Your Most Trusted Brand Of Ink

[thudthwacker]

Lately, I've really been enjoying KWZI inks. If you mean "trust" in terms of "I wouldn't worry about them damaging a pen", I'm really not the guy to ask -- the most expensive pen I have is a Lamy AL-star, and worst-case, I could replace the nib (or even the whole feed) without hardship. If you mean "trust" in terms of who makes ink that I feel like I can buy without worry that I won't like it or it won't behave well, Konrad goes at the top of that list. I've been enjoying his IG Turquoise for some months, and my recent sample of IG Green #1 has convinced me that I'd like a bottle of that, too. To that order, I'll be adding a bottle of IGL Aztec Gold because, well, I trust KWZI -- the ink looks great in the reviews I've seen, and I have every reason to believe that, if I get a bottle, it will look as it does in reviews, perform well, and smell like cream soda.

[Bookman]

Waterman

[Freddy]

Waterman

Concur......

 

Fred

[Pens Woods]

Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black ink seems to fit the bill, so to speak! Not too wet and not too dry. Love the color and bit of shading.

[dhanks]

Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black ink seems to fit the bill, so to speak! Not too wet and not too dry. Love the color and bit of shading.

 

Yes, so do I. It's my favorite ink. And I agree, it is not too dry, though it has the reputation of being very dry. I find it to be just about right in terms of wetness.

 

Rumpole

[Rosendust]

Pilot

[Parker51]

azbobcat, we are both is the US of A. What inks are made here and are they more affordable than imports? The few Monteverde cartridges I have were made in Austria. Private Reserve inks used to be made in the USA but I think some of their cartridges were packaged in Slovenia and a recent bottle of their ink had a Made in India sticker on it. All of these cost more than inks from China or India or even the Koh-I-Noor inks from Europe. Transportation costs would be higher for inks from overseas, but the cost of making the ink may be much lower there. And in the case of Chinese inks the transportation costs are essentially subsidized by the US government. So I would want to modify your statement to include the phrase "all other things being equal", then add that they are not!-)

 

Thank you for sharing that the current owner of the Private Reserve brand inks is sourcing them from India. This indicates that the current owner in addition to no longer using the distributor network of the former owners is also no longer using the same suppliers, nor producers of the old Private Reserve ink. Thus, other than intelectual property all traces of the Old Private Reserve are gone (the former owner who created Private Reserve ink died a few years ago).

[Parker51]

Hummmmm. The question comes down to affordability. Domestically made inks are *usually* -- or should be -- cheaper than imported inks.

 

My top three -- so far -- are

 

1) Private Reserve ( I have several different colors of their ink).

 

2) Monteverde inks ( I like the fact that they are lubricated).

 

3) Noodlers -- (Don't know much about them other than they have a gazillion colored inks)

I will no longer purchase Private Reserve ink. They used to be very reliable and they used to be able to be mixed together to create unique color combinations. And if there was a problem with one of the inks, which occasionally did happen, replacement or refund would be provided. The owner died and the brand was sold to an investor. The inks are now sold as a perishable item, per the indication of the current owner. What really turned me off to buying them was when the current owner, who was aggressively unpleasant to talk to or deal with decided to take no responsibility for any problems with ink made by the former owner and indicated it was my problem that I had bought them and that I should throw them away and buy replacements from her. This did not and does not engender any positive feelings towards her or the product she markets. I don't reward people who are rude and not nice to me and based on what I have read are also not nice to others, especially given that there are so many other inks to explore. To me Private Reserve inks died with the old owner.

 

I have purchased Monteverde inks and the inks have nice colors, perform well and so far are reasonably priced.

 

I will no longer regularly purchase Noodler's inks as I have ruined clothing due to my mistakes and found Noodler's to be an unforgiving ink as even those not permanent can stains and it can be difficult to remove said stains. I would purchase Noodler's inks if I wanted a specific color or a specific set of characteristics and I was willing and able to be more careful with said pen filled with said ink. At present I stick to inks that are washable.

Edited April 18, 2020 by Parker51

[bob_hayden]

As I said, I got one bottle of PR ink with a Made in India sticker on it. That could have been a mistake or it could have been that just one color is made in India. So I would like to know if anyone else has seen this. Even if the inks are now made in India it is hard to know what effect that has. Do they use the same recipes, or is it like the Sheaffer move to Slovenia where the old inks are replaced by different ones? Re quality, I think of the situation with former US brands now made in China. In some cases the original US company folded and sold rights to the name which is now plastered on random junk from China. In other cases the US company is alive and contracts with a specific supplier and sends quality control people to their site. Even under the original owner, PR had issues with quality and consistency. If they switched from the kitchen sink to an established ink factory in India the quality might actually improve. Even though the colors changed, the Sheaffer inks from that ubiquitous factory in Slovenia have maintained high quality standards.

