Koh-I-Noor, Blue Document Ink. First impressions.

[Mayo]

I just so happened to find some bottles of Koh-I-Noor Document Ink in blue for cheap, I've found very little information and pictures on this ink so I took the only logical next step of buying a couple of bottles.

The ink comes in a pretty utilitarian 50ml plastic bottle, but it has a nice shape and a neck wide enough to fit any pen.

 

 

The ink flows really well and writes smooth, I tested it with a Pilot Kaküno with a fine nib, and a Kaweco Sport with a broad. It takes a little while to dry on Rhodia paper, and has a really nice vibrant color while it's wet on the page, but as soon as it tries it seems as the paper sucks a lot of the color out of the ink and all that's left is a really pale shade of blue. I was not expecting it, and I don't really hate the color, but it was a little bit disappointing. It seems to do OK on cheap copy paper, though it did come through the other side in some spots with the broad nib.

Here's a picture of a sheet of Rhodia paper with a bit of writing, the color on a 1st, 2nd and 3rd layer of ink, dry time, and some resistance test against bleach (on the left) and water (on the right), compared to some other inks I have.

 

And here's a bit of writing on Clairefontaine paper, compared to Noodler's Liberty's Elysium.

 

 

It was not affected at all by either the water or the bleach, even with just a couple of minutes of dry time. Was easy to wash off from my pens and my skin. The broad nib got a bit of shading out in a similar way Pilot Iroshizuku's Tsuyu-Kusa does.

Overall, I think this is a great ink and the make-or-break point is whether you like the color or not. I didn't yet test for sunlight exposure or other chemicals, but as far as water and bleach resistance goes it performed excellent and it really looks like a proper document ink.

 

[inkstainedruth]

I'm not familiar with this ink, but did use Koh-i-Noor Rapidograph ink years ago in my Rapidographs (it wasn't super black but was very nice for drawing).  So the question I have is whether this ink is safe for fountain pens or not (Rapidographs being a very different animal from fountain pens).  

A guy I knew in college couldn't understand why I wouldn't put India ink into the Rapidographs, but I didn't want to have to fight with cleaning those out any more than I absolutely had to....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[LizEF]

Thanks for a great review, @Mayo - you've got all the crucial information for a document ink.  And I really like seeing the bleach & water results for all the inks.

[Mayo]

11 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

I'm not familiar with this ink, but did use Koh-i-Noor Rapidograph ink years ago in my Rapidographs (it wasn't super black but was very nice for drawing).  So the question I have is whether this ink is safe for fountain pens or not (Rapidographs being a very different animal from fountain pens).

That's really interesting! I never used any radiograph inks. And yes, this Document Ink series is marketed as fountain pen ink, and while I don't have any long-term usage experience with it yet (it's my first time using their inks), the performance is really good.

 

4 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Thanks for a great review, @Mayo - you've got all the crucial information for a document ink.  And I really like seeing the bleach & water results for all the inks.

Thank you! If you want to see some other tests or comparisons I can see what I can do.

[mizgeorge]

Thanks for the review @Mayo - and well done for jumping in!

 

I'm a fan of Koh i Noor document inks - both the blue and the black - which is more grey than black, but has an interesting green undertone and lots of red sheen.

 

 

@inkstainedruth, I've had both of these in pens constantly for some months, with only intermittent use, and have had not problems at all with cleanup or anything else. The company has a very long established reputation - I've used their lead holders for years - and certainly on this side of the pond, the inks are amazingly good value.

[LizEF]

29 minutes ago, Mayo said:

If you want to see some other tests or comparisons I can see what I can do.

Nothing specific.  I just enjoy seeing ink reviews and the various ways folks go about them.   I hope you'll continue, when you have occasion and interest in doing so.

[inkstainedruth]

@Mayoand @mizgeorge -- Thanks for the information.  I haven't really used the Rapidographs since I got out of college (the original set of 4 were my graduation present from high school. and then I bought two or three more that had larger sized points when I was in college).  

