Best black ink on Reddit
325 reviews from r/fountainpens, r/Calligraphy, r/pens and 2 more subreddits
325 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
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."
#2
Aurora
4.9
(31)
"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."
#3
Noodler's
4.7
(27)
"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."
#4
J. Herbin
4.7
(26)
"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."
"For black blacks I use Perle Noire in cartridges."
#5
Pilot
4.5
(24)
"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"
"Pilot Blue-Black. Great stuff and affordable."
"I love the look of the black ink on the pilot nibs."
"Pilot Iro Take Sumi"
#6
Sailor
4.8
(14)
"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 Kiwa Guro (Carbon Nano Black) brings me infinite joy each time I write with it, regardless of the pen."
#7
Diamine
4.4
(15)
"Diamine Writer's Blood or Oxblood? Or Macassar?"
"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"
"Perle Noire is great."
"My favourite black is diamine eclipse which is really cheap in the uk and most of europe."
"Diamine onyx black if ur in the uk"
"If waterproof is not an issue I like Diamine Onyx Black."
"Eclipse is much closer to black, albeit with more purple than blue tone."
"Diamine Eclipse is a very dark violet - in a fine nib it looks like black."
#8
De Atramentis
4.9
(12)
"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."
#9
Parker
4.0
(13)
"Wow, I just bought the same 57ml bottle of Parker black for $7.91 usd."
"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."
"Parker Quink."
"I've heard that Parker Quink is a solid choice for vintage pens."
#10
Pelikan
4.4
(10)
"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."
"Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black"
"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."
"Try Pelikan 4001 black."
"I always used Pelikan black (I believe the official name is brilliant black)."
"Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black."
#11
Waterman
4.1
(9)
"Waterman Intense Black is great for bad paper, never had it bleed or feather on anything other than a sticky note or tissues."
"Waterman, Parker Quink are safe."
"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."
"Good old Sheaffer or Waterman Black gets my vote."
"My go to recommendation is always Waterman Intense Black."
"Waterman Intense Black works great on cheap paper!"
"Waterman intense black?"
#12
Iroshizuku
4.9
(7)
"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."
"I use iroshizuku take-sumi, JH Noir Abyssal, Lamy Black."
"Try Iroshizuku Take Sumi."
#13
Lamy
4.1
(7)
"Lamy Black, it has by far the best bottle to use with piston fillers."
"It's a nice deep black & well lubricated ink without necessarily being wet per se so it behaves well."
"Lamy T52"
"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
Graf von Faber-Castell
5.0
(4)
"Graf von Faber Castell - Carbon Black.. it is so nicely black."
"I love Graf Von Faber-Castell Carbon Black for my fountain pen."
"I love Graf Von Faber-Castell Carbon Black for my fountain pen."
"GvFC Carbon Black."
#16
Take Sumi
4.5
(4)
"I'm going to throw in for Take Sumi as well. It's a great black."
"I have takesumi and it’s my fav black ink."
"Take-Sumi is a valid choice."
"I like Take-Sumi as well as Diamine Earl Grey."
#17
Herbin
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."
#18
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."
#19
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."
#20
Noodler's Ink
4.3
(3)
"Noodler's Ink X-Feather, then? Papers that react poorly with it are few, in my experience."
"The ones you mention are great but have you tried X-feather by Noodlers?"
"Noodlers blue black, Ellis Island, bad belted king fisher, and bad blue heron are good contenders."
#21
Rohrer & Klinger
4.3
(3)
"It's an iron gall and it dries quickly."
"Rohrer and klinger has lotte sketchink."
"R&K Salix is good on cheap paper."
#22
Aurora Black
4.0
(3)
"I’m going to go with Aurora black."
"I really like Aurora black out of the few I’ve tried."
"Aurora Black works well in my Fine VP."
#23
Sailor Kiwa Guro
5.0
(2)
"It’s Sailor Kiwa Guro."
"My 'go-to' inks for cheap paper are Sailor Kiwa-Guro."
#24
Platinum Carbon
5.0
(2)
"Platinum Carbon and Pilot Iro Take Sumi."
"I love Platinum Carbon but I’m scared to use it in a pen I love."
#25
Pilot Iroshizuku
5.0
(2)
"Pilot Iro Take Sumi -- very smooth and flowy and just dark enough."
"I would recommend Pilot Iroshizuku Take Sumi."
#26
Zebra
5.0
(2)
"I'd recommend the Zebra Sarasa Grand. It's an excellent first nice pen."
"The Sarasa Grand uses the JLV refill, which is the best black ink gel refill around."
#27
Chou Kuro
5.0
(2)
"One of the blackest inks on the market today is Chou Kuro."
"Chou kuro is my favorite hands down."
#28
Carbon Black
5.0
(2)
"I currently have Carbon Black in a Preppy Extra Fine and the writing looks more like a Fine."
"Carbon Black if you need a permanent ink."
