Your Most Trusted Brand Of Ink

[DrDebG]

One thing I really love about FPN - we can disagree, yet for the most part, we still respect each other.

 

I read through this thread again and noted some discussions that were a bit "pointed". But then I read where people came together again, agreeing to disagree. Good on all of you!

 

While Montblanc, DeAtramentis, and Pilot Iroshizuku inks top my list, there is a 4th contender - Monteverde, and particularly some of the Blues and Noirs. Very nice ink.

 

But seeing the large number of Diamine lovers here means I think I will have give a few other colors a try.

[A Smug Dill]

@ 5Cavaliers, you could try some Sailor inks, if you're prepared to venture out to different brands (and, for the avoidance of doubt, I'll exclude such rebranded shop-exclusive inks such Kobe INK Story and Bungubox which are nevertheless manufactured by Sailor). It doesn't have iron-gall inks, as far as I'm aware, but it does offer over a hundred different dye inks and pigment inks to suit almost every occasion.

[DrDebG]

@ 5Cavaliers, you could try some Sailor inks, if you're prepared to venture out to different brands (and, for the avoidance of doubt, I'll exclude such rebranded shop-exclusive inks such Kobe INK Story and Bungubox which are nevertheless manufactured by Sailor). It doesn't have iron-gall inks, as far as I'm aware, but it does offer over a hundred different dye inks and pigment inks to suit almost every occasion.

 

Thank you for your suggestion. I am considering trying some of the Sailor Ink Studio inks. I have many of the Sailor Jentle inks which are great. I was also given a bottle of Kobe Ooji Cherry by a wonderful pen retailer in Taiwan (after I had purchased several pens). Oh, and I have four of the new Taccia inks, which I understand are made by Sailor for Taccia.

Edited August 29, 2019 by 5Cavaliers

[Olya]

I'm new to fountain pens. What are some thoughts on parker quink? I'm trying to find something that is document resistant; permanent seems too vague of a description from what I've read....

It's good ink.

 

"Permanent" only means "non-washable" and even so it will likely wash out just fine.

 

If by "permanent" you mean an ink which is fully waterproof and won't ever fade under UV light, you'll have to look at pigment inks and Noodler's.

 

Or if you're happy to use a non-fp for your needs at work, you can buy a uni pen, they use pigment ink in all their pens.

[kronion]

It is a bit random, but I would say Sheaffer. Their (widely underestimated) blue-black was the starting point for my interest in inks and it is the only bottle of ink that I have in my office drawer.

[torstar]

Waterman has never caused a problem.

 

All the others, any brand that is remotely available in North America, have.

 

W is a tad boring at times, so it's not hands-down a top recommendation.

 

No pain, no gain..

[ParramattaPaul]

Plainly and simply, Diamine. Rarely, will I buy any other inks. Even then, it is for someone to whom I am giving a pen of the same brand.

[ParramattaPaul]

Plainly and simply, Diamine. Rarely, will I buy any other inks. Even then, it is for someone to whom I am giving a pen of the same brand.

[sombrueil]

I would definitely say Diamine. I have yet to try an ink of theirs that I dislike, or doesn't behave in my pens. After that would be Pilot Iroshizuku, then Herbin.

 

You must not have tried Kelly Green then. heh.

 

But other than that, I find Diamine the best overall for my vintage pens. But I really getting into Birmingham Pens ink too ...

Edited September 8, 2019 by sombrueil

[torstar]

One thing I really love about FPN - we can disagree, yet for the most part, we still respect each other.

 

I read through this thread again and noted some discussions that were a bit "pointed". But then I read where people came together again, agreeing to disagree. Good on all of you!

 

While Montblanc, DeAtramentis, and Pilot Iroshizuku inks top my list, there is a 4th contender - Monteverde, and particularly some of the Blues and Noirs. Very nice ink.

 

But seeing the large number of Diamine lovers here means I think I will have give a few other colors a try.

 

the issue was "trusted", or so i read in the title

 

MB has peddled out horrible inks through the years, worse consistency than Kool-Aid, i had bottles i couldn't give away.

 

Diamine has issued clunkers.

 

Noodlers has put out experiments that were horrifying.

