Best black ink on Reddit

335 reviews from r/fountainpens, r/TattooApprentice, r/Calligraphy and 3 more subreddits

335 reviews from

and

By Brand

By Product

Platinum

4.9

(43)

"Platinum carbon black is my go to."

"Platinum Carbon Black (probably the most popular one)."

"Second is Platinum Carbon Black. I have"

"I’m hesitating between Platinum Carbon black or Herbin perle noire"

"Platinum Carbon Black"

"To me there are 4 important aspects of black ink: 1. How black is it 2. How fast does it dry 3. Does it feather 4. Does it smudge"

"Certainly, one of the best in most estimation."

"Platinum Carbon Black, for Pilot Kakuno Extra-fine."

"Platinum Carbon Black. 100% waterproof once dry."

"I’ve been using Platinum Carbon Black in mine and it’s been working great."

Aurora

4.9

(30)

"Aurora Black"

"I use Aurora Black in my 1944 Vacumatic."

"Although I haven't tried carbon black yet, aurora black is the best black ink in my book."

"Aurora Black, Iroshizuku Take-sumi."

"Aurora is a rich black - been using for decades."

"Aurora black"

"Aurora Black is my go-to black ink."

"My picks: Aurora Black, Iroshizuku Taka-sumi or Sailor KiwaGuro."

"No one said **Aurora Black** yet? Fine, I'll do it."

"Another one to look at is Aurora Black."

Noodler's

4.6

(29)

"My personal preference is Heart of Darkness."

"I really like Heart of Darkness. Nice dark black and it's waterproof."

"I discovered noodler's black a year ago, I didn't use anything else ever since."

"Noodlers Black"

"Noodler's black -- waterproof and relatively cheap"

"Noodler’s Heart of Darkness is made to dry really quickly and also be bulletproof iirc."

"Noodlers Black. It's cheap, dark, and performs well on almost any paper."

"Noodler’s make a ton of really great black inks."

"I just got a noodler bulletproof black and it is a documental waterproof nice black ink."

"Noodler’s HoD fits the bill, it is the blackest I’ve tried."

J. Herbin

4.7

(27)

"J. Herbin Perle Noire is a beautiful black ink with a rich history"

"Great ink and cheap if bought in bulk."

"Herbin's Perle Noire is always a safe bet."

"J. Herbin Perle Noire and Kaweco Pearl Black are both excellent choices."

"I use Herbin Perle Noire and like it a lot."

"J. Herbin Perle Noire and Pelikan 4001 Black are both super well behaved."

"Herbin Perle Noire."

"I use Herbin Perle Noire if I don’t need waterproof ink."

"Gonna get the J. Herbin Perle Noire and the Iroshizuku Take Sumi."

"My favorite blacks are J Herbin Perle Noire and Iroshizuku Taki-sumi."

Pilot

4.5

(22)

"I like some feedback, but not a lot."

"Pilot Black in one of the comical 350ml soda bottles."

"I absolutely love Pilot Iroshizuku Take-sumi."

"I have found that the best one for me is Pilot Black."

"Pilot Black is cheaper and very well behaved."

"Totally agree with Iroshizuku Take-Sumi. I use it exclusively in my Pilot Custom 845 Urushi."

"Pilot Black (standard, not Iroshizuku, not permanent) is one of the cheapest inks available and performs beautifully."

"Pilot Black"

"I love the look of the black ink on the pilot nibs."

"Pilot Iro Take Sumi"

Sailor

4.8

(16)

"Kiwa guro is the best."

"I love the Sailor Kiwaguro Pigmented Black – wetter and more saturated than DeAtramentis imo"

"Carbon Black is nice, but my favourite is Sailor Kiwa Guro!"

"Sailor Kiwaguro."

"I really like the sailor standard black. It's just kind of buttery feeling."

"My favourite black ink has always been Sailor Kiwaguro."

"Sailor Kiwa-guro if you need permanence."

"Sailor Kiwaguro."

"Sailor Black, it's very dark, saturated, and writes quite smoothly."

"Sailor Doyou. Dark brown."

Diamine

4.5

(17)

"I feel like Diamine Ancient Copper or Chocolate Brown would work well."

"I'm about halfway through a bottle of Diamine Onyx Black and I absolutely love it."

"Diamine Onyx Black, writes smooth and legible."

"Diamine onyx black"

"My favourite black is diamine eclipse which is really cheap in the uk and most of europe."

"I find Diamine's Sepia to be a pretty great 'brown,' because it's definitely not sepia."

"Diamine onyx black if ur in the uk"

"Try waterman intense black or Diamine. They have a darker shade of black and both are well behaved inks."

"If waterproof is not an issue I like Diamine Onyx Black."

De Atramentis

4.8

(13)

"DeAtramentis Document Black. Platinum Carbon Black."

"De Atramentis Document Black."

"DA Document Black. I use it in my Kakuno EF with no issues."

