{"id":1480,"date":"2018-06-08T08:00:11","date_gmt":"2018-06-08T12:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/?p=1480"},"modified":"2024-01-15T14:34:59","modified_gmt":"2024-01-15T19:34:59","slug":"fp101-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/fp101-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Fountain Pen 101: Ink"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It’s impossible to cover ink in a single post. For one, I don’t know every ink brand, and new brands are popping up every day. For two, there are all sorts of properties that people like to discuss and\/or include in their reviews. However, what I’m going to try to do is give you an overview of the ink properties I’ve heard discussed most often and the “best known” ink brands.<\/p>\n

As a side note for newbies, make sure you only use fountain pen inks. Ink for dip pens could destroy your pen.<\/p>\n

Ink Properties<\/h2>\n

As you start exploring inks, you’ll hear about various properties, including shimmer, shading, sheen, wetness, feathering, and bleeding. Most ink properties are at least partially dependent on the paper you use. Basic copy paper, for example, will negate almost all ink properties, while Tomoe River paper is well-known to enhance most ink properties. To enhance ink properties, you want to write\/draw on “ink resistant” paper.<\/p>\n

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Shimmer<\/h3>\n

This is exactly what it sounds like. It’s fountain pen ink that contains glitter-like particles suspended in the liquid.<\/p>\n

\"Shimmer<\/a>
Shimmer Ink<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many people like writing with these shiny inks, but there is a major negative: it can clog your pen.\u00a0Despite what you may hear, it’s the feed that clogs, so a wider nib may not solve your problems. The particles can clog the feed channel (the slit on a feed that brings ink to the nib), keeping ink from reaching the tip. Pens that are wet writers tend to work best with shimmer inks.<\/p>\n

I’d suggest devoting a pen specifically to shimmer inks, unless you have one that, like the Pilot Metropolitan, you can completely remove the feed and give it a good scrub, because shimmer can get stuck on the feed and appear in other ink later.<\/p>\n

When using shimmer inks, you have to shake the bottle before filling your pen to ensure the shimmer particles are actually in suspension, rather than resting at the bottom of the bottle. You’ll also have to give your pen a little shake or roll before writing to get the particles back in suspension.\u00a0However, if you like a shimmer ink color but don’t like shimmer, you can generally let the particles settle to the bottom of the bottle and fill your pen from the top. Presto! You have the color with minimal or no shimmer.<\/p>\n

Shading<\/h3>\n
\"Shading<\/a>
Examples of Shading<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is how the ink changes as more or less ink is applied to paper. For example, a F nib will apply\/lay down less ink than a B nib. Most ink has at least some level of shading. For many people, myself included, shading is a very desirable ink property, especially because ballpoint\/gel\/rollerball pens don’t offer much, if any, shading. The single downside to shading, in my opinion, is that depending on what pen\/nib you’re using, your ink may look different. It’s nice to have a “solid ink” (my word) that will look the same in each pen.<\/p>\n

Sheen<\/h3>\n
\"Sheen\"<\/a>
Minor sheen vs a sheen monster<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Depending on the pigment composition and the pigment density of any given ink, you may see a colorful sheen once your ink is dry. Not every ink sheens, but many inks have at least a little sheen around the edges if enough ink is laid down on the right paper. With some inks it’s just a faint sheen around the edge of the ink mark. With others, the entire surface of the ink mark is covered by sheen. Organics Studio Nitrogen, Ernest Hemingway, Henry David Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson are well-known “sheen monsters”.<\/p>\n

Wetness<\/h3>\n

This may seem odd, but people do discuss how wet or dry and ink is. Some inks tend to write “wetter” meaning more ink is laid down and it typically takes longer to dry. Goulet Pen Company has a good article<\/a> and video<\/a> discussing ink “wetness”.<\/p>\n

Additional Properties<\/h3>\n

Other, lesser discussed, ink properties include:<\/p>\n