Best Inks with High Saturation and no Shading

[QM2]

 

I may be in the minority on this issue, but I hate inks with shading. I find colour variation in my writing distracting and unattractive. Ideally, I prefer inks that are densely saturated and offer a flat, matte colour. I use Noodler's inks a lot, because some of the colours fit these criteria -- but not all.

 

Is there anybody else out there who feels the way I do? Or is there a general consensus that shading is always desirable? What specific inks in your experience (other than black inks -- I don't use black) offer the least shading and the most saturation?

 

Many thanks,

QM2

[Deirdre]

I may be in the minority on this issue, but I hate inks with shading. I find colour variation in my writing distracting and unattractive. Ideally, I prefer inks that are densely saturated and offer a flat, matte colour. I use Noodler's inks a lot, because some of the colours fit these criteria -- but not all.

 

Is there anybody else out there who feels the way I do? Or is there a general consensus that shading is always desirable?

I like a hint of shading, but I don't like a lot -- like you, I find it distracting and unattractive. I think if I were drawing with the ink, I might feel differently -- shading would offer varieties of tone, but I don't need them in my notebook.

[DanF]

Many of the Private Reserve inks fit your requirements. Check out the review section, most reviewers note whether the ink shades or not.

 

Dan

[QM2]

Many of the Private Reserve inks fit your requirements. Check out the review section, most reviewers note whether the ink shades or not.

 

Granted, but that means I would have to read through every review of every ink. I tried PR Orange Crush and Sherwood Green, and those have pretty dramatic shading. Orange Crush I actually like despite the shading because it's such an unusual ink, but Sherwood Green gives me the creeps. If anybody can recommend specific inks that are known for their saturation and lack of shading, I sure would appreciate it.

 

 

QM2

[Deirdre]

Well, I can say to avoid Noodler's Antietam and Diamine's Monaco Red (both quite similar colors) as they have shading.

 

I'm guessing you prefer broader nibs, as shading is much less of an issue/feature (depending on one's viewpoint) with finer nibs.

[QM2]

Well, I can say to avoid Noodler's Antietam and Diamine's Monaco Red (both quite similar colors) as they have shading.

 

I'm guessing you prefer broader nibs, as shading is much less of an issue/feature (depending on one's viewpoint) with finer nibs.

 

 

Thanks for the avoidance suggestions.

 

I use almost exclusively XXF-XF nibs, but my style of cursive handwriting makes shading very apparent when an ink has it.

 

 

[Limerick]

I can name PR Ultra Black. It shall work in XF-nibs, although there are some concerns and problems noted around this ink. It's a deep dark black, very saturated, flows overly well and does not shade even a bit. I have the "normal" edition, there is also the Fast Dry Edition that causes a lot of problems. I don't know if the normal edition is widely available. My local stationary has it.

 

Private Reserve Tanzanite has little shading. In writings, it has A BIT shading, but not much. Don't know if this would be an option for you. Depends a lot on the pen. In my mostly dry pens, it shades. In some reviews I've seen, it doesn't shade

 

I'd also recommend to stay away from Private Reserve American Blue and Waterman Florida Blue. The WM shades dramatically, and so does the American Blue. Again: in many reviews this ink is reported not to shade at all. On my notebook, it shades frustratingly. I'm also a person who doesn't like shading ... it's not because of the appearance but all inks that shade look waterly and washed-out and I just don't like it. I enjoy my writings if they look like a broad rollerball, rather than a poor colour solution.

 

A note: shading depends largely on the paper. On cheap, soaking paper, no ink shades at all. On plain, smooth paper or even coated paper, nearly every ink shades (except Ultra Black I've mentioned, that'll never shade at all).

[Deirdre]

Another don't-buy-if-you-dislike-shading: Noodler's Doestoevsky. It's one that I wouldn't expect a lot of shading from, given that it's bulletproof, but it has more shading than any other Noodler's ink I've tried, bulletproof or otherwise.

[WhosYerBob]

... I hate inks with shading...

And I love them - the more shading the better. However, Baystate Blue is virtually shade-free, as is PR Midnight Blues, PR Electric DC Blue, PR DC Supershow Blue and PR American Blue, at least with a wet italic nib.

[DanF]

 

There are a lot of characteristics of ink other than shading, that are advantageous to know before plunking down your hard earned cash. I would still suggest the following:

 

Pick out a few target colors that you'd like to use. There is no point in us suggesting blues or reds if those colors don't strike your fancy.

 

Go the Writers Desk web site, where you can view swabs of the colors that are reportedly reasonably accurate. http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/ink_cat/in...mp;colour=brown

 

Pick the ones that visually appeal to you the most, then come back to the Ink Review forum, and look up reviews in the index. They are indexed by brand, then by color name. There you will see scans of writing, as well as reports of properties such as drying time, flow characteristics (dry vs wet), water fastness, feathering, occasionally light fastness, and yes, saturation and shading. It will only take a couple of minutes, thanks to the index to which the reviews are linked. You can also use the search function in this forum to bring up additional opinions about the inks that you've chosen.

