"Waterproof" Inks and Checks

[Catsmelt]

I wouldn't mind using my fountain pens for writing checks -- I've been using BPs -- but I've been cautious about inks and therefore haven't made the plunge into FPs for this purpose.

 

Can one use a waterproof ink such as Namiki Blue and feel safe or should one invest in a "bulletproof" ink such as a Noodlers.

 

I feel kind of foolish asking this, but there seems to be a continuum of waterproof -> bulletproof -> eternal. Where does the comfort zone for check-writing fit in this?

 

If I've missed a thread on this here on FPN, I'll gladly take pointers...

 

[srullens]

any of the bulletproof noodler's inks are safe. or Uni-Ball Signo 207

 

any other ink can be washed off with no problem.

 

Ball point ink can be washed in less than 8 seconds! Its a past the lays on top of the paper check.

 

You want a safe check see http://www.supercheck.net

 

The Supercheck contains 12 security features:

 

Overt Security Features:

Fourdrinier Watermark

Thermochromatic Ink

High-resolution Borders

Microprinting

Chemical Wash Detection Boxes (85 different chemicals)

Prismatic Printing

Laid Lines

Warning Banner

Covert Security Features:

 

Controlled Paper Stock

Chemically Reactive Paper

UV Light-Sensitive Ink

UV Light-Sensitive Fibers

 

Edited July 24, 2007 by srullens

[Pendragon]

Waterproof ink only guarantees that the ink cannot be readily removed from the check with water. What about other methods used by forgers?

 

Noodler's bulletproof inks are only $11.00 from isellpens.com, which isn't all that expensive. That should make any checks you write pretty hard to forge. I use Noodler's Legal Lapis for writing checks, and occasionally Luxury Blue. Both work great for this purpose.

[encephalartos]

Waterproof ink only guarantees that the ink cannot be readily removed from the check with water. What about other methods used by forgers?

 

Noodler's bulletproof inks are only $11.00 from isellpens.com, which isn't all that expensive. That should make any checks you write pretty hard to forge. I use Noodler's Legal Lapis for writing checks, and occasionally Luxury Blue. Both work great for this purpose.

 

From articles enclosed with the ink samples in Greg Clark's Ink Sampler book:

 

The typical methods used by forgers are commonly available solvents (probably

petroleum distallates?), NOT water, NOT bleach. The idea is to remove ballpoint

ink, especially blue ballpoint ink. (Black ballpoint ink, because of the carbon,

is likely to leave a stain.) Bleach and water mess up the paper. Bleach destroys

the print on the check. His articles did NOT name what the solvents were,

as he wasn't writing a 'how-to" book for criminals. For check-washing to work,

only the ink written on it is removed. If the paper or printing on the check is

messed up, that that's evidence of tampering.

 

Fountain pen ink is water-soluble, so the solvents for ballpoint won't remove it.

Clark did experiments with fountain pen on check paper. Even if it were normal,

non-bulletproof fountain pen ink, trying to wash it off with water would create

evidence of tampering. Clark's conclusion at the end of the article was that

it's fine to just load up your fountain pen with your favorite ink and write checks.

(Though, currently, blue or black is preferred by banks...)

 

I've used Noodler's Zhivago, and a variety of others.

[LDF]

Fountain pen ink is water-soluble, so the solvents for ballpoint won't remove it.

Clark did experiments with fountain pen on check paper. Even if it were normal,

non-bulletproof fountain pen ink, trying to wash it off with water would create

evidence of tampering. Clark's conclusion at the end of the article was that

it's fine to just load up your fountain pen with your favorite ink and write checks.

(Though, currently, blue or black is preferred by banks...)

 

I've used Noodler's Zhivago, and a variety of others.

 

Good to know you don't have to spend extra money to buy bulletproof inks.

Or waterproof inks for that matter. I've written countless checks, and no one's spilled anything yet.

[FrankB]

I started using Noodler's bulletproof inks about 18-months ago. I now insist on using them for what checks I write. I just feel safer with them. As we used to say in the army, "Just because I am paranoid, it doesn't mean the SOB's aren't really out to get me."

[Richard]

For the record, Noodler's bulletproof inks are not the only permanent inks out there. Iron gall ink, which has been in use for about 1500 years, is absolutely ineradicable once it's dry. The gallol in it forms indissoluble bonds with the paper fibers.

 

Montblanc Blue-Black and Diamine Registrar's Ink are two iron gall formulations. Because of the ink's acidity, I recommend you not use it in pens with steel nibs or metal cartridge nipples; it'll eat any common metals except solid gold alloys. (But there are other acidic inks out there, too, so this characteristic isn't enough to disallow the use of iron gall ink.)

[ConnallMac]

I think perhaps you're worrying about a non-issue. I've worked at a credit union as a teller, and now a head teller for several years. I have never seen an actual example of check washing. I'm not saying that it couldn't happen, but most of the scams I run across are thieves trying to counterfeit bank checks, money orders and traveler's checks with scanners and color printers. It's a heck of a lot easier than mucking about with chemicals.

 

--J. Haney

[Wizergig]

Working in security, and loss prevention I had an opportunity to ask a Secret Service Agent about one of the new $10.00 bills when they came out. He checked, and replied "It is real, but about the only one I have seen so far". These were being scanned, and printed before they were hardly on the street. So I figure for the amount of checks I write, its worth a couple of bucks a year to order the Superchecks, and to have one less thing to worry about.

[Ernst Bitterman]

Herbin's "Lis de The" seems to bond pretty well with paper-- orange elements depart, leaving a sort of graphite-coloured mark.

 

You guys have enough in the bank to make this a concern? :embarrassed_smile: I'm running with the wrong crowd.

[RLTodd]

Checks? You still write checks?

[southpaw]

Checks? You still write checks?

 

 

Of course! It's one more chance to use my FPs! And for the record, I use Noodlers' Waterproof inks and don't worry anymore about it. I figure if the paper dissolves before the ink separates, that's good enough for me.

[Catsmelt]

Thanks, everyone for your input. I'm amazed at the variety of opinion on this topic -- I thought it would be a bit less diverse.

[donwinn]

Thanks, everyone for your input. I'm amazed at the variety of opinion on this topic -- I thought it would be a bit less diverse.

Odd, I was surprised by how little diverse the opinion was -- after a few months on this forum, and reading the breadth and depth of opinions expressed thereon, I suspect that you could garner five different opinions from any four FPN members (maybe more than that, if I am one of the members asked :embarrassed_smile: )

Donnie