Top Inks in Every Color

What are the top fountain pen inks in every color? Since we carry over 700 different colors it's hard to know where to start. Our product ambassador, Drew decided to help us out with this video.

We wanted to highlight a good assortment across a bunch of different brands, so that helped to narrow down the initial list. Also, we decided to choose inks that represented the "center" of these colors. These are just our subjective picks for top inks in every color, not necessarily our best sellers.

The List:

Black: Platinum Carbon Black

Platinum Carbon Black is our champion of black ink. It's always been Platinum's number one ink, and it won our tightly-contested questionably-executed Waterproof Ink Tournament! It's permanent, and it's super duper black. It's just what you need black ink to be.

Platinum Carbon Black 60ml bottle of fountain pen ink

 

Blue: Monteverde Horizon Blue

Monteverde Horizon Blue is the duly designated representative of the city, county, and state of Blue York. Picking the best blue ink is an impossible task, getting Monteverde in this slot was an easy choice, and Horizon Blue is an exceptionally beautiful blue with a hint of sheen that can hold its own against any of the MANY beautiful blue inks out there. This makes it a top ink for us!

Monteverde Horizon Blue bottled fountain pen ink

Brown: Diamine Chocolate Brown

This rich Diamine Chocolate Brown ink really is everything you want in an ink. It flows well, it's nicely saturated, looks professional, and the color is like writing with melted chocolate.

Diamine Chocolate Brown fountain pen ink bottle

Green: Private Reserve Spearmint

From the beginning, it was obvious that Private Reserve Spearmint was going to be our go-to green. It hits the bullseye of the green spectrum because it's the perfect green. It's bright without being too light, gives you enough shading to show some personality, and flows well.

Private Reserve Spearmint green fountain pen ink

Orange: Noodler's Southwest Sunset

Another relatively easy choice was Noodler's Southwest Sunset. As far as oranges go, there are some really great ones out there, Diamine Pumpkin being another popular ink. However, Southwest Sunset brings shading AND richness to the table. Oftentimes shading inks tend to be less saturated, which – can bring out that shading feature – but this ink gives you shading AND a rich, bold orange that's anything but watered-down. This top ink pick for orange is where it's at!

Noodler's Southwest Sunset orange fountain pen ink bottle

Pink: Pilot Iroshizuku Tsutsuji

For this list, the crown goes to Pilot Iroshizuku Tsutsuji. This was challenging because the line between pink and magenta is tough to see – and magentas tend to be more popular than lighter pinks. Tsutsuji is a good balance between magenta and hot pink – featuring both depth and brightness!

Pilot Iroshizuku Tsutsuji pink fountain pen ink bottle

Purple: De Atramentis Lilac

The President of Planet Purple is De Atramentis Lilac. De Atramentis ink can fly under the radar but they are well-behaved well-flowing inks. It really did steal the show even against purple inks and is now the purple we measure all other purples against. Bonus -- it's also scented!

De Atramentis Lilac bottle and swab

Red: Diamine Matador

Diamine Matador is the best red. Sure, Diamine is known for being a red ink powerhouse with an arsenal that includes Oxblood, Red Dragon, and Writer's Blood, but this one is the cream of the crop. It's just a really great red.

Diamine Matador red fountain pen ink bottle

Grey: Jacques Herbin Gris de Houle

Greys aren't generally very exciting – but Jacques Herbin Gris de Houle does a good job of being a LEGIBLE grey ink. It's representative of a middle-of-the-road gray, despite having a slight blue undertone. There are a lot of good gray inks out there, but Jacques Herbin Gris de Houle is our pick!

Jacques Herbin Gris de Houle grey fountain pen ink bottle

Turquoise: Robert Oster Crystal Marine

With so many great teals and turquoise inks out there, it was hard to find the best of the best. Robert Oster Crystal Marine did the best job of showcasing the balance of blue and green that many "Teal" inks don't quite achieve. For this reason, it's our pick! It also shimmers, so that's fun.

Robert Oster Crystal Marine turquoise fountain pen ink bottle

Yellow: Rohrer & Klingner Helianthus

Rohrer & Klingner isn't a brand with a TON of different colors, but they make up for quantity with quality. It was easy to chose a Rohrer & Klingner ink to be our top pick because Helianthus a true yellow that you can also read! It was easy to find yellows that were unreadable, and it was easy to find orangey-yellows that looked rich & vibrant. Helianthus is right at that border. 

Rohrer & Klingner Helianthus yellow bottled fountain pen ink

 

So that's our list!

If you want to get a sample of each of these colors, check out:

Drew’s Top Colors Ink Sample Set