 

I have been doing this very thing the last few days, and as a result I understand a lot more about ink than I did going into this, which will inform my upcoming purchases. I have been able to eliminate a number of inks that I might have otherwise purchased and then been disappointed with, as you are with the Sherwood Green.

 

One I could recommend for saturation is PR Burgundy Mist. But you might also want to know that many say that it turns more brown over time. Based on the sample I got, I might have bought it, but after reading comments here, I will pass.

 

Dan

[Rapt]

Polar Blue has no shading in my experience.

 

Same with FPN Galileo.

 

Slight shading with Legal lapis. I love the ink, don't really notice the shading since its very subtle.

 

My impression is that the bulletproof Noodler's tend to have little to no shading.

[QM2]

Thanks everyone.

 

The inks I have so far that I consider to have no shading are:

Noodler's Legal Lapis

Noodler's Lexington Gray

Noodler's Hunter Green

Noodler's Walnut

Noodler's BP and Polar Black (but I don't use them)

 

In terms of colours, I tend to use oceanic shades (blue-greens, blue-grays, green-browns). But I am looking to experiment with colour more, so am open to any colour family. Ideally, I would have a set of inks in various colours that all have the "no shading" factor in common.

 

What I'd really be excited to find, is an "ugly green" in the MB English Racing Green, or Noodler's El Lawrence colour-family, that has no shading but also no flow problems. I tried PR Avacado and Noodler's Sequoia, but both have some shading. So at the moment I mix Noodler's Hunter Green with Walnut to get this colour.

 

 

[cowdad]

What I'd really be excited to find, is an "ugly green" in the MB English Racing Green, or Noodler's El Lawrence colour-family, that has no shading but also no flow problems. I tried PR Avacado and Noodler's Sequoia, but both have some shading. So at the moment I mix Noodler's Hunter Green with Walnut to get this colour.

 

Noodler's green, plain green, has no shading. You might have to add something to it to make it ugly though. It's somewhat similar in color to Hunter Green. Noodler's Blue also has no shading.

[Rapt]

What I'd really be excited to find, is an "ugly green" in the MB English Racing Green, or Noodler's El Lawrence colour-family, that has no shading but also no flow problems. I tried PR Avacado and Noodler's Sequoia, but both have some shading. So at the moment I mix Noodler's Hunter Green with Walnut to get this colour.

 

I want this colour in a bulletproof or eternal ink. But like you so far I have had to resort to trying to mix it myself.

 

[usqview]

in my limited experience, i have found that a number of pr inks are very saturated and do not shade very much. dc super show blue, plum and midnight blues are my favorite 3. i wouldnt consider any of them 'ocean' colors but they are very nice and almost electric to my eye. with semi-wet to wet fine nibs they do not shade much or at all.

 

one thing you might consider is to have your pens flow increased a touch to avoid unwanted shading. the drier the nib the more shading you will see.

 

you might have troubles find 'ocean' colors which seem to be less saturated and muted that dont shade.

 

btw- stay away from apache sunset!

 

there are time when i really like shade and others when i want just a thick solid colored line.

 

cheers and happy hunting!

ryan

 

[Dentistguy]

Noodler's Baystate Blue is highly saturated, "bulletproof", and very evenly toned, as in no shading. I ran water over the page, which showed no running of ink at all. Leaving the page to dry, there was no spreading and no fading. I've tried it in a variety of pens, from a Sailor XF, which is exceedingly fine, to a Music nib, and found no problem with flow. This was kind of adventurous of me, since cleaning pens and converters took a bit of time. On the down side, it stains everything very easily, including fingers, and feathers a bit on some papers, especially with broader nibs, as you might expect. I would only use it in a pen with a dark-colored barrel.

 

I bought this ink despite the many posts I read that gave me real pause because the color just blew me away. I have long been a blue-black fan... if I were going to venture anywhere near blue at all, it might be Quink Blue-Black, so I am surprised at my decision to keep this ink. I currently have it loaded into a Sailor Special Calligraphy pen, so I can have three nib "sizes" without changing pens.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited May 11, 2008 by Dentistguy

[Limerick]

Noodler's Baystate Blue is highly saturated, "bulletproof", and very evenly toned, as in no shading.

I thought Baystate Blue is not "bulletproof" as chemicals can bleach it. According to a fading test that can be viewed in the review section, the ink is not UV-resistant which doesn't qualify it as a bulletproof ink

 

[xena]

American blue has almost zero shading.

[Wino In Training]

Visconti Blue is very deep, very saturated with very little shading.

[JJBlanche]

I've been told Waterman Brown has little to no shading. Have you looked into Noodler's Zhivago or Aircorps Blue Black? They seem to have some of the characteristics you're looking for, although I'm not sure if they shade.