White ink recommendations?

[suzy01]

Please can anyone recommend a nice fountain pen safe white ink?

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[FredRydr]

Wouldn't a liquid that might be called white "ink" require a suspension of particulate matter and therefore be inappropriate for fountain pens? Is there such a thing as white dye?

[Pterodactylus]

White ink for fountain pens is a difficult topic.
Quite a long time there was no white FP ink.

As far as I know there is now De Atramentis Dokumententinte Weiß.
But I did not tried it yet.

My personal opinion is that white will always be a difficult topic as this ink has to be as opaque as possible (in opposite to common inks).
Opaque means pigments, pigments means (many times) troubles in FPs.

If you need a good opaque white for drawing and writing I would always prefer opaque white India ink using dip nibs.

[Scooby921]

I will echo Ptero. I've not used a white fountain pen ink, but I've used pigment-heavy "opaque" white paint in my airbrush. It clogs easy and often due to the size and thickness of pigment. It's easier to use a low-pigment "translucent" white and simply add multiple layers and build up to an opaque result. I do not have this issue with any other paint color. I expect any "white" FP ink will have similar issues. Either it will be very light on pigment and not truly white, or it'll be thick enough to require use of a dip pen instead.

[Jon Szanto]

Pretty much a no-go. If you want to write by hand with a white ink, you are going to have to move to calligraphy inks and dip pens. Just how it is.

[suzy01]

Thank you everyone. I thought as much but wanted to ask. For some reason this thread didn't appear in my list on tapatalk so I've only just seen the replies. I've ordered a rotring isograph with white ink, I expect it'll clog a bit too but we'll see.

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[Sailor Kenshin]

Not a fountain pen, but a couple of white gel pens work really well. I can't recall both names, but I have two kinds (Sakura Gelly Roll is one), and I use them for writing on dark envelopes.

...pretty sure the other's Uni Ball Signo. Very white and opaque...

[Wile E Coyote]

Pretty much a no-go. If you want to write by hand with a white ink, you are going to have to move to calligraphy inks and dip pens. Just how it is.

You could also use a stylographic pen with white "ink."

KohINoor makes an opaque white drafting fluid specifically for stylographic drafting pens.

[Pterodactylus]

Thank you everyone. I thought as much but wanted to ask. For some reason this thread didn't appear in my list on tapatalk so I've only just seen the replies. I've ordered a rotring isograph with white ink, I expect it'll clog a bit too but we'll see.

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I also use Rotring Rapidograph pens with Rotring White Drawing Ink (Zeichentusche) this work just fine down to 0,25 mm size (but personal I prefer 0,35 and above for drawing purposes).

So you donˋt need to worry about (proper) white ink in technical pens (Isograph/Rapidograph).
But be careful which white ink you use in them, they should have an explicit mentioned approval for technical pens (do not use inks which have not such a clearance)
Some approvals are limited to specific sizes (and above) like 0,35 because of the pigment sizes.

As said my personal experience for most inks is to use it in 0,35 and above.
The Rotring ink works with 0,25 but the flow doesn't seem to be really good anymore.
I would not load an white ink to a 0,18 or below.

[suzy01]

Thank you everyone. I thought as much but wanted to ask. For some reason this thread didn't appear in my list on tapatalk so I've only just seen the replies. I've ordered a rotring isograph with white ink, I expect it'll clog a bit too but we'll see.

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I also use Rotring Rapidograph pens with Rotring White Drawing Ink (Zeichentusche) this work just fine down to 0,25 mm size (but personal I prefer 0,35 and above for drawing purposes).

So you donˋt need to worry about (proper) white ink in technical pens (Isograph/Rapidograph).
But be careful which white ink you use in them, they should have an explicit mentioned approval for technical pens (do not use inks which have not such a clearance)
Some approvals are limited to specific sizes (and above) like 0,35 because of the pigment sizes.

