If you were to introduce someone to FPs, which ink would you start them with?

[oldstoat]

As I said in the title, which ink would you suggest to someone starting out with fountain pens? I think good flow, easy cleaning, good paper characteristics( bleeding, feathering, drying) come before colour, but I think a good strong colour would be desirable. What do all you geeks think?

[dfo]

Waterman inks. They are some of the most well behaved inks, though the colors are not always the most exciting.

I would stay away from any ink that takes a minute to dry or smudges a day after being on paper.

Usually when I give a person a pen, I make sure it has a cartridge from the same brand as the pen.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Depends. If they prefer blue ink I would likely suggest Sailor Yama dori (bit more interesting than just a flat blue). If they prefer black then probably Aurora or Herbin. Other colours... any of the Japanese inks would be my first call. Of course, that will alos depend on where they are and availability. Just my two groats.

[penwash]

I never fail to impress people with brown ink. Because brown is not something you see every day and it gives your writing that old-timey look that people associate with fountain pens.

Tons of good brown inks, my best recommendation for good flow and fuss-free operation would be Montblanc Toffee Brown or Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz if you want brown-black instead.

[Robert]

I never fail to impress people with brown ink. Because brown is not something you see every day and it gives your writing that old-timey look that people associate with fountain pens.

Tons of good brown inks, my best recommendation for good flow and fuss-free operation would be Montblanc Toffee Brown or Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz if you want brown-black instead.

I agree with your general impressions of brown inks, with which I would include some of the sepia inks (talk about the old timey look!)
FWIW, my long time favorite brown is Iroshizuku Yama-guri - - which provides a rich, dark brown color. I have found it to be well behaved/easy to clean.

[An old bloke]

Diamine Sapphire Blue is what I've given new users.

[Sammyo]

Depends on the pen...
As dfo said, a standard cartridge for the pen in question is always a good start.
Easy to replace and swap, no messing about with cleaning at the early stages, old one out - new one in - done.

As for an ink I would use/recommend?
I usually go with Pilot Blue/Black.
Great ink; safe for daily use; good on nearly all paper; water resistant; easy to clean; some red sheen when wet on nicer paper.

[SIR]

Which first ink? A personal favourite, of course!

https://cdn3.volusion.com/uxgzs.gqocy/v/vspfiles/photos/13-1005-206-2.jpg

Good for that no.1 ink use - writing... characterful and dependable all-round performance... well renowned cleaning properties.

[inklord]

Depends on the pen. Most newbs seem more comfortable with ink marketed by the maker of their first pen. Often I like to give a duo of something serene and something a bit more perky, such as Lamy or Sailor "blue-black" and Sailor "irori", which also teaches thorough cleaning when switching inks. Blue-blacks and teals work great because there are so many interesting inks of these shades out there, and they can harmonize with and complement many warmer inks, such as browns and brick reds, oxbloods and bright red/orange.

[FredRydr]

As I said in the title, which ink would you suggest to someone starting out with fountain pens? I think good flow, easy cleaning, good paper characteristics( bleeding, feathering, drying) come before colour, but I think a good strong colour would be desirable.
Just rock solid Waterman blue with predictable flow and dries promptly. Blue is more likely to make an impression than black. Once the newbie is hooked, they can discover all the alternatives.

[Deb]

I think I would suggest Waterman too, "Mysterious Blue" as they call it now.

[TSherbs]

Diamine Royal Blue

(no nonsense, easy flow, easy clean, common blue)

[RocketRyan]

+1 for waterman inks. I would probably say tender purple, and tell them Enzo Ferrari used purple ink.

[Dreck]

It would depend on the pen and the user (both the characteristics of the user and the uses for which they would be employing the pen). One friend got an Esterbrook J and a bottle of R&K Salix (beautiful cornflower blue!). Another got an ebonite Konrad with a bottle of Noodler's 54th Mass. When I used to set up my students with pens and inks, I always tried to set up the less diligent/less Type-A students with inks that were water-soluble and would allow them a smooth transition from ballpoint to fp. The students who habitually used their pens and liked the idea of something that required a little more care, thought, and technique than a biro got introduced to "cooler" inks (like IG, Diamine Shimmertastic [yes, I had to read several essays on The Scarlet Letter, Animal Farm, and BAAA (http://www2.hawaii.edu/~khayes/Journal_Club/fall2007/baaa.pdf) written in glittery purple or pink], or some of the sheen-y Sailor inks that were donated).
Personally, I started with Noodler's ink and from there to ESSRI. The Iron Gall gave me considerably more problems than the Noodler's, but I got it figured out. Some people are more open to dealing with potential hassles and quirks than others. For those others, I'd recommend the notoriously well-behaved Waterman inks, or cartridges.

[manoeuver]

I hand out pens to customers in my shop about 2x/week.

Most of them get inked with Waterman Serenity Blue.

[stevekolt]

And another vote for Waterman...

[VertOlive]

I just sent a couple a pair of Metropolitans with matching Paperblanks journals for Christmas. I sent the standard blue cartridges that came with the pens and a sample of Sailor black. It doesn't do to confuse people who are new to fountain pens so I kept it simple...

[SIR]

It doesn't do to confuse people who are new to fountain pens so I kept it simple...

Yep.

[writingrav]

I'd give Diamine Blue-Black

[welch]

Diamine Sapphire Blue, which handles as easily as Waterman Florida Blue (Serenity?) but has a bit more color.

[amk]

Waterman is always well behaved. I find Pelikan inks also quite biddable and use the Koenigsblau a lot for trying pens out.

By the way I'm currently using a late 1950s bottle of Waterman bleue effacable. It lasts!!!!

But I'd also say, if the pen user has a particular favourite colour, or is the kind of person who'd appreciate something quirky, then reflect that in your ink choice. Or grab a handful of different coloured cartridges for them so they can choose. Some people might love the Herbin scented inks (yes, scented inks are a thing) or shimmer inks, others might even go for the Pelikan highlighter inks.

Oh, and it's never too soon to introduce someone to matchy-matchy.

[Chrissy]

I would recommend they start with the cartridges that come with their particular pen brand. :)

If there aren't any then Waterman Blue is a good place to start. :)

[Scooby921]

I think naimitsu and I approach this differently, probably because of the way Sammyo wrangled us into fine writing implements. Because he carries numerous pens each day and has them all filled with different inks of different colors we were immediately able to try a lot of things. When we manage to convince someone else to test the fountain pen waters it's usually because we've done the same thing for them. In most cases we aren't then recommending they go buy one bottle of ink. We are handing them remnants in sample vials from our initial foray into inks, and passing off web sites where they can order more sample vials to begin their own new journey of discovery. It's less about brand and more about color for most people just getting started. One of our co-workers loves green, so I've given her a sample of every green ink I own.

Everyone still gets a warning about Baystate Blue and any inks we've found to create unsightly boogers in the feed (PR Avacado and C-S Kingsand for me).