Fountain Pen Ink

The performance of your pen, in terms of ink is really the success of what is a controlled drip. Gravity and the capillary action of water is how ink works within the ink feed system of a fountain pen. Channels, or slots allow ink to flow from the ink reservoir and other channels allow air to flow back up to eliminate the vacuum. Edson Waterman is credited with inventing the the fountain pen with this simple mechanism.

Next to a passion for a particular pen, the next ranked topic for fountain pen enthusiasts is most likely ink.

Fountain pen ink is an important contributor to the overall writing experience. The user's experience with the ink is all the interplay of the paper, the nib, the ink flow mechanism of the pen, the humidity of the room and of course the makeup of the ink itself.

A listing and review of inks is provided, however, in the end your individual experience with the ink depends on the pen and the paper, to name only the top two dimensions.

In addition to the listing and review of inks, arranged by company, some of the inks become my Inks of Note. For the Inks of Note I arrange my comments by colour.

Ink is basically water, dyes for colour, additives to stop things growing in the ink, and chemicals to help with viscosity and to control how the ink spreads or feathering.

Pen Companies, Brands of Ink

A common question asked is can any ink be used in any pen? The answer is both yes an no. The no comes from the experience of many that some inks just work better in some particular pens, but not necessarily the exact pairing of brand of pen and brand of ink. There are also differences in performance within the same brand of ink. It all has to do with the composition and inter-reaction of the components that make up the particular ink.

The Bottle is Also Important

Not only is the individual makeup of the ink important, but so is the design and shape of the bottle. This is an issue especially important for those using pens with large nibs. You have to get the nib submerged in ink for the drawing up of ink to completely fill the chamber.

So I look to ink bottles in terms of their shape, I like bottles with a vertical versus a horizontal shape, or bottles with a filling well. Think of the classic Montblanc, Lamy or Sheaffer bottles.

I also keep some bottles that are good fits for my briefcase. I like the multisided OMAS ink bottle on my desk. It can slant to the side for a good fill. But in my leather briefcase the size of the bottle is a bit bulky. So I keep some bottles, and fill them with ink from others, that nicely fit into the pouch of my briefcase.

Inks of Expensive

It is a bit of a try and like or dislike process. Buying inks is expensive. The prices have a significant price range.

Waterman and Pelikan make very good inks, that work in a wide range of pens, and are at what I consider a basic price point. Other lines of inks can get very costly. In one of my Pen Views columns I wrote and compared the prices of ink.

Writing Ink Differs from other Inks

Remember that writing ink, ink designed for fountain pens, differs from inks designed for calligraphy or dip pens, drawing or India ink. Those inks use pigments or solids in the ink that while great for colours, will clog the feed mechanism of a fountain pen.

Mixing Inks

Yes, mix inks, but with caution. Sometimes mixing inks of different colours and different brands can have unexpected results in how the chemistry changes. For some, this is part of the enjoyment of using fountain pen inks. Adding a few drops of darker colour to give a particular bottle of ink a different tone.

In 2011 Platinum issued an ink mixing kit. The inks were advertised as being specifically different from other inks in they are made to be mixed. As they said, "Mix free ink does not harden whenit is mixed, and the ink does not clog up in a nib." That gives you an idea of what can happen with some inks as a result of mixing inks where there is a chemical imbalance in the final product.