As said my personal experience for most inks is to use it in 0,35 and above.
The Rotring ink works with 0,25 but the flow doesn't seem to be really good anymore.
I would not load an white ink to a 0,18 or below.Oh dear, I ordered it for the smallest. 0.1 :-/

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[Jon Szanto]

Oh dear, I ordered it for the smallest. 0.1 :-/

Patience is a virtue. Gather all info before pulling trigger.

[suzy01]

Oh dear, I ordered it for the smallest. 0.1 :-/

Patience is a virtue. Gather all info before pulling trigger.Teehee it's never been one of mine!

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[Jon Szanto]

Teehee it's never been one of mine!

Oh, believe me, I understand. It took years of cultivation, often spurred on by miscues like "I bought the wrong pen". ;)

[suzy01]

I couldn't find anywhere official online that said I shouldn't use it in the 0.1 so I couldn't resist. I'll have to take care to use it everyday or rinse it out and see how we go, it'll probably clog and I'll buy the bigger one but there's no point just putting it in the cupboard. I really enjoyed using it though :) https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180330/818fc40efbbb2985567b9cc7ff4f3bc9.jpg

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[Jon Szanto]

Suzy, that is beautiful!

[Pterodactylus]

That is great, I love it.

May I ask you which ink you used?

And just to be sure, you made it using your new 0,1 Rapidograph?

If yes, how was the flow?
Did you faced any hard starts?

E.g. Dr. Martins Pen White ink mentions 0,25 and above

As said, I use the Rotring White ink and obeserved a not so good flow using a 0,25 compared to the bigger ones.

I found this cleaning tip for the Rotring ink:
To reduce the risk of blockages on the finer nibs, 0.10, 0.13 and 0.18 keep the inside of the cap damp. The moisture and humidity will help the ink flow

Great that it works as you expected it.
Please keep us updated and share your experiences if it keeps functioning over a longer period of time.

[Pterodactylus]

I really like black and white drawings.
Here is one of mine I did some time ago (using a brush not a technical pen)

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8233/29778184272_9ee97dc38a_o.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/MnoYJd)
Dragon (https://flic.kr/p/MnoYJd) by Ptero Pterodactylus (https://www.flickr.com/photos/117783735@N07/), auf Flickr

(Brush ..... Pelikan Drawing Ink White)

[suzy01]

Suzy, that is beautiful!Thank you :) only my second one drawing the white bits, the first one I used white colour pencils. I'm loving the black sketchbook so far, it's going to be my April side project [emoji16]

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[suzy01]

That is great, I love it.

May I ask you which ink you used?

And just to be sure, you made it using your new 0,1 Rapidograph?

If yes, how was the flow?
Did you faced any hard starts?

E.g. Dr. Martins Pen White ink mentions 0,25 and above

As said, I use the Rotring White ink and obeserved a not so good flow using a 0,25 compared to the bigger ones.

I found this cleaning tip for the Rotring ink:
To reduce the risk of blockages on the finer nibs, 0.10, 0.13 and 0.18 keep the inside of the cap damp. The moisture and humidity will help the ink flow

Great that it works as you expected it.
Please keep us updated and share your experiences if it keeps functioning over a longer period of time.Thx, I used the rotring white ink. It's the isograph 0.1 rather than the radiograph but I think the only difference is that one takes cartridges? It seemed OK, a bit scratchy lol but if you will write with a needle!! I just shocked it a bit when I looked a bit pale. I don't have experience of the others so I can't compare to the bigger sizes in terms of flow. I'd say it was slightly more smooth than a running out copic fineliner 🤣

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[suzy01]

I really like black and white drawings.
Here is one of mine I did some time ago (using a brush not a technical pen)

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8233/29778184272_9ee97dc38a_o.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/MnoYJd)
Dragon (https://flic.kr/p/MnoYJd) by Ptero Pterodactylus (https://www.flickr.com/photos/117783735@N07/), auf Flickr

(Brush ..... Pelikan Drawing Ink White)This is lovely! I'm only just starting with the black paper, I usually use white paper and black ink so it's a bit of a mind bender to draw the light bits rather than leaving them!

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[suzy01]

I don't suppose if anyone knows if you can get a tiny plug for the cartridge section of the rotring isograph? Would be good to wash out the pen after use but still keep the ink fresh since it seems to cost an arm and a leg.

