Off Color Inks And The Business World

[howdydave]

Howdy!

 

Will I get any grief if I write a cheque using something other than black or dark blue ink (e.g.; violet)?

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

You mean, "off-color ink" isn't ink that turns everything you write into obscenities?

 

Seriously, I should think that for any kind of official communications, it depends on the business, and on how highly placed you are in it. For non-official communications (e.g., notes, mark-up for revisions, &c.), ink color should be a matter of legibility, clarity, and identifiability.

 

And as to checks, I've been using a medium blue for my entire adult life for checks (and either that or black for filling out forms, depending on the instructions given). You might talk to your financial institution about ink colors. I'm sure they would probably frown on signing checks in non-repro blue, but that's about all I'm sure of.

Edited February 11, 2018 by hbquikcomjamesl

[tvradio]

Shouldn't make a difference. I know someone who sent in his last mortgage payment written in crayon.

[howdydave]

I'll just use a pen with dark blue or black in it rather than make waves...

[inkstainedruth]

I've used Noodler's Kung Te Cheng and El Lawrence on checks and my bank didn't bat an eye. I am a bit careful about not using inks that aren't water resistant if they're going in the mail -- but if I'm handing someone the check directly I'll use any blue/blue-black/black ink in whatever pen is available.

The reason for the water resistance is from an incident years ago when I was camping and it rained and my friend and I dropped the blue tarp fly over stuff but it seeped underneath. And a guy who was a CPA laughed at me about how I'd lost some entries in the register of my checkbook having written them with random Flair pen colors.... Fortunately, NOT the last entry....

I'm always sort of amused when my old bank insisted on blue or black because -- having worked in graphic arts -- I knew that red ink would photocopy as black, but a light blue (such as James' aforementioned non-retro blue) might not scan at all.... And I used to wonder a bit about the sample of Noodler's Upper Ganges Blue I tried, just for that reason (even though the ink is supposed to be waterproof, it still is an awfully pale color).

​OTOH, I've signed credit card receipts with all sorts of colors -- purple, green, etc. And in those intstances I'm more worried about the ink smudging on that slick paper before it dries than how it will reproduce....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Corona688]

I'm always sort of amused when my old bank insisted on blue or black because -- having worked in graphic arts -- I knew that red ink would photocopy as black, but a light blue (such as James' aforementioned non-retro blue) might not scan at all.... And I used to wonder a bit about the sample of Noodler's Upper Ganges Blue I tried, just for that reason (even though the ink is supposed to be waterproof, it still is an awfully pale color).

This I think is most important, it must be legible when scanned B&W, sometimes in very poor quality. Chances are whoever will be dealing with it is going to see a digital copy taken by a bank machine and won't even know what color it was. Such is the case for the dozens I read every month's end trawling through our business bank statement.

Edited February 11, 2018 by Corona688

[MHBru]

Checks are always written in ball point so i get the impression on the duplicate copy. I also write business notecards and use a narrow variety... Teals, greens, grays, blues are in The current rotation. I hAve caran d ache ultra Violet but a not all that thrilled with it but do use it as well. Posted elsewhere on this site.. Trying to think of something to mix to give it an extra punch. No crazy colors tho

[praxim]

You mean, "off-color ink" isn't ink that turns everything you write into obscenities?

 

M. Tourette's ink.

 

Anything that reproduces well should be fine. Some institutions have not caught up with what can be scanned readily today compared with forty years ago, so you may need to carry more than one pen. Hmm, there's an idea.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I use water resistant inks on checks, generally blue or blue-black, since I almost always have at least one pen inked with one of those. Hadn't really thought about the bank scanning it afterward, but it should be negotiable regardless of the color if the original can be read. My concern would be that a lot of "off color" inks, purples, greens, etc, smear very easily. But there are water resistant inks in these colors too.

 

As for the rest of the business world, I'm fortunate to work in a job where nobody cares what ink color I use. I've filled out local forms in purple, brown, green, and black, as well as my more usual blues or blue-blacks. But a lot of companies and professions do care, particularly for paperwork that will be seen by clients or customers. If your boss doesn't want you using pink or orange ink, you'll find out soon enough.

