Have I been too concerned about waterproofness?

[Eldan]

I was always wary about using "normal" fountain pen inks like Pilot Iroshizuku Take-Sumi on something like an envelope, that might get wet. So I decided to compare some regular inks to some "bulletproof" inks. This is a plain old #10 security envelope from Office Depot marked with 5 inks. The writing was allowed to dry for 30 minutes and then the envelope was run under the tap until completely saturated. The writing was rubbed with a finger until the paper started to tear.

 

Maybe I should know better but I was pretty surprised by how well Take-Sumi performed. Even Waterman Blue stayed fast a lot more than I expected. I do like the "Warden" inks and Carbon Blank but in the future I don't think I'll worry so much about what ink is in the pen when there's a chance it might get wet.

[LizEF]

IMO, this is in part due to the absorbency of the paper.  If you'd done that on Rhodia, for example, more ink may have washed away.

 

Also, some inks that aren't advertised as water resistant still have good resistance.  But beware, there are indeed inks that will behave worse than these, even on absorbent paper.  (No, I can't think of them off the top of my head, but they exist.)

[Karmachanic]

All the letters I have written since 1962 have reached their destination.  Neither the contents, nor the addresses were written with "waterproof " ink. YMMV.

[TSherbs]

I still only use Noodler's Heart of Darkness on envelopes, but I'm sure that 99% of the time it is unnecessary. 

[Mulrich]

The rare time my mail gets wet is in my own mailbox, I don’t think there’s much risk mid-transit. I may cover the address in tape and that always felt like enough protection. 

[Eldan]

3 hours ago, LizEF said:

IMO, this is in part due to the absorbency of the paper.  If you'd done that on Rhodia, for example, more ink may have washed away.

 

Also, some inks that aren't advertised as water resistant still have good resistance.  But beware, there are indeed inks that will behave worse than these, even on absorbent paper.  (No, I can't think of them off the top of my head, but they exist.)

 

Same process on Rhodia Notepad paper. Take-Sumi still holds up great with less smudging than even the three bulletproof inks. Waterman Blue suffers a bit more but is still legible.

[LizEF]

10 minutes ago, Eldan said:

Same process on Rhodia Notepad paper. Take-Sumi still holds up great with less smudging than even the three bulletproof inks. Waterman Blue suffers a bit more but is still legible.

Nice.  I'd say these inks have decent water resistance.

[arcfide]

For the vast majority of uses, I think most people don't have to worry much about waterproofness or even that much water resistance. Especially with standard inks, the water resistance and typical uses is sufficient to the task most of the time. 

 

Traditional blue black and black inks are usually somewhat water resistant, especially on absorbent paper, and many other inks will stick around at least a little while under water. 

 

There are some people who like to be able to do things like set coffee mugs on notebooks and not worry about coffee rings, or who might work in damper conditions, and then water resistance makes more sense. Even envelopes, for the most part, as you have seen, can most of the time do fine without excessive water resistance. 

 

But, just because you don't *need* something, doesn't mean it doesn't feel nice to have it. And I think there's an element of timelessness that many people enjoy about the fountain pen and ink hobby, which archival properties like lightfastness and water resistance feeds into: there's something romantic and timeless about the idea that your writing at least has the physical potential to stick around for a few hundred years in good condition. 

 

I do think that Japanese papers that are popular for ink friendliness also make for the least water resistant combination that I've seen. More absorbent papers, even the likes of Clairefontaine, tend to be better in encouraging water resistance in inks than highly ink resistant papers like LIFE L Writing Paper, Cosmo Air Light, or Tomoe River. 

 

Of course, artists wanting to make display art or watercolors are a totally different beast. 

[txomsy]

Personally, I think the consideration is quickly becoming moot as post offices around the world use stickers or barcodes or the like oveprinted to address letters. For practical purposes as long as the writing reaches the post office readable it should be OK. If you want your correspondent to also see the address, then it will depend on where they live and how damp it may get.

[lapis]

On 9/4/2023 at 10:35 PM, Karmachanic said:

All the letters I have written since 1962 have reached their destination.  Neither the contents, nor the addresses were written with "waterproof " ink. YMMV.

Ditto. Well put. Never did  understand why so many of us (and the ink companies they supported) were all that hot about waterproofness, bulletproofness and so forth.

[AmandaW]

4 minutes ago, lapis said:

Ditto. Well put. Never did  understand why so many of us (and the ink companies they supported) were all that hot about waterproofness, bulletproofness and so forth.

Watercolour. Ink drawing washed over with watercolour.

[InkyColors]

1 hour ago, AmandaW said:

Watercolour. Ink drawing washed over with watercolour.

Yes! This!  

[DrPlush]

Certainly the readability of the address is important and, having tried running many different inks under the tap to test their suitability for an envelope or postcard, some really do wash clean away. But I think another consideration is how the ink soaks through the envelope if you’re sending anything you don’t want stained — in recent years I’ve received collectable postage stamps, postcards, and other items from penpals where the envelope has been wet and the colour of the address has stained the contents. In some cases, the entire address is transferred to the contents of the envelope. I have a chain card (postcard with themed stamps from multiple countries) where my address is clearly readable across the stamps because my address got wet and the ink ran through.

[Karmachanic]

9 hours ago, AmandaW said:

Watercolour. Ink drawing washed over with watercolour.

 

On envelopes?

[lapis]

11 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

 

On envelopes?

Thanks... that's what I was thinking about, too. And inside  the envelopes... for inclusion of drawings/sketches/paintings etc.... for that, the ink(s) I'd need would have to be of the non-waterproof sort.... Or at least most of them....

[wallylynn]

My experience with water damage has to do with length of time.  Quick dips never washed away enough to matter. Whereas an overnight soak did wash it away. And also when it took time to absorb, like wetting an edge and the paper slowly soaks up the water.

 

I sometimes get utility bills printed with water based ink, where the mailman didn't close the mail box, or wind blows the top open, and the bill is an runny mess.

 

We also had a check washed and re-written. That was water proof ballpoint.

[tim77]

I think I'd be more concerned with ink running rather than washing away completely.

[wallylynn]

1 hour ago, tim77 said:

I think I'd be more concerned with ink running rather than washing away completely.

That Diamine and waterman looks washed away illegible to me

[arcfide]

1 hour ago, tim77 said:

I think I'd be more concerned with ink running rather than washing away completely.

 

Smudging/running inks can definitely make things harder to read than just inks rinse off cleaner. 

 

I've actually found Diamine to be the worst offender in this respect for me. Waterman inks aren't at all waterproof, but I've found that they tend to rinse off cleaner and leave a little bit remaining more legibly (at least for a while) compared to most Diamine inks. The Diamine inks are so wet and saturated that I've tested that they tend to reconstitute and blur out what remains very easily, in addition to washing out very rapidly. 

 

 

[Runnin_Ute]

Typically I will write addresses with Pelikan 4001 Blue Black, although I have been known to use colored inks such as reds or greens to address an envelope as well.

 

In the decade plus I have been writing penpals, I can think of only two or three letters received thay had gotten so wet, it was difficult at best to read the letter. (Impossible at worst)