Higher cost inks- thoughts?

[InesF]

On 1/6/2023 at 4:41 PM, txomsy said:

... simply convert it to "I like" units ...

+1 👍

That's the part I like the most!

[InkyEd]

On 1/27/2023 at 4:24 PM, amper said:

When it comes to ink, my main requirements are color and permanence, and which I value more depends on the purpose to which I plan to put that ink. Fortunately for me, my favorite ink is both a gorgeous color and permanent, and it also happens to be extremely inexpensive and widely available, at least, in the US...I've never shopped for it overseas, so I have no idea if it's even available outside of North America.
 

That got my curiosity up.  Would you mind telling us what that ink is, please?  It sounds like it might be one I'd like to try as I'm at the beginning of my inky journey. 

 

Ed

[amper]

On 2/4/2023 at 8:26 PM, InkyEd said:

That got my curiosity up.  Would you mind telling us what that ink is, please?  It sounds like it might be one I'd like to try as I'm at the beginning of my inky journey. 

 

Ed

Mrs. Stewart's Concentrated Liquid Bluing

[InkyEd]

Thank you.

[Mercian]

On 12/3/2022 at 8:07 AM, cougarking said:

Just wonder what people thoughts are on the higher cost inks,  and benefits, are they ŵorth the cost.

 

do they make a great difference to the writing experience.

 

The only ‘high cost’ inks that I have bought so far are from Pelikan’s ‘Edelstein’ range. Oh, and Sailor ‘Kiwa Guro’.

I have two Pelikan piston-fill pens, and a Lamy 2000. I seem to remember that Edelstein inks contain a component that helps to lubricate pistons, so I bought them to use in my piston-fill pens - and I restrict my use of them to only my piston-fill pens. And I have to say that, in those particular pens, I find them to be very satisfying to use.

 

I do not currently own any other ‘expensive’ inks - e.g. Iroshizuku, Robert Oster, Lamy ‘Crystal’ - but that isn’t because of any ‘prejudice’ against ’higher-priced’ inks. As it happens, I am currently thinking of buying a bottle of one of Monteverde’s ‘Gemstone’ inks.

 

When I am attracted to any ink, I read several reviews of it, and of inks of similar colours.
I will buy an ink if it seems to be the one within its colour-range that most-nearly-satisfies my idea of what appeals to me, without necessarily always looking at its cost.
E.g. I bought Kiwa Guro over several other ‘permanent’ black inks, because its suite of behaviours (good water resistance, good lightfastness, low feathering/bleeding) appealed to me more than the suites of behaviours offered by other ‘permanent’ black inks. Other black inks are e.g. more water-resistant than Kiwa Guro, but they bleed/feather more, or are reputed to be more likely to clog pens.

 

All other factors being ‘equal’, I will buy inks that are cheaper for me to get where I live (inks that are cheap here in the UK may be expensive in e.g. east Asia, and vice versa). But if I think that I would really prefer an ‘expensive’ ink - whether for its colour, or its behaviour - over a less-expensive one, I will buy the ‘expensive’ one.

[inkstainedruth]

Interesting that you say that about Kiwa Guro, Mercian.  Because I tried it in a Platinum Preppy set up with the rollerball head (yeah, I know, but it was for a project) and found it (as a pigmented ink) to be very cloggy....

OTOH, I've got Platinum Carbon Black in a pen at the moment, and while it seems to be pretty waterproof, I haven't liked the ink for other reasons.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Mercian]

19 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

Interesting that you say that about Kiwa Guro, Mercian.  Because I tried it in a Platinum Preppy set up with the rollerball head (yeah, I know, but it was for a project) and found it (as a pigmented ink) to be very cloggy....

Hmm. Maybe I didn’t do enough research on it before buying? 🤔

 

I shall try to bear your experience in mid, and to ‘keep an eye on it’ when I’m using it 👍

[mhwombat]

The ink use the most is Pilot Iroshizuku take-sumi, which is pretty spendy, mainly because of the cost of shipping and importing. I buy it in the 50 ml bottles, which at the moment are about €25. A bottle lasts me like two years, so the cost-per-hour of use is negligible.

 

I don't use much coloured ink; even a tiny bottle lasts me a long time (a few years). So if I see an interesting colour, I don't worry much about the cost. I have inks that are dirt cheap, and inks that are dear. Again, the cost-per-hour of use is negligible.

 

All in all, if I were trying to cut down on spending, ink wouldn't be the first area I'd target. Fountain pens are another matter!