#29
Rohrer and Klingner
4.5
(2)
"Rohrer and Klingner SketchInk Lotte is waterproof black and dries in about 5 seconds."
"My favorite super fast drying, waterproof is Rohrer and Klingner sketchink lotte."
#30
Parker Quink Black
4.5
(2)
"It is now my favorite black ink after having tried Pilot Black, Aurora Black, J. Herbin Perle Noir and Diamine Onyx Black."
"I have tried Parker Quink black on cheap paper and it works ok."
#31
De Atramentis Document Black
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
Montblanc
4.5
(2)
"I think Montblanc Mystery Black is well-behaved."
"While on this thread, peoples thoughts on MontBlancs mystery black? Is it worth it?"
#33
Winsor & Newton
4.5
(2)
"I use winsor & newton waterproof india ink (the spiderweb one) and it works really well for me!"
"I use winsor & newton waterproof india ink (the spiderweb one) and it works really well for me!"
#34
Lamy Black
4.0
(2)
"I think Lamy Black should be best on cheap paper out of the three inks available to you because Lamy inks can run on the dry side."
"Lamy black is actually quite nice."
#35
Noodlers
4.0
(2)
"Cheapest waterproof option is going to be Noodlers Bulletproof Black."
"Noodlers x-feather may be one of the few options for you"
#36
Monteverde
4.0
(2)
"I could suggest to you Monteverde Smoke Noir, this is an amazing ink black when is wet and goes dark shades gray when it gets dry."
"Monteverde Midnight Black has that magic potion itf lubricant stuff in it."
#37
Noodler's Black
3.5
(2)
"I've used both Noodler's black and x-feather in both fountain and dip pens and have found them to work well."
"Noodler's Black bleeds through it."
#38
R&K Salix
5.0
(1)
"Stuff is an all time champ on cheap paper."
#39
Caran d'Ache Cosmic Black
5.0
(1)
"Really happy with this ink."
#40
Pelikan Brilliant Black
5.0
(1)
"I've never had any problems with these inks."
#41
Noodler's Heart of Darkness
5.0
(1)
"My absolute favourite is noodlers heart of darkness."
#42
Noodler's Borealis Black
5.0
(1)
"My two favorites are Noodler’s Borealis Black."
#43
J. Herbin Pearl Noire
5.0
(1)
"J Herbin Pearl Noire is my drawing black of choice."
#44
Noodler's Bulletproof Black
5.0
(1)
"I'm a Noodler's Black ink guy myself. I can't defend the vast majority of Noodler's lineup, but their bulletproof black is just hard to argue with."
#45
Hero
5.0
(1)
"It's perfect!"
#46
Heart of Darkness
5.0
(1)
"Heart of darkness is the blackest black i own across all paper."
#47
Kiwa-guro
5.0
(1)
"Kiwa-guro"
#48
R+K
4.0
(1)
"R+K Sketchink Lotte is affordable."
#49
MontBlanc
4.0
(1)
"MB permanent black is good on most papers for me."
#50
Killerblack
4.0
(1)
"Personally I use Killerblack's lining black"
#51
Koh-i-noor
4.0
(1)
"I'd suggest koh-i-noor document black because it's archival, non-pigment and very cheap."
#52
Jetpens
4.0
(1)
"Check out this article on Jetpens on Black Fountain Pen Ink."
#53
Pilot Namiki
4.0
(1)
"Pilot Namiki Black is reasonably priced, well-behaved, and fairly water-resistant."
#54
Dominant Industry Black
4.0
(1)
"Depends on the purpose but Dominant Industry base black is quite nice with the sheen."
#55
Pilot Standard Black
4.0
(1)
"So just get Pilot's standard black ink, in a bottle or in cartridges."
#56
Manuscript Black
4.0
(1)
"I have always preferred Manuscript Black from Hobby Lobby."
#57
J. Herbin Perle Noir
4.0
(1)
"Perle Noir is my second favorite and also safe for vintage pens."
#58
Levenger Raven Black
4.0
(1)
"Levenger Raven Black is nice."
#59
Shaeffer No Nonsense Black
4.0
(1)
"Shaeffer No Nonsense black."
#60
Noodler's X-Feather
4.0
(1)
"I’ve been a fan of Noodler’s X-Feather."
#61
Monteverde Permanent Black Documental Ink
4.0
(1)
"My favorite is 'Monteverde Permanent Black Documental Ink' its got quite a bit of grey feel to it, but it drys fast."
#62
Montblanc Permanent Black
4.0
(1)
"I love Montblanc Permanent Black, but use them only in pen with above average flow system because they are thicker than Platinum Carbon Black."
#63
Sheaffer
4.0
(1)
"Good old Sheaffer or Waterman Black gets my vote."
#64
Mystery Black
3.0
(1)
"I like the non-permanent Mystery Black but I’ve been meaning to try the Permanent Black version."
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