I have a love/hate relationship with fountain pen inks. I love the unique colors, fun brands, and wild chemistry that we see from manufacturers. I hate that they are like candy and I want to eat them all as I stroll through the candy aisle!
And like candy, a little bit can go a long way. Sure, you can go slow - 3 ml samples here, 15 ml mini bottles there - then, BOOM! How am I going to store all of these bottles, much less use them in my lifetime?
That’s the fun of stationery: Discovering something that brings a unique joy to you. Inks are a fun area to explore - just don’t go overboard!
Top 5 Fountain Pen Ink Brands
- Robert Oster - There are very few ink brands that I can recommend across the board with no caveats, and Robert Oster is one of them. In fact, they may be the only one. The colors are great, the performance is great, the price is great, heck, even the shimmer is great! They are doing all of the right things. (Buy) (Disclosure: Robert Oster manufactures the Pen Addict ink I sell, for good reason.)
- Sailor - Speaking of doing the right thing, Sailor had a moment where I was concerned they were heading down the wrong path with their ink lineups. They went from a point where I could say the same things about them as I did Robert Oster above, to a place where the inks were so overpriced for what you got that they weren’t worth it. Their recent Manyo series release saved them in my eyes. (Buy)
- Pilot Iroshizuku - With all of the new brands and crazy prices we see for fountain pen inks, Iroshizuku has gone from a premium price point to standard, or even cheap for the quality and quantity you get. They rarely introduce new colors, but when your base offerings are this good, do they really need to? (Buy)
- P.W. Akkerman - Copy/paste everything I said about Iroshizuku above into this section. The only difference is more ink in their standard bottle (60 ml vs 50 ml) and the best looking ink bottle in the business.
- Montblanc - I am very serious when I say this: Montblanc standard inks are a good value. I know, as a brand they don’t want to hear it, but it’s true. Their special editions are more on the pricey side, but are unique enough to command respect. (Buy)
(Notes: If any list on this page deserves to be expanded to 10 entries, it’s this one. Classics such as Diamine, Faber-Castell, Pelikan, and Rohrer & Klingner all make great inks, as do relative newcomers such as Colorverse and Vinta. It’s a good time to be an ink fan.)
My favorites:
- Sailor
- Robert Oster
- Akkerman
- Pilot Iroshizuku
- Platinum
