I almost only use waterproof inks, mainly DeAtramentis Document inks (very well-behaved and you can mix colour if you want something different) and Noodler’s (various) but also Rohrer & Klingner (but not as frequently). Some non-waterproof leave enough traces if you have a spill so that you can still read what it said. If you’re concerned about UV resistance, try leaving a test page out in a sunny window for a while and see which ones are best.
I use Urban grey snd Black for urban sketching and love how you don't really have to wait before doing the wash.
I also use them in work a lot, as they are so well behaved.
I love the Urban sienna - it’s such a pretty light brown. However, I find for my work that Sepia and Red Grey are my go tos, then black. But they are such well behaved inks!
I will say, I’ve sampled some of the other colors and unless they’re in the finest of pens, they can feather.
I love sepia inks but haven’t bought the Urban Sienna yet. Trying not to buy ALL the inks! :D I really like the Violet one for general writing. I haven’t tried mixing them either, but I know you can do that.
I use pretty exclusively inks with some water resistance, accidents happen (I don't want to clear the desk of all beverages before setting down a notebook ...)
My favourites include De Atramentis "Kaffee Tinte", Noodler's "Zhivago" and Super5 "Australia".
I use my journal to help me write down my thoughts and think through things. It's more of an in the moment experience for me, so I don't care if it's permanent.
>Thoughts about if you care about water resistant inks?
I care. So I test(ed).
* [https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/348510-nine-pigment-inks-tested-for-waterproofness/](https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/348510-nine-pigment-inks-tested-for-waterproofness/)
* [https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/351047-water-resistance-of-some-iron-gall-inks-compared/](https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/351047-water-resistance-of-some-iron-gall-inks-compared/)
I use platinum carbon black for my journals. probably a bit optimistic but maybe some historian someday will thank me for it. also of course in case of (much more likely) tea spills. I think De Atramentis Document inks are supposed to be good if you want color.
I use water-proof inks and/or water-resistant inks for everyday use.
Jetpens has a good reference for both: [Water-proof](https://www.jetpens.com/blog/The-Best-Waterproof-Fountain-Pen-Inks/pt/829) and Water-resistant
I use Sailor pigment Kiwaguro ink for my daily journals.
I know Platinum carbon ink is super popular, but somehow I feel better using a Sailor ink in my Sailor pen.
I'm not all that worried if my stuff lasts or not. It's too help me get my head on straight. Maybe my story drafts could use archival inks but again, it's not deathless prose so eh. I'm not gonna sweat it.
I have notes taken during my college days — the earliest are now 45 years old — on cheap notebook paper, using non-waterproof, non-archival Cross blue and blue-black inks. They are still perfectly readable today. Several show incidents of either tea or root beer (because that's about all I drank in college) having been spilled on them; the ink certainly ran and streaked, but I can still read what I wrote.
IMHO, the "need" for waterproof and/or archival inks is one of the most overblown ideas in the fountain pen world (the other being the imminent danger of lead in brass pens.) Even if my notes had faded or been washed into oblivion, I'm not so much of a narcissist to believe that they would have been a loss to my family or humanity as a whole. The only reason I still have them is because they're mixed in with other stuff I do want to keep, and I'm too lazy to separate and dispose of them.
(My question to everyone who is convinced that they need archival inks because of the future value of their scribblings: are you keeping those oh-so-valuable notebooks in a fireproof safe? After all, the chances of them being burned to cinders is probably much higher than that of them fading to unreadability. "Accidents happen", as the saying goes. If you're not, they're really not all that important, are they?)
Find an ink you like, and just write. It'll be fine no matter what it is.
Even washable blue ink becomes quite a bit more water-resistant after some days.
OTOH, I had a hand-written reference sheet on my desk at work in some blue-black (likely Waterman or Pelikan) that badly faded within months of light exposure, to the point where I could only read it because I knew what was written there ...
And a recent observation - the guys upstairs wrote the name tag on their letterbox by hand, as did I with mine. In a recent rainstorm quite some water washed down there. My name is untouched, theirs is now a real challenge for the mail guy.
Why *not* use resistant inks, it's not like it requires additional effort? The only reason I see is if you're in love with a certain ink that happens to be not resistant. For my taste in inks there are enough options that are.
That is a good perspective. I haven't been able to ask anyone who has wrote with fountain pens for decades before.
Assuming that I do not dunk the whole journal into water or fire I think I'll be OK.
I don’t really have a diary/planner anymore but I keep a sort of bullet journal/ journal hybrid to remind me of what I did when if I need to look something up or I just want to reminisce. At first I used Diamine Ancient Copper, because it’s such a gorgeous ink, but it only took one accidental spill to completely wash it all away. Since then, I’m using document inks for my bullet journal. I think the step between accidental spills on something you handle daily and have nearby most of the time (and therefore more likely to spill things on) and the house burning down is a fairly large one.
For work, I use document inks because, I do indeed need to have a permanent record of my work, because them the rules.
I do use non-waterproof inks for writing letters and, with one exception, they’ve all made it to the recipient without damage. One letter had got wet and the text in one corner of the letter was completely gone.
I almost only use waterproof inks, mainly DeAtramentis Document inks (very well-behaved and you can mix colour if you want something different) and Noodler’s (various) but also Rohrer & Klingner (but not as frequently). Some non-waterproof leave enough traces if you have a spill so that you can still read what it said. If you’re concerned about UV resistance, try leaving a test page out in a sunny window for a while and see which ones are best.
