Great news, we are about to buy our first home (and embark on a journey of decades-long mortgage payment ). As you may have guessed by now, like a true fountain pen addict and inkoholic, the first thing that came into my mind when we had won the bid was:
What kind of permanent blue or blue-black ink should I buy to use when I sign the contract? (I had already decided on the pen in advance, my blue Pelikan M805 EF.)
I’d think people normally start with calling the mortgage broker, organising a technical inspection or opening a bottle of champagne. However I started researching permanent inks I’m not sure whether i’m being bohème or just stupid
So to get to the point, what ink would you recommend that is
water resistant
blue or blue-black (preferably not the most boring blue tone)
behaves well on crappy copy paper (EF nib)
safe to be used with an expensive pen like the Pelikan M805
does not dry in too fast
easy to clean from the pen 100% of the ink
I’ve checked some review videos about the Montblanc Permanent Blue and while it has excellent water resistance, it seems that it tends to dry in and it may not be easy to clean.
I’ve had good experiences with Rohrer & Klingner Salix. It’s an iron gall ink so it’s permanent. It’s somewhat dry (as most IG inks) but that also means that it will work fairly well on cheap paper.
There’s of course also the various nano pigment inks, especially the ones from Sailor come to mind. But I’ve not used those myself. Rohrer & Klingner has the SketchINK line which are also nano pigment inks. I think there’s a blue one in there as well.
I had limited time and had to go with what was readily available locally so I ended up with a pigmented blue from Platinum. It’s a quite saturated vibrant blue. It has a similar shade like Colorverse’s Cat (minus the glittering) and Visconti Blue. The water resistance is good (once the ink dries which takes some time) and the flow seems to be OK at first glance.
Hi Peter. I was thrilled to see your ink choice as I am a huge Platinum fan and have never used that ink so I do hope you tell us more after you have used it for a while. Joost at Appleboom did a wonderful interview with the Vice President of Platinum and I just ordered the Platinum President Pen as I wanted a bit bigger pen with that nice 18k gold nib and it came in the Chartres Blue which could be great with that blue pigmented ink. I might have to order that later.Well done Peter…and I hope you love your first house. I still remember mine in California with lovely memories. Regards,Barbara
Happy Writing in the New Year I’m curious how will you like the Platinum President. It looks very classy, has a good size, not too big, but not too small, at one time I considered buying one. (Unfortunately Japanese pens are rather pricy in Europe).
I don’t know how dry does the President write but I would not recommend having a pen inked up with this pigmented ink for a long time. At least that was the recommendation the ink came with. There are very small pigment particles in the ink which could be hard to clean from the pen once it dries in the feed.
When I needed to sign documents I inked up my pen and emptied it into a plastic sample vial a couple hours later + cleaned the pen thoroughly. I needed this particular plastic vial so I put the ink into another small glass vial and tried to clean the plastic vial. After flushing and shaking a couple of times there was still some blueish hue on the plastic vial and visible sediment at the cap thread. I was able to clean the vial itself with a Q-tip but the cap thread is still not perfectly clean.
To put it into a nutshell: it’s a great document ink, I really like it, it has excellent water resistance and a very nice vibrant colour but don’t leave it in your pen for days. And just to be on the safe side, use pens that are easy to be cleaned. (I use a Pelikan M805 without any issues so far.) If you do not need the water resistant properties, I suggest saving the hassle and using a dye based blue ink.
Hi Peter. Excellent reply about the ink and interestingly enough I took it out of my wish list and decided not to buy it for many of the reasons you mentioned. I will receive the President next week and have decided to use either Diamine 150th Ann. Blue Velvet or Monteverde Horizon Blue and not try any shimmer or sheen ink at all. I have liked Blue Velvet as a pure blue for a long time and likewise with the Horizon Blue which is pretty wet. I think the President pen does not have the slip and seal cap to keep it from drying out so will report back on that after I have had some experience. I did order a Broad nib and I hope that will be a smooth writing experience.
Regarding Document inks I have DeAtramentis Document Fog Grey and love the colour and the water resistance and I think it is quite safe. Monterverde Document Blue is the other ink that is a beautiful soft colour and I like using that in any pen. For some reason I just have fallen back on pure colours or nothing with particles in it and shading is the only factor that interests me. Yes Diamine Skull and Roses is a good red sheen blue and a favourite but a good quality ink with some lubrication seems to be my main interest. I am writing a pen pal today in Canada and I will be using Diamine Blue Velvet, Monteverde Horizon Blue, Monteverde DC Super Show Blue and Visconti Blue as the inks. I will have fun using different pens and nibs so the inks will look different and hopefully be interesting. Loved your post…till next time…Barbara
I just realized with my other post that I told you that I had put the Visconti Blue ink in the Platinum President ( which was a last minute change from previous thoughts) and I did not tell you how I liked the President and how it was writing. In one word WONDERFUL, I am really pleased with the pen in all regards. The pen writes wet and beautifully. The Chartres Blue colour is of course really nice.and the Broad nib perfect. It is a tad bigger than the 3776 and feels wonderful in the hand. It has no flashy barrel components or novel features…it is just a really nice looking pen that can go anywhere and feels like a quality instrument. It is lighter than some but it looks sturdy and imposing. Sorry I have no picture yet and the only difference is the clip has a bit of an inset otherwise it looks like the Chartres Blue 3776. I paid 150 pounds with free shipping from Cult Pens in the UK. That was fine. I do not use Amazon or Ebay I prefer individual online pen companies. Not sure what will happen for you after Brexit. Oh I know Platinum is coming out with all sorts of other pen varieties and themes but I am slowly backing off and unless there is a Kumpoo type in another colour I might be safe. Regards, Barbara .
). As you may have guessed by now, like a true fountain pen addict and inkoholic, the first thing that came into my mind when we had won the bid was:
I’m not sure whether i’m being bohème or just stupid 
I’m curious how will you like the Platinum President. It looks very classy, has a good size, not too big, but not too small, at one time I considered buying one. (Unfortunately Japanese pens are rather pricy in Europe).
Regards, Barbara .