Showing posts with label ink. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ink. Show all posts

Thursday, April 21, 2022

Bast everyday ink, Koh I Noor Black Ink

The Koh I Noor brand is mostly known for the mechanical and especially the clutch pencils it offers. Today, instead of a pencil, I am testing the black fountain pen ink. The review for the blue ink, you can read it here.

This is the cheapest or better said the most economical / affordable ink on the market, because cheap will make you wonder if this ink is any good, or will it ruin my precious fountain pen etc. The ink works fine and will not clog your pen, but be careful as Koh-I-Noor has in it's offering pigment inks as well. 

The ink is addressed to students and comes in a basic plastic bottle of 50 grams. Produced in the Czech Republic, the bottle comes as is, no cardboard box.

The bottle has a basic design, nothing special. You can tell right away, just from looking at the package, that this is a no fuss ink. It cost about half what the Pelikan 4001 60 ml costs. Probably a lot of the savings are done by replacing the more expensive and better looking glass ink well with a plastic container. Also, it is offered in a bigger container compared to the more standard 30 ml ink bottles, thus making it a good every day for most students. 

But is it worth using this ink if you are not a student anymore? Does it perform well?

The ink performs well on every day paper, without fathering or showing throw the thinner paper, while still having a nice saturated black look. The ink is not very wet and dries rather quickly. Thus, it can be used even with broader nibs on cheap paper. For the testing purpose I used the Faber Castell Loom with Fine nib.

The ink is not water-resistant and washes out rather easily. I've placed a water droplet on the paper and waited for it to dry. The text smudged a bit, but it is still in a decent shape.
 
I keep talking and comparing with the price of the Pelikan, because the Pelikan is a well known and used ink, that has a lot of reputation behind its name, and it is an affordable ink as well.

I did a quick comparison with the Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black, and it holds its ground well. I would say that the difference between the inks is minimal and nobody will know if you are using one or the other, probably not even you.

It is a hair wetter than the Pelinkan which dries almost instantly. So if you like the Pelikan but you or your pen would like it to have a bit of wetness, try the Koh I Noor.

My conclusion
If you want an everyday ink, to use on all kinds of paper, it is a perfect contender with its availability (for me at least, it can be bought at every stationery shop), for the good performance it has and of course I can't ignore the great price it is available at. I would go so far to say that it is the best ink you can use as a daily workhorse.

On the other hand, if you are interested in a more refined experience when using your awesome fountain pens, probably you will get more joy using a higher end ink, that comes in a nicer refined glass bottle.

Friday, April 10, 2020

Koh-I-Noor limited edition ink



I have spotted on the Koh-I-Noor site that they have a new ink for sale.

It uses the same plastic 50 ml bottle as the standard one but it is about 5 times more expensive.

The name Koh I Noor is missing from the label, just Hardtmuth. I guess this is because it is a limited edition from the "HARDTMUTH collection".

Blue or black are the only available colors.
I didn't test it yet, I hope I will in the future, but I would like for Koh I Noor to make more colors at least for the "special collections". As their inks come in basic blue, black or red.


Thursday, February 20, 2020

Document Ink Koh I Noor Prague trip

prague koh i noor pencil since 1790 hardmuth
This is a long-awaited moment for me, as I have been looking for this ink from Koh-I-Noor for some time with no success. I could not find it locally anywhere and it was the same story the first time I have visited Prague. It was not available in the shop. On my second visit I did not put much hope in finding it but ... here it is.
And when it rains it pours, I see that the official Koh I Noor website is selling it in Romania as well. For now, it is available only online, but maybe in the future, it will be available in stores as well; fingers crossed.

The Document ink is Koh I Noor's permanent ink. Available in blue or black colors, plastic bottles as the standard Koh I Noor ink, and in a more classic ink well made out of glass which comes in a cardboard box.
I have bought the more "elegant" version.
The inkwell has a classic look to it, with a white label on the face. The logo of Koh I Noor, underneath Document ink is written along with the quantity, 30 grams. 
It is a very dated design, a bit boring but I am not going to judge the ink by its label.
glass well permanent ink blue 30g

In this setup, it is more expensive. The price was 87 CZK which is 3.42 EUR or 3.82 USD. It is still very accessible but the standard ink is about 3 times cheaper and the quantity is almost double. 

