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Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

richardspens.com

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Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

#71

Post by JumpCrisscross »

saspiesas wrote: post #68

To all the people who keep asking why we would bother write with a fountain pen, a few reasons I do: People are less likely to walk away or accidentally steal your fountain pen I can write in the exact colour I want I know scribbles or notes are mine without even looking at the writing My colleagues know which pieces of notes are mine without asking My notebooks never wander far I don't feel like I'm constantly killi…

> It feels better in my hand than a biro

Ballpoints require one to constantly press down to keep the ink flowing. This makes writing tiring. (Fountain pens draw ink with capillary action.)

Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

#72

Post by KC8ZKF »

sevensor wrote: post #57
freosam wrote: post #34

This articles says that inkjet ink "frequently uses pigment, not dye," but my understanding is that most inkjet inks are actually dye-based, and that you have to somewhat go out of your way to find pigment-based ones (and they cost more). The latter are usually recommended for archival printing purposes (e.g. Epson's "Dura Brite" inks), because they are less likely to fade over time and are better bonded with the pap…

Which one is it that won't run when I put a coffee mug down on my notebook? Because that's the one I want.

I've had good luck with De Atramentis Document Ink. Dries very quickly, won't smear when I set my beer can^W^W coffee cup down on it. I have been using it for years, and it hasn't screwed up my pen.

I don't know if it is as safe on fine pens as the article would want, but since I use it in a $30 Lamy, I'm not too concerned.

Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

#74

Post by a1369209993 »

dang wrote: post #65
a1369209993 wrote: post #43

Could someone change this to http://richardspens.com/ref/care/inks.htm ? The current link ( http://richardspens.com/index_m.html?page=ref/care/inks.htm ) is a "please allow us to run arbitrary malicious code on your computer" nag page.

That page seems better anyhow, so ok.

... It's now pointing at http://richardspens.com/?page=ref/care/inks.htm. "That page" is http://richardspens.com/ref/care/inks.htm with no ?page= in it. The current one is just a bunch of frame cruft around the original nag page.

Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

#75

Post by freosam »

sevensor wrote: post #57
freosam wrote: post #34

This articles says that inkjet ink "frequently uses pigment, not dye," but my understanding is that most inkjet inks are actually dye-based, and that you have to somewhat go out of your way to find pigment-based ones (and they cost more). The latter are usually recommended for archival printing purposes (e.g. Epson's "Dura Brite" inks), because they are less likely to fade over time and are better bonded with the pap…

Which one is it that won't run when I put a coffee mug down on my notebook? Because that's the one I want.

I've found it depends on how soon you want it to be waterproof: I've had ink run when it's got wet within a few weeks of being written, but the exact same ink on the exact same paper (Watermans in a Moleskine) has not smudged a bit when getting damp two years after being written.

Not that there aren't inks that are liable to be much better than that, sooner. But really, if an ink is to flow through the pen, and not have it clog things, I reckon it's unlikely to ever be able to be completely waterproof right after being put on the paper. Unlike a 10¢ ballpoint pen with oil-based ink! :(

Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

#76

Post by balladeer »

twblalock wrote: post #44

Fountain pens are one of those things that probably would have died out if not for the internet, especially on the cheaper end of the market. There are today more pens and inks to choose from than at any time in history, even times when fountain pens were widely used.

I am a fountain pen enthusiast, or I should rather say "used to be". If any effect Internet has had on my fountain-penmanship or any penmanship it has resulted in drastically decreased usage. Isn't it a general phenomenon? (I've no data on it, just what I have observed around me)

So if you meant just buying, selling, collecting, swapping pens, and talking about fountain pens then it makes sense (which is what it seems you have focussed on in your comment), but if that also involved actually using them then, I would say, overall the Internet has instead done great harm to it.

Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

#78

Post by gpm »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #71
saspiesas wrote: post #68

To all the people who keep asking why we would bother write with a fountain pen, a few reasons I do: People are less likely to walk away or accidentally steal your fountain pen I can write in the exact colour I want I know scribbles or notes are mine without even looking at the writing My colleagues know which pieces of notes are mine without asking My notebooks never wander far I don't feel like I'm constantly killi…

> It feels better in my hand than a biro Ballpoints require one to constantly press down to keep the ink flowing. This makes writing tiring. (Fountain pens draw ink with capillary action.)

This is the main reason I use one, keeps my RSI from acting up when I have to write a lot.

Best $25 I've ever spent ($5 on a pen, jinhao x750, the rest on ink).

Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

#79

Post by [deleted] »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #71
saspiesas wrote: post #68

To all the people who keep asking why we would bother write with a fountain pen, a few reasons I do: People are less likely to walk away or accidentally steal your fountain pen I can write in the exact colour I want I know scribbles or notes are mine without even looking at the writing My colleagues know which pieces of notes are mine without asking My notebooks never wander far I don't feel like I'm constantly killi…

> It feels better in my hand than a biro Ballpoints require one to constantly press down to keep the ink flowing. This makes writing tiring. (Fountain pens draw ink with capillary action.)

[deleted]

Re: Fountain pen inks: the good, the bad, and the ugly (2011)

#80

Post by projektir »

willspoke wrote: post #42
flounders wrote: post #23

When I first got into fountain pens, Noodlers was a pretty heavily recommended ink. I wish I had seen this article ten years ago.

The good thing about noodlers is that they carry a waterproof range. I think they are called "bulletproof". A good resource for fountain pen lovers is https://www.nibs.com/ They do repair and custom work too.

...what is a reasonable price for a decent fountain pen?
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