Demonstrators and permanent ink question

[BlueBlackSmiley]

I just got a TWSBI Eco, and I wanted to try out some new blue inks, but I was afraid of staining the clear plastic reservoir. Should I use permanent or waterproof inks with the pen? Should I avoid them all together?

[Lady Onogaro]

There are a lot of threads on demonstrators and staining over on FPN that I have found to be interesting, though not particularly helpful in identifying what will and won't stain a clear section or reservoir. The bottom line with all of them is to say that if you don't like the idea of staining the pen, you don't want to use demonstrators.

That being said, having a good ultrasonic cleaner can be a great help with cleaning stained sections. But I have a couple of pens that so far no matter how much time they spend in the cleaner, they will still have a purple tinge to the plastic. But it doesn't bother me because I just use purple inks in it all the time.

I'm sorry I can't be more helpful. I've read through all of the threads, and really, there doesn't seem to be any guaranteed no-stain ink. You take your chances with all of them.

[Chemyst]

As Lady Onogaro says, all inks are somewhat of a risk.

Especially high risk are "bulletproof" inks and any ink in the red or brown colour families.

[naimitsu]

I'm sure you've heard it before, but to reiterate for anyone who has not encountered it yet, don't put Noodler's Baystate Blue in a demonstrator if you don't want it to stain! There is a Baystate Concord Grape as well, but it's not nearly as staining as some of the others.

If you are unsure whether an ink will stain or not, toss it into one of those sample vials and let it sit for a week or so. Make sure you splash it around a bit every few days to see the transiant vs. static ink staining.