 

In any event, in my tiny sample of one the ink marked "India" has been just fine.

[stoof2010]

I've been "out of the game" for a while as far as inks. My newest bought was J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor. Besides a few iroshi inks when the price dropped.

That being said I love noodlers. I have more Noodlers than the rest combined.

However I do want to say that lately I've been enjoying my iroshi inks alot and have 11 of them now.

But I've also really been enjoying what I call "safe" inks. Waterman, Sheaffer, pilot, etc. And specifically turquoise. Sheaffer and lamy turquoise are great. And Sheaffer red is awesome and seems to do some cleaning in the pens I put them in.

So although I live my Noodlers and all the colors and properties and I always will, I went backwards in my opinion and now using alot of the "old school staple" type well known old name brand inks. Can leave them in for months if I forget and they clean perfectly..... That may have more to do with it than anything else, but who knows.

[stoof2010]

Thank you for sharing that the current owner of the Private Reserve brand inks is sourcing them from India. This indicates that the current owner in addition to no longer using the distributor network of the former owners is also no longer using the same suppliers, nor producers of the old Private Reserve ink. Thus, other than intelectual property all traces of the Old Private Reserve are gone (the former owner who created Private Reserve ink died a few years ago).

This is sad to hear. I missed alot I guess.

I still have quite a few PR inks and like them. Very saturated!!

Hopefully the new ones still hold up to how good they used to be!!!

Love me some ebony green and ebony blue :-)

[TitoThePencilPimp]

I would say Pelikan and Sailor. Although, I have never tried the Edelstein line of ink.

[corgicoupe]

Hummmmm. The question comes down to affordability. Domestically made inks are *usually* -- or should be -- cheaper than imported inks.

 

My top three -- so far -- are

 

1) Private Reserve ( I have several different colors of their ink).

 

2) Monteverde inks ( I like the fact that they are lubricated).

 

3) Noodlers -- (Don't know much about them other than they have a gazillion colored inks)

Finally, someone said Private Reserve. I have some Velvet Black which is great for sketching, and some American Blue which is much like the withdrawn Parker Penman Sapphire.

 

However, my favorites are Waterman, Pelikan, Sheaffer, and Parker.

Edited April 26, 2020 by corgicoupe

[TitoThePencilPimp]

Finally, someone said Private Reserve. I have some Velvet Black which is great for sketching, and some American Blue which is much like the withdrawn Parker Penman Blue.

 

However, my favorites are Waterman, Pelikan, Sheaffer, and Parker.

 

Which ink of Sheaffer or Waterman would you recommend to a person who does not own any, and only has basic colors. My only "unique" ink is Alt-Goldgrun. Maybe Pelikan Turquoise, but I think Turquoise is a mild color. Most of my pens consist of Pelikan and Sailor.

[specialk0449]

Waterman.

[pmitc34947]

I am pretty new to this, but I love Birmingham inks. I have only had a couple that I didn't care for. Diamine for great colors, definitely not the bottles and I really like a few Lamy inks.

 

I am eager to try Birmingham inks. Are they making their own inks now or still contracting out to Diamine? What colors do you enjoy? Allegheny River Twilight, Billy Eckstine Blues for Sale, Pennsylvania Railroad Boiler Steam Blue Black and Emerald View Park Oxidized Brass all look promising!

[Estycollector]

 

Which ink of Sheaffer or Waterman would you recommend to a person who does not own any, and only has basic colors. My only "unique" ink is Alt-Goldgrun. Maybe Pelikan Turquoise, but I think Turquoise is a mild color. Most of my pens consist of Pelikan and Sailor.

 

I went to Waterman inks when I learned they were good for vintage pens because of the ink relative "wetness". I started with black and now Serenity Blue.

[ENewton]

 

I am eager to try Birmingham inks. Are they making their own inks now or still contracting out to Diamine? What colors do you enjoy? Allegheny River Twilight, Billy Eckstine Blues for Sale, Pennsylvania Railroad Boiler Steam Blue Black and Emerald View Park Oxidized Brass all look promising!

 

They make their own. Allegheny River Twilight is nice, but my favorite is Waterfront Dusk. I also like Phipps Conservatory Verbena. I use purple ink almost exclusively, and Birmingham has many wonderful purples.

[Biber]

Too bad this thread wasn't started as a poll. Anyone care to tabulate the results thus far?

[Kursaal]

Diamine