[WirsPlm]

Noodlers

 

Their basic inks are workhorses that have worked on all the papers I've tried them from fancy European and Japanese notebooks to random cheap stuff from Walmart so they're my go-to brand for basic inks that I will use every day. I've never understood why people decide to mix inks or fail to clean out a pen when switching inks or use wild experimental inks and then complain about things, bad maintenance is bad maintenance and inks that come with warnings about their unique chemistry should be taken seriously.

Edited September 11, 2019 by WirsPlm

[tadas]

One bottle? Waterman Serenity Blue. Hey, babe, take a walk on the mild side...

 

Can I add a few more? If so, then Franklin-Christoph Midnight Emerald, (which is the closest you can get to their LE dark green from the 2016 Philadelphia Pen show, which is what I really would like to get, but it's unobtanium)

and Aurora Black

and Diamine Imperial Purple (like Noodler's Kung Te Cheng but it behaves)

and, if I can find some, my favorite vintage ink -

Parker Quink Microfilm Black ("For V-Mail")

[Mulrich]

Trusted could mean many things but if you mean 'will never cause problems in any pen' my recommendation is Waterman (and most main lines of other legacy pen manufacturers, eg Parker).

Waterman serenity blue is the first ink I put in any new pen because I know exactly how the ink should behave and if there is ever a problem it is always the pen and not the ink. And with a wet nib it even has some nice sheen. There are other blues I probably like more but none that I use as often (Im just finishing my second bottle whereas my other inks are over half full). I have similarly positive things to say about waterman purple and blue black.

[inkobsessed]

Lamy

 

Joop

[AD43]

Sheaffer Skrip

[tonybelding]

I just realized that after starting this thread, I never did come back to it and offer my own opinions. Well, part of the reason has to do with something that was touched upon by a few of you. . . Noodler's. I was one of the biggest Noodler's fans around, had more Noodler's than anything else, and was usually quick to jump to Noodler's defense when some of the silly things were said about it. However. . .

 

Recently I find the lack of consistency has become too severe. Opening a new bottle of Noodler's has become sort of like rolling the dice. I just don't know what it's going to be. I don't know what's the cause, and I don't ascribe any blame. However, that's what prompted me to start this. I'm thinking about where I go in the post-Noodler's era.

 

Luckily, it seems we live in the golden age of ink, and there are plenty of options.

 

I see a lot of you have named Pilot (Iroshizuku), Diamine and Herbin, which correlates well with my experience.

 

Not many have named Monteverde, Robert Oster or Colorverse, which I suspect is mostly because they are newer brands. When it comes to "most trusted", I do think most of us prefer a long and well established track record. I am optimistic towards Monteverde in particular, though. They are an established pen manufacturer, they have their "ITF" formula, and Horizon Blue is an impressive PPS clone.

[bobje]

So many companies fit into the trusted characteristic. Waterman, Sailor, Pilot, Diamine, Montblanc, Sheaffer, Herbin, Roehrer & Klingner, Lamy, Aurora, Oster. In a tiny little stationery category, there are so many reliable choices. This is amazing.

[chromantic]

I have become more impressed with my Stipula inks the longer I use them. Beautiful colors, very well-behaved on most papers and, most important to me, they don't dry out quickly on the nib when you set the pen down for 30-45 seconds. They are on the dry side but that's perfect for my M-series Pelikans. Also, a bargain at $16 for 70 ml.

[Tom Kellie]

~ Lacking adequate relevant experience, it's not possible to name a most trusted ink brand.

Who knows? A few years later it might be less opaque.

Most of the inks on my writing desk are from Montblanc.

There are also quite a few bottles of L’Artisan Pastellier ink.

Iroshizuku, Shikiori, J. Herbin, Diamine are also represented.

At present they're all trusted, there having been no adverse ink experiences.

Reading through this thread was helpful, thanks to many useful comments.

Tom K.

[aurore]

Being a big fan of Sailor, I must admit I quite trust Graf von Faber-Castell inks. They are not cheap at all (well, I guess we pay mainly for the nice bottle), but very safe and trouble free. Love them in piston fillers.

The special prize for the best value trustworthy dye based inks goes to Rohrer and Klingner, they cost $6/50ml in Europe and are actually very nice.