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[Pterodactylus]

I don't suppose if anyone knows if you can get a tiny plug for the cartridge section of the rotring isograph? Would be good to wash out the pen after use but still keep the ink fresh since it seems to cost an arm and a leg.

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You can keep the Isograph cartridges filled for months, normally it will not dry out.
Normally no maintenance needed at all, just using it.

You can clean the pen when refilling them if you like.

About 30 years ago we just replaced the cartridges when they were empty, never thought about cleaning them except when they start to make troubles (black ink using them for rechnical drawings on transparent paper).

And the Rotring ink normally will never leave them uncleanable (destroyed) behind even if it dries in the pen.
My set layed arround unused for at least 25 years, and of course I did not removed the ink after the last usage.
It took a while to clean them (including the cartridges and nibs) but it took only time and warm water to bring them back to life.

[Wile E Coyote]

Rotring had something called a Hidromat that was used to store the pens in a humidified environment to prevent drying. I think Koh-I-Noor still sells a similar device but I can only seem to find it as a part of a 7 pen set.

To answer your question; no, I have not seen a plug for the ink reservoir. You could try finding something that fits and seals the end. Maybe the cap from a replacement point tube.

[Pterodactylus]

Hi Suzy,

you inspired us (my son and me) to do also a white on black drawing.

https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/15840-FPGeeks-Art-Gallery?p=235584&viewfull=1#post235584

I hope we will see your artworks also in the gallery. :)

[suzy01]

Hi Suzy,

you inspired us (my son and me) to do also a white on black drawing.

https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/15840-FPGeeks-Art-Gallery?p=235584&viewfull=1#post235584

I hope we will see your artworks also in the gallery. :)I'm honoured to be a source of inspiration [emoji16] I thought the gallery was for fountain pen work?

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[Pterodactylus]

Hi Suzy,

you inspired us (my son and me) to do also a white on black drawing.

https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/15840-FPGeeks-Art-Gallery?p=235584&viewfull=1#post235584

I hope we will see your artworks also in the gallery. :)I'm honoured to be a source of inspiration [emoji16] I thought the gallery was for fountain pen work?

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Nope, the gallery is for all kind of creative expressions, no matter what was used. :)
No restrictions of any kind.

[suzy01]

Hi Suzy,

you inspired us (my son and me) to do also a white on black drawing.

https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/15840-FPGeeks-Art-Gallery?p=235584&viewfull=1#post235584

I hope we will see your artworks also in the gallery. :)I'm honoured to be a source of inspiration [emoji16] I thought the gallery was for fountain pen work?

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Nope, the gallery is for all kind of creative expressions, no matter what was used. :)
No restrictions of any kind.Oh you guys would get so sick of me lol. I post to Instagram multiple times per day 🤣

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[Chemyst]

Wouldn't a liquid that might be called white "ink" require a suspension of particulate matter and therefore be inappropriate for fountain pens?

You’ve hit on the key challenge and why white ink that is safe for use in all fountain pens remains something, if you’ll excuse the pun, of a white whale among ink makers.

[Chemist]

There are microniseed TiO2 pigments with very small particle sizes that would make them ok for fountain pens, but the smaller the particle size, the more transparent it becomes, which is the opposite of what you need.

[suzy01]

My new favourite white pen is the gelly roll.

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[Chemyst]

My new favourite white pen is the gelly roll.

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Jet Pens has a whole range of white gel pens that are worth a look.

[FredRydr]

De Atrementis offers white fountain pen ink: https://www.de-atramentis.com/document-ink--84/document-ink-permanent-ink-ink--936.html I'm not in the market for white ink, but if anyone buys it, please share what you learn.

[suzy01]

De Atrementis offers white fountain pen ink: https://www.de-atramentis.com/document-ink--84/document-ink-permanent-ink-ink--936.html I'm not in the market for white ink, but if anyone buys it, please share what you learn.Ooh.. Temping!! Thank you.

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[suzy01]

Got some, it's nice, haven't had a chance to look too much

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