Ink Samples and Setting Up Lightfastness Tests

[jmb57]

ps i just voted 5 stars for this thread, it should be a sticky...

[RainySea]

Hello all. . . . I found this cool link (well, I think so) and sorry in advance if anyone has already shared it but I'd not seen it before. It is sorta a tutorial on ink and wash but the page on ink tells about making ink using pigment or dye, liquid/water, and gum arabic. They mention that it can be made using coffee or tea even which seems funny but then I have seen the stains from coffee cup rings on paper so I guess it would work.

Also it mentions and gives sample of an ink called Parker Quink. Anyone tried that? Looks similar to velvet black in how it gives off color when washed.

http://sites.google.com/site/penandwashonline/welcome

[JamieWG]

Originally Posted by RainySea

Also it mentions and gives sample of an ink called Parker Quink. Anyone tried that? Looks similar to velvet black in how it gives off color when washed.

I have a whole bottle of it, but I had surgery on my right hand last year and lost a lot of strength. I can't open the bottle! LOL I've been trying for days. I'll see if my husband can open it for me, and if so, I'll make up a sample to show. I had four samples arrive today from Goulet also; I'll include those as well.

Jamie

[tuan]

Originally Posted by Studio-1-F

The Pilot Razor Point is available at Blicks and all over the place. It's cheap as dirt. Here it is. If its ink is lightfast I'll be mightily surprised.

Right. If you follow these links, you can see for yourself how it compares to other inks in lightfastness. In terms of reaction to sunlight, drawing with a Pilot Razor Point is like sculpting with ice.

This doesn't have to be a problem, of course. It's extremely convenient to work with, and if you just scan anything you decide to keep, you'll have it forever. You can display a print in direct sunlight, and when it fades, replace it with a perfect copy. I suspect I WILL be doing this to some extent, if the day ever comes when I produce something worth keeping.

With that in mind, I'm not just looking for the best-looking archival solutions but also the best-looking convenient solutions, which probably won't be the same. The Pilot is a candidate for the second category.

Originally Posted by Studio-1-F

I am going to order some Iroshizuku ink next week. The colors are so nifty . . . they'll probably wash into cartoon-like colors that Tuan talked about. Oh well!

Yes, that's a challenge. Some of the best-looking ink lines seem to wash into a color that I would never intentionally choose if I were doing a monochrome watercolor. If you're going to work in near monochrome, you'll want it to be a "chrome" you love.

[Studio-1-F]

Originally Posted by RainySea

Hello all. . . . I found this cool link . . .

I like the sketch examples there, especially this one.

It looks like Jamie's Noodler's Kiowa Pecan ink and it looks like a Rembrandt (well, ummmm, almost).

Thanks for posting, Rainy!

J

[Studio-1-F]

Originally Posted by tuan

Right. If you follow these links, you can see for yourself how it compares to other inks in lightfastness. In terms of reaction to sunlight, drawing with a Pilot Razor Point is like sculpting with ice.

All of those samples are (as far as I can discern) of Pilot Gel pen ink. The one I've been continually chirping about is not. The Pilot Razor Point is a "felt tip" pen, albeit with a very, very fine point.

That said, I am sure the lightfastness of the Pilot Razor Point is just as woeful. But it sure ain't a Gel pen.

Jan

[JamieWG]

I finally got the bottle of Parker Quink open, and did samples for y'all of that and eight other colors. Here we go:

• Noodler's Bulletproof Black (This sample didn't lay down well, and is really not representative of how fabulous this ink is for a non-washable black.)
• Noodler's #41 Brown
• Dick Blick Black Cat Waterproof India Ink
• Pilot Varsity Black
• Parker Quink Ink
• Diamine Graphite
• Caran D'Ache Grand Canyon
• Diamine Damson
• Diamine Grey

I also tried to do the Sennelier Walnut Ink, but it wouldn't cooperate with my glass dip pen.



I've cropped some of the ones I love most so you can see them better. First up:
Parker Quink Ink
Diamine Graphite



Parker Quink does break down into its complementary components of blue and a little burnt sienna coloring. I LOVE IT! It washes very easily. In a heavy wash, the lines turn quite blue as you can see, so you'd have to not be bothered by that feature. It's quite different from the violet tones of the Velvet Black, and IMO doesn't wash quite as dark. Perhaps the Private Reserve is a more concentrated ink. I'll definitely be trying out some sketches with this one.

You can see a few blobs there where I tried to get a sample of the Sennelier, but it didn't want to cooperate. Below that,

Diamine Graphite --- This is a fabulous greyed green. It doesn't wash to different colors as far as I can tell, but I've had a hard time finding such a neutralized green. This could be very nice for some monochrome landscape ink/wash sketches. It washes very easily with the waterbrush, and can go from very dark to very light.

