why no white?

**KaBe** · March 21st, 2014, 01:23 AM

Probably I've overlooked it. After all, I'm not an ink expert. You are. Yet I can't help but wonder why there's so many colours on the market but I've not seen any white ink yet. Sure, there are white pens for writing caligraphy on dark brown or black paper. But white ink for fountain pens? Haven't seen them.
So, did I overlook them or is there a good reason why white can't or isn't made?

**Bogon07** · March 21st, 2014, 02:44 AM

http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/White-Ink-Pens.html

Cult pens explains it well

White is a useful but unusual colour for normal pens.

White ink can only be achieved with pigments rather than the dyes which colour most inks. Pigment ink has suspended particles which dry hard, which means it's never going to be possible to make a safe white fountain pen ink, as it would clog the delicate feeds.

However, the nature of white ink makes it very useful for artists, as white pigment ink is opaque and will show up well on dark surfaces. Many watercolour artists use white gel pens to add highlights onto paintings. We have a selection of white gel pens (try the UM-120AC for a medium line, or the Signo Broad for a thicker line), and lots of white paint markers. Again, white is easy in a pigmented paint marker, but impossible in the dye inks of alcohol-based permanent markers.

So you would be better using a dip pen with any white ink you find.