But the comparison is not fair as the standard ink comes only in plastic bottles and not in a more premium glass well. You can "czeck" the standard ink out in this older post.

As I said this is a more expensive ink due to the fact it is permanent and because mine came in a glass ink well. But if you choose to buy the plastic bottle (image of it to the left) you will receive the same formula of ink in a  more economical package, and maybe a nicer design of the bottle and label.
This bottle is 50 ml and costs around 2.10 euros. Much better pricing. If we compare the cost of the document ink in plastic bottle to the standard ink the prices are closer as the standard costs around 1.25eur.



The box is plain white with blue writing. If you get the black document ink the writing on the box will be black. The design of the box is quite underwhelming, I will leave it at that.

ink well blue boxink well box

And apparently, it is not to be used by penguins?! I did not know why Koh I Noor forbids penguins to use their ink, a bit racist.
But it turns out this means that you should not freeze it.
ink well blue box made in Czech rep


The ink performs well, as I expected. It works well on cheap paper, it is smooth, it dries fast, and it does what is meant to do. It stays on paper regardless of external factors. It is an archiving ink so it is no thrills. The light blue looks nice but nothing special


The water resistance is excellent. You cant get it out of the paper no matter what you do to it.
I tested it under running tap water high flow cold and hot for 30 seconds.
I also left a piece of paper underwater for close to 10 minutes. The paper was a bit fragile and I just wanted to make sure it does not disintegrate

Before and after pictures.
 
note: I would like to say that the variance in color is caused by the lighting and the camera.

I am also testing the ink's resistance to UV rays. I will be back with the results.


PS. After taking a look at Koh I Noor website I see they have a new ink limited edition. It seems it is in the same plastic 50 ml bottle but the sticker is different.

Sunday, September 2, 2018

Ink Review Koh-I-Noor blue

The fountain pen ink is produced by Koh-I-Noor in the Czech Republic.
It comes in a plastic bottle, 50 g (or roughly 50 ml) like in the picture. The ink doesn't come in any kind of additional packaging, it has no additional box. All this I imagine is to reduce the cost and offer the best possible price to the consumer.
It comes in just 3 colors, blue, black and red (edit: I also found green recently), so a rather limited selection, but the ink is marketed towards students who need a no fuss, inexpensive ink.
And when it comes to price, it is a fantastic one. It is available in about every shop and costs between 1.1 - 1.4 Euro (average of 1.5 USD).
Another cheap contender would be Hero, but the price for a bottle of 60 ml is about 4.8 - 5 USD
Another comparison could be done with Pelikan 4001 blue 1000 ml (which is cheaper than black). The price on Amazon.de for 1000 ml is 26.59 euro, which translates into 0.03 euro/ml or 1.5 euro for 50 ml.
This makes the Koh-I-Noor ink to be more cost-effective even compared to Hero ink. Yes, the Hero comes in a glass bottle and has a box.

Koh-i-Noor is a well-known brand of artists' supplies, and their ink is considered to be of high quality. Their ink is often used by calligraphers, illustrators and artists due to its rich, vibrant color and smooth flow. Some of their inks are also waterproof, lightfast and pH neutral which is great for artists who want to create long lasting works. Many artists and calligraphers also appreciate the fact that Koh-i-Noor inks are made with natural pigments, which can give their work a unique and organic feel. In addition, Koh-i-Noor ink is also used for technical drawings and is suitable for use with fountain pens and dip pens. 

So the ink comes in an unimpressive plastic bottle, the label is in Czech and English and this is about it. The top colored band from the label represents the color of the ink.
It is a light blue, not too saturated, but I like the look. The color and saturation is in between the Faber Castell Royal Blue and the Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue. The Pelikan 4001 has a little more of an indigo color in it.


