It can be somewhat frustrating to finally get your hands on that beautiful fountain pen ink bottle you’ve been wanting, only to realize that it takes ages to dry on the page. This is especially a big dilemma for left-handed fountain pen users as they need to pay extra attention to prevent the ink from smearing as they write.
It is important to differentiate between dry inks and fast-drying inks. The latter refers to how quickly ink dries once it touches the paper. Inks that feel dry, on the other hand, have less lubrication than wetter inks — this may or may not affect their dry time.
Here are a few of our recommendations for fast-drying inks in different colors to suit your preferences.
1. LAMY Blue
LAMY bottled ink in Blue is well known for being a well-behaved ink. Those who prefer wetter inks may not like this one, but it does have a good dry time of just over 10 seconds when using a fine nib on Rhodia paper. It’s a bit slower than some inks like Noodler’s, which take just about one to three seconds to dry, but it is still much faster than an average ink. Plus, you can’t go wrong with a fast-drying staple blue ink in your collection, especially during long writing sessions.
2. J. Herbin Cacao du Brésil
J. Herbin's Cacao du Brésil is a great ink. You get a unique grey-brown color that works well with different nib sizes and papers. It’s a bit more water-resistant than other inks, which makes it excellent for the workplace. Drying times will vary depending on the paper you use. With more absorbent paper, it takes about five seconds. Less absorbent paper will result in a drying time of about 10-15 seconds.
3. Robert Oster Black Violet
If you want a nice, dark ink but not as severe as black, then Black Violet from Robert Oster is a great choice. It has a faster dry time than other brands and comes in many different fun colors. This dark hue with a hint of purple is perfect for work or school but still gives a subtle hint of color.
4. Diamine Twilight
Twilight is a dark blue with a slight green undertone. As with many Diamine inks, it performs well. However, do note that despite its dry time of 10 seconds, there is some low level of feathering and bleeding. There is also a bit of show-through. Overall, you get ink with medium shading, a tiny bit of pink sheen, and no shimmer, making it a gorgeous and subtle fall color. Though it dries fairly quickly, the ink has an average flow.
5. Pelikan Brilliant Black
No list would be complete without the perfect black ink. Pelikan’s 4001 Brilliant Black is a great fast-drying black ink. You can jot down quick notes or write at a speedy pace with this ink. It is fairly low maintenance and is good to use with a wide variety of pens. This ink also has very little bleed-through.
There are many more fast-drying inks out on the market today. We’ve covered even more of them here, where we discuss fast-drying inks for quickness and adaptability.
Whether you choose something from LAMY or Robert Oster, taking note of the dry times may be an important factor in how you choose your inks. These are great options to start with, and we hope you find more beautiful, fast-drying inks to find their way into your collection.
Happy inking and happy writing!
Written by EndlessPens Blogger Ramona Kabigting
