will be gone in less than 24 hours. When it is gone, it is gone. Be wise, but enjoy! - anonymous today

 

 

 

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Hi,

 

As I prefer the dusky low-Chroma inks for extended reading, I will not suggest an ink, rather I add thoughts about paper:

 

Select a paper without optical brightening agents. Their fluorescence is hard on the eyes.

(If a document is printed on 'ultra-bright' paper, I'll wear my specs coated to make extensive viewing of displays more comfy. https://www.zeiss.ca/vision-care/en_ca/products/coating-coloured-lenses/coatings/duravision-blueprotect.html

 

The base tint is important to establish simultaneous contrast in terms of both Hue and Value. If the SC is too high, readability drops. Ink that 'jumps off the page' is IMHO really best suited for greeting cards and frisky notes.

 

Page size is also a factor: a small field of brilliant ink is easier to deal with than a large page.

 

Then there's the matter of using lined paper. Lines should be narrow, feint and of a 'soft' appearance. Black lines combined with a brilliant ink creates visual confusion: the lines, being dark, recede behind the visual plane of the page, while the ink comes forward.

 

We also have nib width and % coverage of the page: with brilliant ink narrow nibs with an expansive hand is easier to read than wide nibs in a compact hand.

 

Oh, I find show-through [ghosting] very irritating, so if encountered , consider better paper or working single-sided.

Bye,

S1

Edited by Sandy1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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Sandy, I'm not sure if I want to know what does in a "frisky note" but it does sound intriguing. Your comments on paper are spot-on. My journals are never bright white and often carry vaguely tinted paper. At the end of the day, it is restful to write with a quiet color on glare-free paper even if only doodles and swirls when fully formed thoughts fail. It's 10:30 AM and just writing about my bedtime routine is making me sleepy. Time for a power nap.........

A certified Inkophile

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Sandy, I'm not sure if I want to know what does in a "frisky note" but it does sound intriguing. Your comments on paper are spot-on. My journals are never bright white and often carry vaguely tinted paper. At the end of the day, it is restful to write with a quiet color on glare-free paper even if only doodles and swirls when fully formed thoughts fail. It's 10:30 AM and just writing about my bedtime routine is making me sleepy. Time for a power nap.........

 

 

Hi,

 

NO POWER NAPPING!

 

500ml of java instead -

 

Take the doggies for a run -

Play some high energy dance music e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJgkuyJ8NLo

 

Bye,

S1

Edited by Sandy1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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