Ranty-rant-inky-rant-rant...

[Jon Szanto]

<rant>

Ok, I have to vent!

I just spent the last half-hour trying to use both my best penmanship and my deepest concerns to write out a condolence card to a friend whose mother had passed away. I noted that the pen was inked with Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue, and I thought it worked well with the card I had chosen. Everything was going so well, I had said what I wanted to, better than I hoped.

The ink was still shiny. I let it set. I let it set some more. Two hours later it was still wet looking. I went in the bathroom and put a hair dryer on it - for about 10 minutes. I looked. It was still not dry. I got some tissue and let it float down onto the page to blot it. Upon picking it up, the page was pretty much a smeary mess.

I'll no longer purchase any PR inks, and I'm going to be wary of any super-saturated inks. Yeah, I suppose I could have diluted before I filled the pen, but I can't seem to see into the future, and these days, there are so many well-behaved inks I'm not going to bother.

Pissed me off, at a time when I was trying to harbor some tender thoughts. That sucks. I'm going to go flush this pen with a vengeance. Anyone wants a bottle of virtually full DC Supershow Blue for postage, let me know.

If any of you have a particularly vile and colorful rant about an ink you've been waiting to release, let the catharsis begin. I've made the place for us...

</rant>

[Robert]

I certainly don't mean to dismiss your irritation, but what was the card stock? Could it be at least partially at fault? If the card is ruined, I would try another (non-saturated) ink - or two - on it and note the drying times. Just a thought.

[writingrav]

Or maybe the use of a roller blotter?

[Jon Szanto]

Or maybe the use of a roller blotter?

Mayhaps. I was *very* careful, and the areas that had been blotted are STILL wet and smeary, and to be perfectly honest, that is a lot of work when all I want to do is write and have the ink dry.

The point being that I could never send a card like that to someone, especially when the message is important. I am going to try some other inks on it, just for grins, though if they dry, I'll be even more pissed.

Well, no, I'm finding my Zen center now... :)

ETA: quickly tested three other inks


Iroshizuku Fuyu-gaki - no smear
Aurora Black - no smear
Ecclesiastical Stationary Supplies Registrars Ink - no smear


All of the above dried in no more than 20 seconds or so.

[Waski_the_Squirrel]

Is it possible that the paper was coated with wax or full of something. Some cards are like that and are not fountain pen friendly at all. Such cards wouldn't work with any fountain pen ink. I've had a few cards like that.

[writingrav]

Or maybe the use of a roller blotter?

Mayhaps. I was *very* careful, and the areas that had been blotted are STILL wet and smeary, and to be perfectly honest, that is a lot of work when all I want to do is write and have the ink dry.

The point being that I could never send a card like that to someone, especially when the message is important. I am going to try some other inks on it, just for grins, though if they dry, I'll be even more pissed.

Well, no, I'm finding my Zen center now... :)

I hear ya.

[Jon Szanto]

Is it possible that the paper was coated with wax or full of something. Some cards are like that and are not fountain pen friendly at all. Such cards wouldn't work with any fountain pen ink. I've had a few cards like that.
Yes, but see my edited post above yours. It wasn't the card, it was the ink.

[Waski_the_Squirrel]

Is it possible that the paper was coated with wax or full of something. Some cards are like that and are not fountain pen friendly at all. Such cards wouldn't work with any fountain pen ink. I've had a few cards like that.
Yes, but see my edited post above yours. It wasn't the card, it was the ink.

Your edit was added two minutes after my post, so I didn't have that information when I wrote mine.

I will admit some surprise. I've used a sample of this ink and it didn't have a dry time anything like you describe. Admittedly, I didn't care for the ink at all.

[Jon Szanto]

Your edit was added two minutes after my post, so I didn't have that information when I wrote mine.

Right, I know, I was probably typing while you were replying. No worries, wasn't calling you out or anything...

[Dreck]

Ecclesiastical Stationary Supplies Registrars Ink


Jon, as sorry as I am to hear about the tribulations you experienced while trying to compose a note that was beautiful both aesthetically as well as emotionally, perhaps you can take some small comfort in intriguing me to look into the ink you mentioned above. Here I thought I'd finally decided on 'the' ink --and you have piqued my interest (for a non-Noodler's ink, no less!)

FWIW, I was not impressed with the PR brown. It felt gritty when I wrote with it.