[praxim]

People keep talking about cheques, or checks. I have not personally written one in about fifteen years, or received one other than those created by a bank for a real estate transaction, or a dividend where I had been slow to arrange direct credit. It would be at least a decade since the last cheque book vanished from our house, for either of us, and my spouse is more conservative than I in that respect.

 

edit: on reflection, a decade is about right.

Edited February 12, 2018 by praxim

[Corona688]

People keep talking about cheques, or checks. I have not personally written one in about fifteen years, or received one other than those created by a bank for a real estate transaction, or a dividend where I had been slow to arrange direct credit. It would be at least a decade since the last cheque book vanished from our house, for either of us, and my spouse is more conservative than I in that respect.

 

edit: on reflection, a decade is about right.

 

Depends where you live, I think; out in the countryside things can be much less automated. Electronic transactions often have grievously high overhead costs also. which city-dwellers take as a fact of life and others resist.

[howdydave]

My landlord would be VERY unhappy if I didn't write at least one check per month!

[tvradio]

My landlord would be VERY unhappy if I didn't write at least one check per month!

 

My management company is very unhappy I take the extra days' float from writing them checks which they have to manual;ly process, as opposed to their preferred direct electronic payment system which offers me no benefits aside from saving 49¢/month in postage.

[praxim]

My comment was wry. I recall when we were in Japan in the early 2000s almost everything was cash-based. Things were getting humorously desperate before we could find a machine where I could withdraw some.

 

Here, using cheques has cost more for ages. I am pretty confident almost everything in the bush here would be electronic. Our structure of the banking system is different from that in America I believe -- a few big ones and basically no small private ones, not many branches in less populated areas; electronic is all you've got. Some cafes here are now cash (and cheque) free. Credit or debit card is the sole available form of payment. Credit card slips have not needed signing for quite a while either, being PIN based. I presume that is true elsewhere. It gets pretty hard to need a pen out in the world.

[inkstainedruth]

Checks are always written in ball point so i get the impression on the duplicate copy. I also write business notecards and use a narrow variety... Teals, greens, grays, blues are in The current rotation. I hAve caran d ache ultra Violet but a not all that thrilled with it but do use it as well. Posted elsewhere on this site.. Trying to think of something to mix to give it an extra punch. No crazy colors tho

 

That was the idea behind manifold nibs on vintage pens -- they were rigid enough to go through carbon paper onto the copy.

I was so proud of myself the last time my husband and I went car shopping -- I had a pen filled with Kung Te Cheng just for the occasion (since that ink is pretty much EVERYTHING proof). Only to be stymied by the carbonless forms for some of the financial paperwork.... Next time I have to do something like that, I'm going to be prepared -- I'll be bringing one of the old Esterbrooks -- fitted with a 9460 Rigid (Manifold) M or 9461 (Rigid) Manifold F. Might take some doing to get KTC flushed out afterwards, but for the actual official dealings I'll be prepared....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[inkstainedruth]

My comment was wry. I recall when we were in Japan in the early 2000s almost everything was cash-based. Things were getting humorously desperate before we could find a machine where I could withdraw some.

 

Here, using cheques has cost more for ages. I am pretty confident almost everything in the bush here would be electronic. Our structure of the banking system is different from that in America I believe -- a few big ones and basically no small private ones, not many branches in less populated areas; electronic is all you've got. Some cafes here are now cash (and cheque) free. Credit or debit card is the sole available form of payment. Credit card slips have not needed signing for quite a while either, being PIN based. I presume that is true elsewhere. It gets pretty hard to need a pen out in the world.

