What types of fountain pen inks are there? | Private Reserve Ink Review

For many of us fountain pen enthusiasts, the concept of ink and paper is simply to choose the favorite or the most easily accessible ink to “write”. It’s true that most fountain pens are used for the purpose of writing and other tasks such as drawing or highlighting are used for the more specialized pens such as highlighters or the trusty mechanical pencils. In this article I’d like to introduce three most common types of ink and some of their uses so that we could include more usage of fountain pens into the daily routine, and thus, give you a(nother) valid reason to add new pens to the collection.

Water-based Inks

This is the most common type of ink that you would find in the market, and these are your safest best to put in your writing instruments. They can be cleaned out with ease and leave behind no stains inside the barrel of the converters. I hate to admit it but the most sold colors out there are blues and blacks, but that’s for the better reason: the unassuming plain hues resemble the usual ballpoints, which make them the dependable choice for your everyday tasks.

Still, they have their fair share of drawbacks though - as they are easily cleaned out of a pen, they can also be easily washed off your page. A few drops of water or a coffee spill could wash away your precious ideas or the progress of your artistic endeavors. These are also not the best for documenting purposes as time goes on they can fade away in 6-7 years time.

Permanent Inks

To counter the low water-resistance of the previously mentioned type of ink, ink manufactures started to introduce permanent inks again. Well, back in the day when fountain pens were still in fashion, pigmented inks were highly waterproof yet it also meant maintenance was a pain in the bottom. The pigments would stain the rubber sac or barrel of vintage pens and hence they could only be used again with a replacement or you would just have to get a new pen at that. However, modern permanent inks are less harmful to your precious writing instruments. They are a bit stickier than water-based inks, but they can keep the writing legible for many years to come, and did I tell you that they can withstand your highlighting and water splashes?

Highlighter Inks

To be fair, these are in the same category as water-based inks but they do have certain things that I would more likely to put them into the “highlighter” group: vibrant colors, somewhat neon-ish, but still not too saturated that it hurts the eyes. There are plenty of colors that are not usually used for normal writing as the words aren’t that legible on the page, but when put over a line on your page or your favorite quotes, the color just makes sense.

I do find Private Reserve Neon Yellow does resemble that “highlighter” feeling the best, and it even shows inside the bottle - and of course, since this is also a Private Reserve review, I’d say these are one of your best bets in getting your first bottles of ink. The large 60ml bottles are modest compare to the extravagant looks of other brands, but they serve their tasks spectacularly with a large opening that could fit a good ol’ Japanese XXXL size pen easily, and they stand firm on your desk without any feeling of anxiety of them falling on themselves.

Private Reserve makes reliable inks and these three really show what they are capable of: the DC Electric Blue has a good amount of sheen on the page and the color pops out even when it’s a common shade of blue; the Invincible Blue is definitely invincible against water and the Neon Yellow itself, plus, 60ml of ink could last you pretty much a whole year of writing, unless you’re like me and owns god-knows-how-many bottles of ink in your desk drawers…

What do you guys think of Private Reserve inks in general and which are your favorites? I’ll see you in the next one, and in the mean time, you could also check out some other ink reviews here.