What you need to know...about Ink

Ink fuels your fountain pen. These days you can get a huge range of colours to reflect your personality, your mood or to indicate your purpose. I usually carry two or three pens, each loaded with a different colour. If I'm scribbling down notes or ideas, I'll often use them to indicate different threads or trains of thought. Useful and fun!

One blanket warning: Don't use Indian Ink or calligraphy ink in a fountain pen. They are full of stuff that is definitely not made for fountain pens.

There are two basic types of fountain pen ink: pigment based and dye based.

The dye based inks, which are dissolved in water, are very unlikely to harm your fountain pens. There was a time when some inks contained powerful solvents which would attack rubber - not good when sacs and rubber seals were the norm. However, you may find that some inks may suit you and your pens better than others. They have different flow and drying characteristics, some of which may work better than others for you. Also, some will be higher maintenance than others - meaning that you may need to clean out your pen more often and carefully to maintain performance.

Pigment inks are different, as they work by holding particles of the colouring material in suspension, and it is the deposit of these on the paper that leaves a mark. They have a greater tendency to clog (some more than others) but, if you are willing to clean your pen out regularly, you'll have no problems and may be rewarded by some spectacularly pleasing looking writing. Again, a matter of maintenance

It is, of course, important not to leave your pen filled and unused for long periods: over time the ink is likely to dry out, resulting in the need for a good clean out. Similarly, bottled ink may, over time, lose water by evaporation. The counsel of caution is to throw it away, but its acceptable to top it up with a drop of water to restore dilution.

Take a look at some brands of Fountain Pen Ink here...