"De Atramentis Document Black."

"I use De’Atramentis black document ink."

"I can't not recommend de atramentis document inks and platinum carbon black."

"DeAtramentis Document Black is my daily driver for cheap paper."

"De Atramentis DOCUMENT line of inks are waterproof, lightfast, pigmented inks in a range of mixable colors, including blue-black."

"I love my DeAtramentis Document Black; I already finish one bottle and will probably buy a second one!"

"De Atramentis. Either Document Black (or Archive ink if you prefer). They are designed for exactly this and will not, unlike some permanent inks, harm your pen."

Parker

4.0

(15)

"Wow, I just bought the same 57ml bottle of Parker black for $7.91 usd."

"Parker Quink is actually a good ink."

"Parker Quink ink is not bad, in fact it's one of the best inks out there"

"Parker Quink Black (my go-to)"

"Parker Quink.."

"I use Parker's blue-black Quink in both of my Sheaffer Balances."

"Parker Quink is cheap and very good."

"I can't think of a good reason to quit using Quink black."

"The best black ink for lazy people is whatever you can get without a lot of effort. Meaning Parker Quink."

"It's a little less saturated than most."

#10

Pelikan

4.4

(13)

"Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black or Aurora Black."

"My favorite black for vintage pens is Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black."

"Definitely Pelikan 4001 brilliant black. Dries very fast."

"I’ve had great results with my vintage and restored sac pens using Pelikan Blue-Black."

"Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black"

"Pelikan 4001 Black - dry ink, shouldn’t bleed"

"Pelikan black is probably the best black ink out of the three you mentioned."

"Pelikan 4001 brilliant black is better for cheap paper."

"Pelikan 4001 brilliant black. It's an ink on the dry side."

"Pelikan 4001 Blue-black is a lovely ink."

#11

Waterman

4.1

(13)

"Waterman Intense Black is great for bad paper, never had it bleed or feather on anything other than a sticky note or tissues."

"Waterman is good one"

"See for yourself... Waterman, Lamy, Noodler's."

"Waterman Intense Black ink in it. Now I use it all the time."

"Waterman Intense Black is pretty cheap, and works very well on cheap paper."

"I use Waterman black or Noodlers black, they all look the same to me."

"I think Waterman Mysterious Blue is a very safe ink."

"I mix Waterman ink and use in my vintage sheaffer snorkels, vacs, and skylines all the time."

"Waterman ,pilot,parker,lamy,noodlers....the cheaper the better but still need to be well known."

"Good old Sheaffer or Waterman Black gets my vote."

#12

Iroshizuku

4.9

(9)

"Iroshizuku Yama-guri"

"I only use two - Iroshizuku Take-Sumi and Platinum Carbon black."

"Iroshizuku Yama Guri. It's a dark brown-black that washes out a pale chestnut pink."

"Personally I love Iroshizuku Take-Sumi. Really well behaved ink and pretty dark black!"

"It’s quite a bit darker than Tsukushi."

"Use Iroshizuku ink for best results."

"I use iroshizuku take-sumi, JH Noir Abyssal, Lamy Black."

"Iroshizuku Hoteison if you can get it. Dark green."

"Try Iroshizuku Take Sumi."

#13

Lamy

4.3

(8)

"Try the Lamy Blue Black, its my favourite shade of the color and it dries up almost instantly!"

"Lamy Black, it has by far the best bottle to use with piston fillers."

"As a starting point, go with Lamy black"

"It's a nice deep black & well lubricated ink without necessarily being wet per se so it behaves well."

"Lamy black!"

"My personal favorite is Lamy Obsidian"

"Me i like safe ink so i rule for lamy and waterman black."

"Lamy black or waterman serenity blue."

#14

Platinum Carbon Black

5.0

(4)

"Just adding another Platinum Carbon Black to this list."

"Water-resistant, pigmented, really dark."

"Love that stuff."

"Try platinum carbon black on tomoe river. Almost looks like enamel in the light"

#15

4.7

(3)

"Herbin Perle noire , available in 10 ml, 30 ml (normal) and 100ml bottles."

"Herbin Perle Noire (works in more pens)."

"Herbin Perle Noir."

#19

Kaweco

4.3

(3)

"J. Herbin Perle Noire and Kaweco Pearl Black are both excellent choices."

"I like Kaweco Pearl Black"

"I also enjoy Kaweco Pearl Black and Sailor Black."

#20

Waterman Black

4.3

(3)

"Waterman Intense Black!"

"I've never had any problems with these inks."

"I wouldn't say Waterman Intense Black is all that wet. It's not great on cheap paper, but it's not horrible."

#21

Aurora Black

4.0

4.5

(2)

"My standard black is De Atramentis Document Black. It's permanent, waterproof, flows well in every pen I've tried it in."

"My go-to has been de Atramentis Document Black, which has a nice silver sheen on good paper."

#32

2.0

(1)

"I found jet black wasn't very black and gave it away."

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