Red Recommendation Required

[Dreck]

I've been using Chesterfield 'Siam' (repackaged Diamine 'Oxblood') as my go-to ink for grading papers, but it has a disturbing tendency to bleed through my students' loose leaf paper (no, the irony of liking a blood-colored ink and complaining that it bleeds is not lost on me). I like this ink for its striking color, which is bright enough to stand out, but dark enough for my (occasionally lengthy) corrections to be easily read, but I need something that will be more well-behaved on this cheap paper so that I'm not forced to go back to using a Bic.
Suggestions, please?

[klpeabody]

Perhaps the tried and true, Sheaffer Skrip Red which is a nice, standard red and is not a fussy ink. Since you enjoy Diamine Oxblood, you could try mixing two colors to get something similar. For example, the beloved "Binder Burgundy" is Richard Binder's 1:1 mix of Sheaffer Skrip Red and Waterman Purple. The end result is a lovely, deep red which leans more toward a sort-of bloody-ish color than a burgundy, IMHO. As an aside, this mix was later formulated by Diamine and became Diamine Syrah. I can speak for the well-behaved nature of Binder Burgundy. I have not sampled Syrah so I have no idea if it bleeds through or not. You should fare well with either Skrip Red or Binder Burgundy, though.

*Edited to add a couple of articles on both inks:
http://inkyjournal.blogspot.com/2010...nk-review.html

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/fo...rgundy-uh-huh/

[mhosea]

I'm not sure that Oxblood is so incredibly bleed-through prone that this isn't going to be a problem to some extent, regardless. Try diluting Oxblood. I dunno, maybe 3 parts ink to 1 part distilled water might do, but you might even want to go further. Expect it to be less lubricious, less saturated (obviously), but less bleed-through prone.

Barring that, there's no need to go all the way down to the bic ink stick level. Parker makes a red gel pen refill, which I unfortunately have not tried (I have pair of them--I just haven't installed them yet in any of my pens), and you can buy Pilot G2's in a wide variety of colors, including a burgundy, at jetpens.com.

[Runnin_Ute]

Diamine Classic Red is a nice true red. One thought... what pen/nib are you using. If you are using a wet pen and a wide nib, changing inks isn't going to help much.

[reprieve]

A drier ink will help as will a drier fine or XF nib. Diamine Monaco Red, Faber Castell Garnet, and Pelikan Red are on the dry side. It's not really the color scheme you're aiming for, but Lamy Coral works very well on cheap paper. I've also had good luck with Noodler's Widowmaker.

[tandaina]

I simply adore Diamine Matador. My second favorite red, after the Montblac LE Winterglow. (Which is the perfect red I think, but is becoming hard to find.)

[Lady Onogaro]

You might try the new Platinum Preppy XF which comes in red. It might not bleed through cheaper paper.

[klpeabody]

You might try the new Platinum Preppy XF which comes in red. It might not bleed through cheaper paper.

I have found Platinum Preppy with fine nib to perform very well on very cheap paper.

[VertOlive]

Chiming in on the nib front. The fine nibs have much less bleed through if you don't mind using them.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I suppose MB Corn Poppy Red or MB Burgundy would be out of the question. They do have the gravitas.

[Dreck]

Diamine Classic Red is a nice true red. One thought... what pen/nib are you using. If you are using a wet pen and a wide nib, changing inks isn't going to help much.

I'm using it in a celluloid Konrad with a F steel nib. Thanks.

[Dreck]

I suppose MB Corn Poppy Red or MB Burgundy would be out of the question. They do have the gravitas.

Not sure about the colors, but gravitas is always good

[Alec_J]

Noodler's Widowmaker is a beautiful blood red. Quite saturated. I do not have loose leaf to try it on for you though.

[Dreck]

Noodler's Widowmaker is a beautiful blood red. Quite saturated. I do not have loose leaf to try it on for you though.

If you should come across some, I'd be interested in hearing the outcome. Since you say it is quite saturated, I strongly suspect it'd land me in the same boat I'm in now.

[Avalona]

I like Diamine's Red Dragon, but it also suffers from the bleedthrough problem with bigger than fine nibs. But it's a bright (though flat, no shading) red.

[AtomicLeo]

I use Noodler's Red Black at work, a fairly well behaved ink in F and XF pens. Waterman's Red is a well behaved bright red too.

[Alec_J]

@dreck you are correct.

[ac12]

Diamine Classic Red is a nice true red. One thought... what pen/nib are you using. If you are using a wet pen and a wide nib, changing inks isn't going to help much.

I'm using it in a celluloid Konrad with a F steel nib. Thanks.

Try a finer/dryer nib.
Maybe a Pilot Metro with F nib, Parker 45 with F nib.
Swap in a Goulet XF nib into your Konrad.
Adjust your Konrad to write dryer.

[mustud52]

Have I mentioned Diamine Red Dragon? Using no large than an M nib is good. Students should be instructed to use Clairefontaine paper as a minimum.

Well, that is my suggestion, anyway.

[naimitsu]

I like Diamine's Red Dragon, but it also suffers from the bleedthrough problem with bigger than fine nibs. But it's a bright (though flat, no shading) red.

That's interesting. I tried Red Dragon in my 1.1mm Monteverde and there was a lot of noticeable shading for me. It went from Bright Red to a deeper (but not quite dark) red. A friend of mine had it in a M nib Jinhao and the shading is much less noticeable coming out of that nib.

As for finding a good red that won't bleed or feather... I'm in the same boat as you, Dreck.

I've tried Diamine Wild Strawberry and Diamine Poppy Red in my EF TWSBI... both are fails for feathering, though they are a very nice vibrant red.

de Atramentis Document Red is a somewhat disturbing ink to look at. For lack of a better term, the ink looked "creamy" to me. It is completely opaque, though when written, the color looks rather faded. I was highly disappointed by the color.

Diamine Syrah is a very good wine-toned color and writes a bit on the dry side. At least it is in a 1.1mm stub. There was little bleed through with this one.

Noodler's Red Black is a pretty similar to Oxblood with some bleed through on cheap paper.

Private Reserve Black Cherry has almost no bleed through on cheap paper, though it is a bit more on the dark side of red.

de Atramentis Oriental Red is probably the wettest red I've tried to date. It bled through everything. It was kinda annoying.

J. Herbin rose-scented Rouge (red) is a nice deep red, with minimal bleeding.

I haven't tried any of their reds, but it looks like Pilot Iroshizuku inks do not bleed through cheap paper at all. I'm thinking of trying their Momiji color, though the pinkish hue of the swatch is making me hesitate.

I have about 1ml of Black Cherry, Syrah, Oriental Red, and Red Black that I'm open to sharing with you. Just PM me the name of the ones you're interested in with your address and I'll try to get them in the mail in a timely fashion.