It depends. A lot of times places are using either the machines where you have to sign electronically, or just assuming -- if you're not suddenly doing some weird transaction which flags a fraud alert -- that you're you and you don't have to sign at all. But not every place in the US has that yet. Some places don't even have chip reader cards yet (or have them but don't have the software in place so you still have to swipe a credit card rather than inserting the chip end). But I pay a lot of bills by mail (I'm not 100% trusting of electronic transfers -- and while I can check my account statement online, I still prefer getting paper statements as well). The bank we had our mortgage through merged with a much larger one and towards the end they decided to charge $3 a month for paper statements. We decided to pay it off 6 months early. We didn't have a problem with our local branch -- it was corporate we objected to -- but when they said "You know, this was technically a line of credit, so you could have the balance at zero and keep the account open" we said "Um... nope! We're outta here...."

So far we haven't had any problems with the company that bought the bank we had our regular account in (the deal with the LOC was that we had to open an account with them and have the money withdrawn every month electronically). In fact, because of electronic transfers, it's actually EASIER to balance the statement every month because more checks seem to clear within the time frame between statements.

But paying bills online? That's only for emergency situations -- such as "OMG -- I just found this bill which got mislaid and it's due TOMORROW!" because before getting bought out our bank charged a hefty fee for that (under the new ownership, I don't know what happens because I try very hard for the situation to NOT COME UP....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Ada]

I've used Scabiosa on checks, and the bank honored them.

[alanshutko]

I've used Scabiosa on checks, and the bank honored them.

 

 

I've used pink and purple ballpoints, various teal and green inks, and probably even read and none of them had problems.

[ParkerDuofold]

It depends. A lot of times places are using either the machines where you have to sign electronically, or just assuming -- if you're not suddenly doing some weird transaction which flags a fraud alert -- that you're you and you don't have to sign at all. But not every place in the US has that yet. Some places don't even have chip reader cards yet (or have them but don't have the software in place so you still have to swipe a credit card rather than inserting the chip end). But I pay a lot of bills by mail (I'm not 100% trusting of electronic transfers -- and while I can check my account statement online, I still prefer getting paper statements as well). The bank we had our mortgage through merged with a much larger one and towards the end they decided to charge $3 a month for paper statements. We decided to pay it off 6 months early. We didn't have a problem with our local branch -- it was corporate we objected to -- but when they said "You know, this was technically a line of credit, so you could have the balance at zero and keep the account open" we said "Um... nope! We're outta here...."

So far we haven't had any problems with the company that bought the bank we had our regular account in (the deal with the LOC was that we had to open an account with them and have the money withdrawn every month electronically). In fact, because of electronic transfers, it's actually EASIER to balance the statement every month because more checks seem to clear within the time frame between statements.

But paying bills online? That's only for emergency situations -- such as "OMG -- I just found this bill which got mislaid and it's due TOMORROW!" because before getting bought out our bank charged a hefty fee for that (under the new ownership, I don't know what happens because I try very hard for the situation to NOT COME UP....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Hi Ruth, et al,

 

I still do all of my banking the old-fashioned way. I write checks by hand and I pay in cash. When I do online purchases, I have a credit card set aside for that, that's paid off at the end of each month. I also have Lifelock.

 

I do not do any banking or financial management online... networks get hacked daily... the less info you have about yourself online the better.

 

Which is why this place is such an enigma... this is the only place online where I'm candid about myself. But another thing I do is use proxy servers... I had a buddy of mine, who is an IT guru, set-up all of my internet devices to run through a proxy server in another part of the country,... that cannot be back-traced to me here in Jersey. That's another way to protect your identity online. Just don't ask me how its done...

 

That's also why I do not have a personal FB page, Twitter account, what have you,... (there is a guy on YouTube that also has the same name as mine, but he isn't me ),... the less you put yourself out there, the better off you are... and your finances.

 

Knock wood... I've never had my identity stolen... but then again... who'd want it? ... ...

 

 

Be well all.

 

 

- Anthony

 

 

Typos.

Edited February 14, 2018 by ParkerDuofold

[Corona688]

Hi Ruth, et al,

 

I do not do any banking or financial management online... networks get hacked daily... the less info you have about yourself online the better.

One of the primary sources of credit card fraud remains shady employees at restaurants. When you dine out, bring cash