[Laura N]

My sympathies. That ink is notorious for that behavior, unfortunately.

I'm sure when you re-write the card it will still look nice, and I'm also sure that your sentiments are really what will matter to your friend. Sorry for such a frustrating experience, though.

I can't really add a similar experience. Two separate Noodler's inks stained two of my Platinum Preppies, but since Platinium Preppies are perhaps the worst pens I've ever used not made by Noodler's, I think the inks were doing me a favor. :)

[mhosea]

The only PR ink I use is Electric DC Blue, and I haven't seen that behavior with it yet. BUT, I have noticed that the Noodler's inks I have can sometimes get like this, and I noticed in my ink dryout experiments with sac fragments that the Noodler's inks don't dry out all the way. Months later there is still a liquid there. Perhaps it is glycerin.

Like I've said before, Tomoe River paper taught me lots about drying time. Usually my favorite non-bulletproof Noodler's Inks dry about as fast as anything else, but sometimes, and I think it's after they've been in a pen for a good while, they take a long, long time. Can't say that I like the behavior, and any ink that doesn't dry on any paper that can be written on normally with a FP is not really an FP ink, as far as I am concerned.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Or maybe the use of a roller blotter?

Mayhaps. I was *very* careful, and the areas that had been blotted are STILL wet and smeary, and to be perfectly honest, that is a lot of work when all I want to do is write and have the ink dry.

The point being that I could never send a card like that to someone, especially when the message is important. I am going to try some other inks on it, just for grins, though if they dry, I'll be even more pissed.

Well, no, I'm finding my Zen center now... :)

ETA: quickly tested three other inks


Iroshizuku Fuyu-gaki - no smear
Aurora Black - no smear
Ecclesiastical Stationary Supplies Registrars Ink - no smear


All of the above dried in no more than 20 seconds or so.

It's happened to me with a couple of inks I really liked: PR Ebony Blue, and Noodler's BSIER. They were fine at first, but after a week or so in the pen, they NEVER dried. Luckily it was only journal entries, not a sympathy card.

No idea of the cause.

[Mags]

Sorry to read about this. I have seen slow dry times too on this ink. Would mixing it with Bernake Blue help dry times and keep that rich blue colour?

[Jon Szanto]

Ecclesiastical Stationary Supplies Registrars Ink


Jon, as sorry as I am to hear about the tribulations you experienced while trying to compose a note that was beautiful both aesthetically as well as emotionally, perhaps you can take some small comfort in intriguing me to look into the ink you mentioned above. Here I thought I'd finally decided on 'the' ink --and you have piqued my interest (for a non-Noodler's ink, no less!)

Dreck, this is really a great ink, but be aware it's an iron gall ink. I have one pen dedicated to it, always inked up, and I used that for some general writing but specifically addressing envelopes, etc, where I want permanence. I'm not a bulletproof/permanent ink freak, but this one fits the bill and has an interesting backstory. Check it out here (http://www.registrarsink.co.uk/registrars_ink.html). The shipping to the US is a little higher than I remember, but you might find a couple people to go in with you and reduce costs. Anyway, a great ink that performs well and will be a great document ink. You can actually watch it darken in a very short time.

[Jackson]

<rant>

Ok, I have to vent!

I just spent the last half-hour trying to use both my best penmanship and my deepest concerns to write out a condolence card to a friend whose mother had passed away. I noted that the pen was inked with Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue, and I thought it worked well with the card I had chosen. Everything was going so well, I had said what I wanted to, better than I hoped.

The ink was still shiny. I let it set. I let it set some more. Two hours later it was still wet looking. I went in the bathroom and put a hair dryer on it - for about 10 minutes. I looked. It was still not dry. I got some tissue and let it float down onto the page to blot it. Upon picking it up, the page was pretty much a smeary mess.

I'll no longer purchase any PR inks, and I'm going to be wary of any super-saturated inks. Yeah, I suppose I could have diluted before I filled the pen, but I can't seem to see into the future, and these days, there are so many well-behaved inks I'm not going to bother.

Pissed me off, at a time when I was trying to harbor some tender thoughts. That sucks. I'm going to go flush this pen with a vengeance. Anyone wants a bottle of virtually full DC Supershow Blue for postage, let me know.

If any of you have a particularly vile and colorful rant about an ink you've been waiting to release, let the catharsis begin. I've made the place for us...

</rant>

Now this is rant artistry -- nicely done...!