Fountain Pen Ink With Worst Fade?

[yourepicfailure]

First 'true' post here, hope I'm doing it right.

 

I've been looking around the boards for a specific ink, but I can't seem to settle on the right one for this job.

I am purposefully looking for a blue, black, greenish, or in-between fountain pen ink that has a very short written lifespan. AKA I'm looking for some pen inks that would begin fade horribly in a time span of 2-3 months in reasonable light exposure when written on general office paper.

Anyways I prefer slightly darker inks. Dry or wet, lubrication, it doesn't matter to me as it won't be workhorse. I don't care for smells either. I plan to put this into an entry-level pen, so if it clogs only 3 euro goes in the trash. Again, bottled or cartridge, I don't care.

So far I'm considering Quink inks, probably the washables and the blue-black.

Any other recommendations? I'm also open to recipes if you have any.

 

Please, don't ask why. I'm just looking to produce short-lived documents.

Thanks.

[LizEF]

If you search fade resistance, you'll find pages which include the inks which did fade (even though others will be talking about what didn't). I seem to recall Noodler's Bay State Blue fades pretty fast.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/315917-some-blues-i-am-considering/

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/302229-baystate-blue-fading/

[yourepicfailure]

Guess I wasn't looking in the right areas. One of the linked posts lead me to a whole spreadsheet dedicated to exposure to direct sunlight. It'll do as a decent benchmark. Thanks!

 

Looks like baystate blue is topping my list.

 

If anyone has more ideas, I'm still open.

[evyxmsj]

Off topic slightly, but I wonder if you could do some cool effects if you allow an increasing proportion of text or a sketch to sunlight. Like increase the exposure a cm at a time. Might get an interesting graduation. I might try it, but the sun here is not always reliably bright!

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

Most 'general office paper' is acid-free or pH balanced, so going to a 'lowest bidder' school-grade foolscap refill is likely more fit for your purpose. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/265201-inky-t-o-d-have-you-ever-had-an-ink-fade/?p=2968309

 

One factor is the acidity of the paper - greater acid content lowers the life expectancy of aniline dye ink.

 

One could fume the paper with whatever acid is handy and fairly benign: vinegar, lemon juice, etc.

 

Ammonia is often used for clean-up, breaking-down the ink, but that might be a bit too too much, and stinky to boot.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited June 2, 2017 by Sandy1

[chromantic]

How strange that an ink (BSB) which will stain anything it touches would also fade very quickly on the page.

[Sandy1]

How strange that an ink (BSB) which will stain anything it touches would also fade very quickly on the page.

 

 

Karma?

Edited June 2, 2017 by Sandy1

[Witsius]

Quink Washable Blue will fade within days of being laid down on paper.

[ParkerDuofold]

Quink Washable Blue will fade within days of being laid down on paper.

I concur. This one has my highest recommendation, too. My biggest waste of ink money.

 

- Anthony

[ErrantSmudge]

Quink Washable Blue will fade within days of being laid down on paper.

 

I've seen the same happen with Lamy Blue and Monteverde Malibu Blue. It seems many/most of the "washable" blue inks share this problem.

[Noihvo]

I concur. This one has my highest recommendation, too. My biggest waste of ink money.

 

- Anthony

 

[ParkerDuofold]

 

Congratulations, Noihvo; your mileage varies considerably from mine, (and most everybody else's)... if you lived in the States, I'd ship my bottle to you... you can have it. In fact, I'll have to look... I might have pitched it already.

 

- Anthony

Edited June 2, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[Arkanabar]

In my experience, with only some 20 inks tested (results posted http://imgur.com/fpngallery/0MzOR), the worst are Parker Quink Washable Blue and Waterman Purple. Washable blues are the ones vulnerable to chemical ink-killers.

[ac12]

I had a similar fading issue with Sheaffer's Skrip blue.

 

BUT, on carefully watching it (with a magnifier) as wrote, it appeared to me that the ink was being absorbed into the paper as it dried. So there was less ink/dye on the surface where your eye can see it, just as Noihvo suggested.

 

The blue ink color faded within about 15-20 seconds. Darkest as soon as the ink was put down by the pen, then immediately getting lighter as the ink was being absorbed into the paper. End result was a faded/washed out looking blue.

[wallylynn]

Baystate blue does indeed fade. But indoor light may not be enough for your idea. I have notes written in BSB on the corkboard, several years old. Still legible. Brown (not blue) but still legible. For full fading you need sunlight, then it's gone in a week. Note: BSB journal entries still look fresh.

[amberleadavis]

Well, I was going to lead you to my spreadsheet, but you already found it. If you are looking for a period of months, look at these tests.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/216906-endurance-test/

 

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/248800-fade-olympics-2013-sponsored-by-t-l-v-p-p/

[ac12]

hmmm

I am beginning to get a funny/bad feeling about the OPs purpose for a "short-lived document."

WHY ???

I can only think of negative reasons for a such a document.

[Noihvo]

In my experience, with only some 20 inks tested (results posted http://imgur.com/fpngallery/0MzOR), the worst are Parker Quink Washable Blue and Waterman Purple. Washable blues are the ones vulnerable to chemical ink-killers.

 

[SeeksAdvice]

I'll add R&K Salix to the mix. The "grey" iron-gall part remains, but the blue goes "bye-bye" for me within a few months. Documents, inside a closed folder, inside a closed filing cabinet = light grey.

[BlazeOrangeGuy]

My experience has shown that Montblanc Royal Blue & Lamy Blue have faded for me generally... and I typically write on Staples copy paper, on Meade notebook paper, and on notecards, etc. Rhodia seems to have better holding power for the MBRB and it doesn't fade as much on Rhodia. I've seen MBRB fade in a week.

 

MBRB is a pretty ink, looks best in a wet pen, but I'm a bit a bit scared off from the fading tendencies I've seen over time.

 

Hope that other folks experiences have been different, but the OP may want to explore these two inks.