Below are:
Caran D'Ache Grand Canyon
Diamine Damson
Diamine Grey


Caran D'Ache Grand Canyon washes into glowing Burnt Sienna and gray. This could be my new favorite. I love how it remains fairly neutral, yet still breaks down. We've all been looking for a brown ink that washes into nice components that aren't too high chroma, and I think this one could be IT for me! I can't stop looking at it. I need a bottle of this yesterday! LOL

Diamine Damson is an exquisite rosy, dusky purple. It doesn't break down into different colors in my wash sample, but just goes from dark to light and washes very easily. If it broke into components, there would probably be a lot more visible red in the wash than I'd want to see. I wonder how this would be mixed with a bit of the Velvet Black.

Diamine Grey could very well one of the two greys I want to use with watercolor. I would like one that washes easily, and one that's bulletproof. This one washes easily, is at least one full value lighter than the Velvet Black, and since it remains neutral in the wash rather than breaking into different colors, there wouldn't be as many surprises when using watercolor over the top!

I haven't done the lightfastness tests on these yet, but I'll do them Monday with 8 more ink samples that should be arriving. I can't wait to do sketches with these! So many great contenders here!

Jamie

[RainySea]

Oh, wow . . . I have got to get the Quink as well as the Grand Canyon. Goulet doesn't carry Quink. . .wonder why. But jetpens has it.

thanks so much for the tests, Jamie!!!

BTW. . . I read this in the reviewof the Grand Canyon on Goulet. . . maybe you could try and see if it really turns blue like that? Sounds interesting:

"I really like this ink. I think the color is very nice. I like to use this one for things like thank-you cards because it has a nice friendly feeling to it. Also for drawing it has a trick up its sleeve - after it is dry you can go over it with a wet finger, and it leaves a blue color behind, so it is good for horizons on landscape doodles where the earth and the sky meet."

BTW. . . Jan, did you post a sample of the ink from the Pilot Razor pen? I am thinking you did but I probably just missed it.

Thanks again to all for everything you are sharing. This is so GREAT

[RainySea]

BTW. . . today I got a few bottles of FW inks today, including a Cool Gray that I tried it on the dip pen and it might be good for pen and watercolor. . . a very subtle (but not TOO subtle gray). FW is not for fountain pens, but will work in technical or dip pens. Water resistant when dry, but will wash for some times as they do not dry really fast. . . they have a high lightfastness rating. Gonna try to make time tomorrow to try the gray with a watercolor.

[tuan]

Originally Posted by Studio-1-F

All of those samples are (as far as I can discern) of Pilot Gel pen ink. The one I've been continually chirping about is not. The Pilot Razor Point is a "felt tip" pen, albeit with a very, very fine point.

That said, I am sure the lightfastness of the Pilot Razor Point is just as woeful. But it sure ain't a Gel pen.

Jan

I think you're right, Jan. The Razor Point probably isn't going to outlast Noodler's, but it might not be so "woeful" after all.

[Studio-1-F]

Wow! Jamie!!! So may possibilities. That Parker Quink appears to be a keeper. The components are very alluring. Hmm! Wish it were more concentrated. But maybe with one of my chisel nibs I could get a fat/wet enough line to suit me.

Originally Posted by RainySea

BTW. . . Jan, did you post a sample of the ink from the Pilot Razor pen? I am thinking you did but I probably just missed it.

I don't remember if I did or not. See below for a Pilot Razor Point pen (black ink) wash sketch.

Jan

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[gakinme]

Jamie, Jan, great washes there.

Jamie, from your chart, the Caran D'ache Grand Canyon is very pretty. This site has a comparison. Is their Grand Canyon close to real life colors or is yours?

http://dizzypen.wordpress.com/2010/0...-canyon-brown/

[JamieWG]

Originally Posted by gakinme

Jamie, from your chart, the Caran D'ache Grand Canyon is very pretty. This site has a comparison. Is their Grand Canyon close to real life colors or is yours?

http://dizzypen.wordpress.com/2010/0...-canyon-brown/

Wow, on my PC it doesn't look at all like that. So, I went to look on my Mac, and there it's a little closer. Even her own two Q tip swatches of Grand Canyon don't look at all alike. The one at the bottom is a lot lighter than my ink. The Q tip swab of it above, on her page of writing, looks closer. But mine isn't as watery as hers appears.

That Iroshizuku Yama Guri looks delicious. I'd like to see how that one washes; it appears to have some interesting components, but who knows --- it might wash out bright red and purple! LOL

Tomorrow I should be getting a sample of that Cacao du Brasil that she has on the bottom there, along with a bunch of other browns, grays and dusky violets. So, more exciting stuff to come!

Jamie

[JamieWG]

Originally Posted by RainySea

BTW. . . I read this in the reviewof the Grand Canyon on Goulet. . . maybe you could try and see if it really turns blue like that? Sounds interesting:

"I really like this ink. I think the color is very nice. I like to use this one for things like thank-you cards because it has a nice friendly feeling to it. Also for drawing it has a trick up its sleeve - after it is dry you can go over it with a wet finger, and it leaves a blue color behind, so it is good for horizons on landscape doodles where the earth and the sky meet."

I can't seem to get that effect. Perhaps it's the differences in the paper???

[gakinme]

Thanks for the clarification, Jamie. It looks like then that the Grand Canyon is dark enough for me, but now that Japanese one looks even better. Geez, when would this end. LOL.