Is Bottled Ink Superior to Cartridges?

H

Hedomystico

Messages
207
Location
Torino, Italy
Hello gents,

Since a very early age, I've always been truly fascinated by writing instruments. There is something almost magical about the hidden power these small objects behold. However, I'm admittedly rather ignorant with regards to the more technical aspects of calligraphy.

A question for the more experienced calligraphists among us: is bottled ink generally considered to be superior to cartridges?

Just curious, as I picked up my trusty Lamy Safari today, and decided to refill it using a bottle of green ink I had lying around (god knows since how long) rather than the bog standard blue cartridges I have used until now.
 
In my experience, in real performance terms, cartridge ink is just as good as bottled ink.

For the purists among us, of course, the greater choice (read number of colours) and, if you are a prolific writer, the value of bottled ink over the handiness of cartridges are the defining factors. There are also the tangible aspects of filling a good FP from a bottle rather than merely slotting a cartridge into place.

Like most things in life, cost comes into it too and there are fair, good and better cartridges and bottled ink generally in line with the purchase price.

In order to set the above in context, I am not a professional calligraphist, but an enthusiast with 40+ years experience of writing. I have a collection of pens numbering 300+, with all types and mechanisms (FP, BP, RB) covered.
 
Nico1970 said:
In my experience, in real performance terms, cartridge ink is just as good as bottled ink.

For the purists among us, of course, the greater choice (read number of colours) and, if you are a prolific writer, the value of bottled ink over the handiness of cartridges are the defining factors. There are also the tangible aspects of filling a good FP from a bottle rather than merely slotting a cartridge into place.

Like most things in life, cost comes into it too and there are fair, good and better cartridges and bottled ink generally in line with the purchase price.

In order to set the above in context, I am not a professional calligraphist, but an enthusiast with 40+ years experience of writing. I have a collection of pens numbering 300+, with all types and mechanisms (FP, BP, RB) covered.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the very thorough response. Value and colour choice are two good enough reasons to convince me to invest in a bottle for my Lamy.
Given your prolific experience with pens, are there any bottled inks in particular that you would recommend?
 
Hi Hedo,

For bottled ink, I really like Diamine, Sailor's Jentle and Noodlers, but there is loads of choice and I wouldn't purport to have tried them all. Other folk may have useful suggestions.

Whilst Diamine is very good ink, I think part of me has fallen for its nostalgic charms, as it is what I started with at school many years ago!?!

Cheers
 
Hi, I too use Diamine ink in my lamy.
If you go to cult pens website they have smaller bottles of the Diamine range for around £2.50. I found this very helpful so you can find the right one.
 
In my admittedly limited experience I found that the choice of ink also depends on how the pen writes. A wetter writing pen/nib may work better with an ink that doesn't flow quite as freely, and vice versa. Sometimes it all comes down to trial an error to see what you prefer and what works best for you, rather like with razor blades ;)

Luckily Diamine, and some other inks, offer smaller 30ml bottles that allow you to experiment with various inks and colours without breaking the bank.
 
FrankieG said:
In my admittedly limited experience I found that the choice of ink also depends on how the pen writes. A wetter writing pen/nib may work better with an ink that doesn't flow quite as freely, and vice versa. Sometimes it all comes down to trial an error to see what you prefer and what works best for you, rather like with razor blades ;)

Luckily Diamine, and some other inks, offer smaller 30ml bottles that allow you to experiment with various inks and colours without breaking the bank.
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree with that. Some of my better quality inks don't suit some of my freer flowing nibs. Some inks suit certain nibs/pens more than others.
 
Thanks for the suggestions and tips gents - very helpful, as always :)
I tend to prefer finer nibs (my current favourite is the Lamy EF nib) - any inks which are particularly suited to these types?
 
The Japanese are particularly fond of very fine nibs, hence, I would say any Sailor, Pilot or Platinum bottled ink would do fine.

As noted above, cult pens is as good an emporium as any to start your search.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom