Fountain Pen Ink Recommendations for Beginners

When I first started, inks were not a big deal. I didn’t understand how I could possibly benefit from purchasing a 50ml bottle when I didn’t write on paper that much. In fact, I even thought that cartridges were better than bottled ink.

As my pen collection grew, so did my knowledge of fountain pens. I’ve soon realized that I was more interested with fountain pen inks than the fountain pen itself. I’m not an expert (I’d like to think that I’m an “advanced beginner”) but I think I have enough knowledge to orient someone with fountain pens.

There are a lot of blogs about the best fountain pens for beginners but I rarely come across (or maybe I’m not looking hard enough) a discussion about beginner-friendly fountain pen inks.

This is not a comprehensive list and these are only based on experience and what I’ve learned online but I think these are also the things that I wish I knew when I was buying my first fountain pen ink.

• What I’ve Considered for My Ink Recommendations
• A Few Tips and Insights
• My Recommendations
• Reliable and Subtle Inks
• If you are fond of colors
• Waterproof or water-resistant ink
• Inks that will blow your mind and are well-behaved
• If you like beautiful bottles –
• ⚠️ Fountain Pen Inks That You Should Use with Caution
• 🛑 Fountain Pen Inks That You Should Stay Away From (for now)

What I’ve Considered for My Ink Recommendations

When I try to convince someone to join the hobby or convince them that the hobby is worth their time and money, I want them to have the best writing experience the first time they try it. I always consider price, ink property, performance on paper, and the bottle itself.

1. Price is the first thing to consider because as a beginner, you wouldn’t want to spend too much on ink that you may not like.
2. Ink properties. There are a lot of weird and cool inks out there but I wouldn’t recommend those to a beginner.
3. Performance on paper. Most fountain pen inks don’t perform well on cheap paper but there are some that do!
4. The bottle (optional). Not all bottles are made the same. Some bottles are beautiful but some of them are not functional. If you’re a beginner, chances are, you still don’t know how to actually fill a pen so you really need an ink bottle that won’t give you a hard time.

For the fountain pen curious or those who stumbled upon it by accident (a gift, perhaps), I think I’d recommend using pens that use ink cartridges first just because I want you to get a feel of the fountain pen writing experience before committing to a full bottle. Then if you like the writing experience and really want to get into the hobby, then you can switch that cartridge to a converter and buy your first ink bottle!

• Read: Bottled Ink vs. Cartridge

However, if you’re already at that point where you want to purchase a bottled ink, there here are some tips and my recommendations.

My Recommendations

We all have our quirks – even at the beginning. Some are just fountain-pen curious and just want to try it out. Some have come across the ink itself and then fall down the fountain pen rabbit hole. Or some just want a solid ink that they can use regularly.

Reliable and Subtle Inks

One of my tips is to get an ink that you are most likely to use everyday. Maybe the blues and blacks, just to be safe. Maybe colors that don’t jump off the page have a different hue maybe a violet, green, or brown. Here are some of the brands that are great choices for these types of inks.

Brands I’ve tried:

• Pilot
• Pelikan (4001 series)
• Herbin
• Monteverde

Recommended by the fountain pen community:

• Waterman – Serenity Blue is a favorite
• Parker Quink (recommended by someone in Goulet Nation)
• Diamine
• Kaweco

Or if you want to go beyond the typical blue and black colors, check this list by Brian Goulet.

If you are fond of colors

My first fountain pen ink wasn’t a blue or a black – it was a 10ml bottled of Herbin Poussiere de Lune (Violet). My mindset as I was getting into the hobby was that I wanted to use something different because I was already using an extraordinary writing tool. There are a lot of choices out there and I still don’t have all the colors in my ink collection but here are brands that hold a variety of colors:

• Diamine
• Herbin (they offer 10ml bottles)
• Monteverde

Waterproof or water-resistant ink

Coming from a world of waterproof gel pens (bullet journaling to be exact), I disliked the fact that fountain pen inks were rarely waterproof. With little to no research, I bought a Platinum Carbon Black. This is a great ink but unfortunately not one I would recommend to beginners because this ink is pigmented fountain pen ink. It’s safe for fountain pen use however, you are advised to clean the pen regularly to minimize the risk of clogging.