I didn't know they were supposed to be used like ruling pens until I got into college, because the only person I knew in high school who had one used hers for drawing.  And of course was totally PO'd when a couple of guys in the Graphic Delineation class I took in college used Rapidograghs instead of ruling pens for their isometric projection assignments and both got an A -- while I used a ruling pen (the way we were supposed to) and barely managed to eke out a passing grade.   

I didn't like those two guys all that well after that....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[yazeh]

@Mayogreat review.

I saw a sample writing of this ink with a nice red sheen

Glad to hear that the blue one is resistant to bleach. The black one is slightly affected by the ink

 

 

[amberleadavis]

Great review. Thank you!

[txomsy]

Both, blue and black are ISO certified registrar inks. I think they were among the first (if not the first) inks to get the certification.

 

Last time, I think I ordered 6 bottles of each... worked great to take notes in tropical places where conditions (like humidity, rain, warmth...) were far from optimal.

 

Now, as for color, I find the black ink has a murky greenish undertone, and it tends to write like a very dark grey.

 

The Blue is another story. It writes kind of teal when "fresh", and goes to "dark blue" when "aged" in the pen. What I mean is that after you fill in the pen, the color it lies down tends to be a brilliant light teal blue, vibrant and attractive, that dries with some dullness, not to the light chalky shade of Noodler's Polar Blue, but rather a hue with more "character". However, if you are like me, the kind of person that can sometimes leave a pen inked for long periods of time with a single load, you may notice that as ink "ages" (likely it is oxidized) inside the pen, it tends to turn darker and after several weeks may write in a darker blue (closer to Montblanc Permanent blue) tone.

 

Personally, I do find the "fresh" hue more vibrant and lively, and the "pen-aged" tone more serious and formal. In any case, once laid down and dried, I find the tone does not change any more and stays as is permanently. At least on notes taken 7+ years ago.

 

The Black seems to also darken somewhat with aging in the pen but it being black is less noticeable.

 

Of notice, when cleaning the pen, I find that these inks tend to stain the porcelain/steel sinks unless one is careful to clean them immediately, and even so, often require some rubbing. This is not as bad as BSB, and similarly, is easy to clean with bleach. They tend to be fairly saturated, but wash off rather well (you do not need too many flushes to get water wash out clean off the pen).

 

As for the price, the "cheap" price you got was likely not a sale, they usually are very cheap (last time -some years ago- they were ~3-5 EUR for a 50ml bottle off eBay). Certainly cheaper than Rohrer & Klingner, and for a ISO-certified document ink, certainly very cheap. And, surprisingly, they seem to still be that cheap judging from Amazon prices checked right now.

 

The ink flows well and is well lubricated. It is advertised as light-stable (and my use does not contradict it, but YMMV).

 

Good quality, permanent and cheap. That's a sale for me, but I do like the colors and permanence, others may have different tastes and priorities.

 

[Lithium466]

In light of the recent DeAtramentis Document ink discussion, do you think this could also be a "nano-pigmented" ink?

It could behave like one, very resistant to water and light, but can be "rubbed" away a bit from water...

[Mayo]

On 9/9/2023 at 5:00 PM, Lithium466 said:

In light of the recent DeAtramentis Document ink discussion, do you think this could also be a "nano-pigmented" ink?

It could behave like one, very resistant to water and light, but can be "rubbed" away a bit from water...

Not entirely sure. In the importation label it says the components are "pigments and conservatives", but there's nothing I can see about it on the original label. The ink itself is an extremely saturated blue in liquid form but it becomes a much lighter tone after drying on the page, and this is behaviour i've seen in some other pigmented inks like Sei-boku.

 

That being said, it's probably the most waterproof ink I own, and that's including Platinum Carbon Black, Noodler's bulletproof inks, and iron-gall inks.  It doesn't even smudge with either water or bleach as shown in the first picture of the test I've done.

[txomsy]

I don't think they are nano-pigmented, but do not take my word for it. I seem to remember another thread on them here on FPN where someone (maybe it was me) found out directly from them. But I feel too lazy to search for it right now.

 

Certainly they are very stable in solution, and their darkening in air with time makes me think they can oxidize or react. But that's only anecdotal experience.