As I stated before, the ink is marketed for students, so this is a no fuss ink. It does not shine and it doesn't shade. But it flows well, hasn't been able to clog a pen so far, it dries reasonably fast, and does not bleed.
There is an area where it doesn't do very well, and that is water. Running water over a piece of paper almost erased the entire Koh-I-Noor ink. It was hardly visible after. The Pelikan is not a lot better, but I would grade it a little higher.
Off course, this is not necessarily a bad thing, as people who use fountain pens tend to have inky fingers. So it will be easy to clean off in case of an accident.

To conclude, I give it a thumbs up. It is a great value ink. 

The company also produces a document ink. "Ink suitable for fountain pens, light and moisture-resistant, cannot be removed from paper without damaging the paper. For use in archives, for writing documents and at registry offices." They offer it in 50 g plastic bottle and 30 ml in a glass bottle, available in blue and black
 

If you are interested in Koh-I-Noor's offer for document ink, you can check the following link:
Koh-I-Noor document blue ink in glass bottle

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Black ink: Faber Castell vs Pelikan 4001

Lately, I have been using fountain pens more often. And I found that the most used color of ink is black. Both of the writing samples are with Faber Castell Loom fountain pen.
The Faber Castell has a more fluid ink, and the color is more saturated compared to the Pelikan.
On the plus side for the Pelikan, it is a bit cheaper and it is more popular, at least with the shops. You can find Pelikan 4001 in any stationary shop, small or big.
They are both close, but Pelikan wins at foto finish

I chose Pelikan mainly because it handled a little bit better in the sun test, you can see in the post ink over time. And it is easier to find

black ink faber castell vs pelikan 4001 fountain pen

black ink faber castell vs pelikan 4001 fountain pen

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Ink over time

Recently I started writing with a fountain pen again. The appetite for fountain pens has been ignited by the cheap Preppy. The sensation was quite nice switching from ballpoint to fountain pen. But the fact that ink is soluble into water made me contemplate on the resistance of ink over time. You can find on the Internet and on the forums good UV tests of different inks. But I wanted a test of my own to see how my inks work in my situation, so your  mileage may vary. I live in a place with moderate sunlight. I tried to replicate what would happen to your ink writings left on a table on which you get a fair share of sunlight.
The test is not very scientific as i used different fountain pens and the exposure to light was different as i did not used all the inks in the test from the begining but still the results are interesting.

Inks used: platinum blue black, Faber Castell royal blue, Faber Castell permanent black, Pelikan 4001 royal blue, Pelikan 4001 black, Pelikan 4001 personal mix 1:1 royal blue and black, Koh I Noor Blue

The test was conducted for a period of 4 months from March until June.

UV ink test, pelikan, faber castell, platinum, koh i noir

Results:
Koh I Noor blue with the least time exposed to sunlight is almost invisible
Faber Castell royal blue is very hard to read even though it received a similar amount of sun with Pelikan 4001 royal blue
The blacks from Pelikan and Faber Castell look similar after sun exposure.
The winner of the test I would say is the Platinum blue black
The ink was not the only one affected by the sun the paper that was exposed obtain a yellowish tint

Also see: Platinum Preppy

Friday, December 1, 2017

Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Red ink


I got enthusiastic about ink colors and I bought Pelikan 4001 brilliant red. It is not a color that I use regular, but I felt it would be cool for occasional writing and mixing it with other inks from Pelikan.
The conclusion is that I should have read the reviews first.
Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Red Ink is a big no no. The ink has many flaws regarding color, mixing, deposits in the inkwell etc.

pelikan 4001 brilliant red ink
You can make it look a lot better by mixing it, but it is not mixing well and clogs the pen.
You can see in the bottle a white deposit on the bottom of the reservoir. If you shake it, the deposit mixes, but only for a short time.
pelikan 4001 brilliant red ink
For a company that has so much tradition, it is a very big disappointment. Why would you tolerate putting on the market such a bad product?
To show how bad things are, if you look on the internet for Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Red you will find pictures and videos where the ink is orange. Looks nothing like the one I got.
Definitely not worth buying!

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