Birmingham Inks

[wingwiper]

Has anyone had any issues of dye-based Birmingham Inks in demonstrators, staining, etc.?

[Brilliant Bill]

I don't trust Birmingham. I don't know if they still sell pens, but in my opinion, they never made one worth buying.

As for inks, I don't know how or where they're made (rumors used to be they were made in Germany, but no company was ever mentioned). They don't seem to have expertise as ink formulators. What I've seen in recent years is a lot of marketing hype. Far too many inks and nothing of real interest or impact. They've seemed to ride a wave of increased interest in inks --- and consumers who know little about inks are fueling any possible success.

[Chrissy]

Whenever I've been in the US I've bought and brought home some Birmingham inks. I love them but they don't ship to the UK They are standard water based dye inks and haven't stained any of my pens.

When I last bought some they only made them in 60ml bottles and I used to prefer buying more 30ml bottles. I don't know the current position re bottle size as I don't look at their offers when I know I can't have them.

[Lithium466]

I don't trust Birmingham. I don't know if they still sell pens, but in my opinion, they never made one worth buying.

As for inks, I don't know how or where they're made (rumors used to be they were made in Germany, but no company was ever mentioned). They don't seem to have expertise as ink formulators. What I've seen in recent years is a lot of marketing hype. Far too many inks and nothing of real interest or impact. They've seemed to ride a wave of increased interest in inks --- and consumers who know little about inks are fueling any possible success.

Mmm, it's like you described Ferris Wheel Press (except their inks are made in Canada).

Birmingham used to subcontract their inks at the beginning then allegedly brought manufacturing in house (bottles say made in USA now). I'm seeing them as ink enthusiasts that wanted to capitalize on the ink interests, maybe like Troublemaker? But actually that's true for many ink companies that are one man show or small operations: Noodler's, De Atramentis, Robert Oster, etc...

[Dougc]

I have more Birmingham INK than any other brand. Reasonable price, and I like inks that are not over powering.

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[Jon Szanto]

I have 6-8 Bham inks at the moment, and they are all lovely in behavior and character. We live in an era of a billion inks, and while some may posit that none of theirs stand out from the crowd, I've found that they have a good number of inks that go in the opposite direction from the crowd: NOT over-saturated or filled with glitter. I have picked a handful because, in many pens, they exhibit a distinctly vintage look to them, saturated just enough for good readability but with a lighter touch than many inks. Hues that harken from, maybe, a quieter time. And the orders have always been sent and packed well, and the inks behave themselves, with no clogging or staining.

[junglejim]

Back when I was still working (pre-retirement) I had Birmingham Gerbera inked in a Sailor 1911L with a medium nib for a little over 11 months. No cleaning in between, just an occasional refill. This pen was my doodling and random note taking-jotting down crazy ideas pen. Afterwards it took 3 water rinses to clean out (used a rubber bulb) and it was ready for the next ink. Not bad for a red ink color, which are usually hard to clean.

linky: https://www.birminghampens.com/products/gerbera

I've also used Jade Inferno, but not for as long as the Gerbera. This was also an easy to clean ink. YMMV.

linky: https://www.birminghampens.com/products/jade-inferno

All the Best.

[wingwiper]

Wow.............some good eclectic blend of feedback, which is most appreciated

Some of their inks look very saturated and you know am just hesitant to ink up any demonstrator

You are right as there are a billion inks out there and thought I would check in with the experts!

[junglejim]

Wingwiper---

One thing you might want to get is a bottle of Sailor Jentle Doyou. This is known as a "cleaner ink" among users that have leftover ink residues from a problem ink. Just fill your demo with Doyou, and then write away until the demo is empty. Then rinse.

Before and after pics (from the FPN website):



All the Best.

[Chrissy]

Wow.............some good eclectic blend of feedback, which is most appreciated

Some of their inks look very saturated and you know am just hesitant to ink up any demonstrator

You are right as there are a billion inks out there and thought I would check in with the experts!

They do different series now. Some are more saturated than others. Some have sheen or shimmer. Pick your favourites.