My recommendation: Noodler’s Black or Noodler’s Heart of Darkness (comes with a free fountain pen).
Just be careful upon opening a new bottle because Noodler’s fills their bottles to the brim.

• Read: Best Fountain Pens for Bullet Journaling

Inks that will blow your mind and are well-behaved

If you’re looking for something really different but is “well-behaved”, doesn’t have glittery, and is beloved by the community, here are inks to start with:

• Noodler’s Apache Sunset (Orange)
• Sailor Ink Studio 123 (Grey), Sailor Ink Studio 162 (Green) (a bit pricey for 20ml bottles)
• Monteverde California Teal (Green)
• Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses (Burgundy)
• Lamy Turquoise / Lamy Pacific Blue (Blue)
• Robert Oster Fire & Ice (Blue)

If you like beautiful bottles

I just wanted to include this category because the ink bottle’s design is also something to consider – not that it makes any difference to the quality of ink. Some of these inks tend to be more expensive – $20 above so I don’t usually recommend this for beginners. However, if you are a beginner who wants to take the bottle’s design into consideration, there is one brand that I would highly recommend.

• Waterman. I don’t own a Waterman ink but I really like how they designed their ink bottles. It’s designed in such a way that allows you to tip the bottle at any angle so that it would be easier to fill the pen from the bottle

• Pilot (Iroshizuku line, 50ml). I think this ink has great value for money too. The colors in the Iroshizuku collection are simple yet stunning. It comes in a silver box with a nice finish and of course, a beautiful bottle – one of the most admired fountain pen ink bottles (based on my observation). The 15ml version is also nice and comes in a set so if you’re not comfortable with the 50ml, you can always get those.

• Lamy also has nice ink bottles. It has a wide and circular base so you wouldn’t have to worry so much of tipping the bottle over.

⚠️ Fountain Pen Inks That You Should Use with Caution

There are a few inks that are great but must be used with caution.

• Noodler’s Ink branded as “Bulletproof” (i.e. Noodler’s Black and Heart of Darkness). It’s permanent ink and if it gets on your clothes, it will stain your clothes.
• Pigment-based inks. As I mentioned earlier, these inks are fountain pen friendly but are more high-maintenance. You must clean your pen regularly so that the pigments won’t clog the feed in the long run.
• Shimmer inks (Jacques Herbin 1670/1798, Diamine Shimmertastic). Unless you joined the fountain pen community to write with shimmer (glittery/sparkly) inks, I don’t recommend this for first time users. Yes, they look amazing but using these may require you to clean your pen more often especially because the ink contains small particles. You need to factor in the type of paper that you use with these inks too.

🛑 Fountain Pen Inks That You Should Stay Away From
(for now)

The inks that I will mention on this list are inks that have received a lot of buzz in the fountain pen community. I do not recommend these inks to fountain pen beginners because like I said, I want the beginners to have a great writing experience the first time they use a fountain pen.

• Noodler’s Baystate Blue. The formula of this ink can lead to staining your pen and there is a specific way to get it off.
• Organics Studio Nitrogen, Walden, Ernest Hemingway. I tried these inks and I loved the effect but they took a long time to dry and are prone to smearing.

A Few Tips and Insights

• First and foremost, please make sure that the ink is made for fountain pens! Do not use calligraphy inks or anything of that kind because it’s difficult to clean and it will clog your pen.
• Some popular fountain pen ink brands: Pilot, Diamine, Herbin, Noodlers, Pelikan, Lamy, Monteverde, De Atramentis, Parker
• Start with basic colors or safe colored inks. Maybe blues and blacks just so that you can use it on a daily basis.
• Maybe avoid the glittery (aka shimmer) inks for now! While the shimmery inks are gorgeous and actually safe for fountain pens, they’re not something that I would recommend to a newbie just because the pen will be tougher to clean.
• Buying 2ml ink samples is also a great way to try inks before actually buying a bottle. I would recommend getting ink samples first but my goal is for a beginner to have a nice first-hand experience. The caveat here is that filling inks from a vial is more difficult than filling from a bottle. Filling a pen requires 2 hands most of the time!