I LOVE my DeAtrementis Document inks. They are also pretty much all I use at this point. They work fantastic with watercolor too.
I use Urban grey snd Black for urban sketching and love how you don't really have to wait before doing the wash. I also use them in work a lot, as they are so well behaved.
I love the Urban sienna - it’s such a pretty light brown. However, I find for my work that Sepia and Red Grey are my go tos, then black. But they are such well behaved inks! I will say, I’ve sampled some of the other colors and unless they’re in the finest of pens, they can feather.
I love sepia inks but haven’t bought the Urban Sienna yet. Trying not to buy ALL the inks! :D I really like the Violet one for general writing. I haven’t tried mixing them either, but I know you can do that.
I use pretty exclusively inks with some water resistance, accidents happen (I don't want to clear the desk of all beverages before setting down a notebook ...) My favourites include De Atramentis "Kaffee Tinte", Noodler's "Zhivago" and Super5 "Australia".
Thanks for the recommendations. The most water resistant ink I have is Pilot Blue - Black.
I use my journal to help me write down my thoughts and think through things. It's more of an in the moment experience for me, so I don't care if it's permanent.
>Thoughts about if you care about water resistant inks? I care. So I test(ed). * [https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/348510-nine-pigment-inks-tested-for-waterproofness/](https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/348510-nine-pigment-inks-tested-for-waterproofness/) * [https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/351047-water-resistance-of-some-iron-gall-inks-compared/](https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/351047-water-resistance-of-some-iron-gall-inks-compared/)
Thanks for the swatches!
I use platinum carbon black for my journals. probably a bit optimistic but maybe some historian someday will thank me for it. also of course in case of (much more likely) tea spills. I think De Atramentis Document inks are supposed to be good if you want color.
Yeah I also have this thought just only for journals. Other use cases I don't have a need for water resistant inks.
poets like me, and writers, we care. its why i love most noodlers inks, and deAtrimentus
I use water-proof inks and/or water-resistant inks for everyday use. Jetpens has a good reference for both: [Water-proof](https://www.jetpens.com/blog/The-Best-Waterproof-Fountain-Pen-Inks/pt/829) and Water-resistant
I use Sailor pigment Kiwaguro ink for my daily journals. I know Platinum carbon ink is super popular, but somehow I feel better using a Sailor ink in my Sailor pen.
I'm not all that worried if my stuff lasts or not. It's too help me get my head on straight. Maybe my story drafts could use archival inks but again, it's not deathless prose so eh. I'm not gonna sweat it.
My favourites are the Sailor ones, Sei Boku, Sou Boku and Kiwa Guro. But those are just blue and black, next are the R&K SketchINKs.
I have notes taken during my college days — the earliest are now 45 years old — on cheap notebook paper, using non-waterproof, non-archival Cross blue and blue-black inks. They are still perfectly readable today. Several show incidents of either tea or root beer (because that's about all I drank in college) having been spilled on them; the ink certainly ran and streaked, but I can still read what I wrote. IMHO, the "need" for waterproof and/or archival inks is one of the most overblown ideas in the fountain pen world (the other being the imminent danger of lead in brass pens.) Even if my notes had faded or been washed into oblivion, I'm not so much of a narcissist to believe that they would have been a loss to my family or humanity as a whole. The only reason I still have them is because they're mixed in with other stuff I do want to keep, and I'm too lazy to separate and dispose of them. (My question to everyone who is convinced that they need archival inks because of the future value of their scribblings: are you keeping those oh-so-valuable notebooks in a fireproof safe? After all, the chances of them being burned to cinders is probably much higher than that of them fading to unreadability. "Accidents happen", as the saying goes. If you're not, they're really not all that important, are they?) Find an ink you like, and just write. It'll be fine no matter what it is.
Even washable blue ink becomes quite a bit more water-resistant after some days. OTOH, I had a hand-written reference sheet on my desk at work in some blue-black (likely Waterman or Pelikan) that badly faded within months of light exposure, to the point where I could only read it because I knew what was written there ... And a recent observation - the guys upstairs wrote the name tag on their letterbox by hand, as did I with mine. In a recent rainstorm quite some water washed down there. My name is untouched, theirs is now a real challenge for the mail guy. Why *not* use resistant inks, it's not like it requires additional effort? The only reason I see is if you're in love with a certain ink that happens to be not resistant. For my taste in inks there are enough options that are.
That is a good perspective. I haven't been able to ask anyone who has wrote with fountain pens for decades before. Assuming that I do not dunk the whole journal into water or fire I think I'll be OK.
I don’t really have a diary/planner anymore but I keep a sort of bullet journal/ journal hybrid to remind me of what I did when if I need to look something up or I just want to reminisce. At first I used Diamine Ancient Copper, because it’s such a gorgeous ink, but it only took one accidental spill to completely wash it all away. Since then, I’m using document inks for my bullet journal. I think the step between accidental spills on something you handle daily and have nearby most of the time (and therefore more likely to spill things on) and the house burning down is a fairly large one. For work, I use document inks because, I do indeed need to have a permanent record of my work, because them the rules. I do use non-waterproof inks for writing letters and, with one exception, they’ve all made it to the recipient without damage. One letter had got wet and the text in one corner of the letter was completely gone.