Best Fountain Pen Ink Selections of 2024

A big part of the fun of using fountain pens is writing with any color of the rainbow.

Seriously, any color you can think of exists in best fountain pen ink form.


New colors are dropping regularly from all parts of the world. There are ink manufacturers in the USA, Australia, South Korea, Italy, Germany, Japan, France, and more! Each brand produces ink with its unique characteristics and traits.

With thousands of inks to choose from, how does one even know where to begin?

In this post, we’ll share our top 5 bestselling fountain pen inks of 2024 (so far) as well as our top 5 most popular inks, and my (Tom’s) 5 favorite inks. Using these 15 inks as a starting point, we’ll make some suggestions on how you can continue your journey into the world of best fountain pen ink to explore new colors you’ll love.

If you’re new to fountain pen inks and aren’t familiar with the terms I use in this post, you can read the Beginner’s Guide to Fountain Pen Inks here.

 

5 Best Fountain Pen Inks of 2024 (so far)

Here are our best-selling fountain pen inks introduced in 2023. To be considered for this list, the ink had to be introduced in 2023 (or late 2022).

Wearingeul Dracula

Fountain pen ink is the lifeblood of a fountain pen. So, it does make sense that there are a number of “blood-themed” fountain pen inks that tend to be popular with our pen pals.

Imported from South Korea, Wearingeul Inks made a name for itself by theming each color to works of classical literature.

Of course, blood red evokes the most famous vampire of all time - Count Dracula. This deep, captivating crimson has a velvety texture that glistens with a blue shimmer.

Diamine Celadon Cat

Year after year, ink manufacturers have to figure out which colors fountain pen enthusiasts want to use in their pens. It’s like trying to predict fashion trends. However, Diamine makes it easy - just give the people what they want.

For several years running, the UK-based Diamine brand asks the online /r/fountainpens subreddit community to vote on color options. The winner is chosen by the popular vote and is produced into the year’s special edition ink.

For 2023, the subreddit chose Celadon Cat - a blue-grey color with hints of green. This color has gentle, multi-chromatic shading.

Nahvalur Explorer Atlantic Blue

Exploring the depths of our consciousness isn’t easy. It helps to have a trusty fountain pen and smooth-flowing ink. That’s what Nahvalur provides in its first “explorer” ink collection.

As with most of Nahvalur’s creations, Atlantic Blue evokes the vastness of the wild, untamed ocean.

This color is a medium-toned blue hue that leans green. The color is appropriate for office use while giving the writer some light shading.

Colorverse New Year 2023 (sold out)

To kick off the New Year, Colorverse introduced a limited edition ink in collaboration with the USA distributor, Luxury Brands of America.

Luxury Brands also worked with another brand they represent, Benu, to craft a 2023 limited edition pen that matches the ink.

The matchy-matchy combination of pen and ink went over well with our customers, earning this sparkly green ink a place on this list.

Pelikan Edelstein 2023 Rose Quartz

Starting in 2012, Pelikan introduces a new Edelstein “Ink of the Year” color. Pelikan has a reputation for being one of the world’s oldest and most respected ink manufacturers in the world. So, when the company announces a new color each year, the pen community gets excited.

The soft, cheerful pink color of 2023’s Rose Quartz leaves a heartwarming impression on the page.

Generally, you’ll find the Edelstein Ink of the Year on the market for about 2 years after its initial launch. After that, you’ll be searching eBay listings to grab a bottle on the secondary market.

Top 5 Most Popular Fountain Pen Inks

While many seasoned pen enthusiasts might be looking at the bestselling new inks to try, there are plenty of tried and true inks colors that are always in season. Here is the list of our most popular fountain pen inks.

Noodler’s Bulletproof Black

“Bulletproof” is a term that best describes the indelible nature of this best black ink for fountain pens. It’s waterproof, fade-resistant, and resists the tools of forgery, making this black ink an ideal partner for business and legal use.

Artists utilize the ink’s waterproof quality in drawing line art. The black lines won’t be smudged when applying color washes over the artwork.

Plus, Noodler’s offers one of the most economical costs per ml of ink, providing a high volume (up to 4.5 ounces) at a great value.

J. Herbin 1670 Emerald of Chivor

J. Herbin caused the explosion in popularity of shimmer inks with their 1670 Anniversary collection. Introduced in 2015, Emerald of Chivor continues to capture the imagination of fountain pen enthusiasts with its mystical combination of saturation, shimmer, and sheen.

The dark, teal green yields a contrasting red sheen and glitter of gold particles.

The ink is supersaturated and contains shimmer, which means it might be tough to use on your pens with finer nibs. Plus, it takes some time to dry and can smear if you run over it with a sweaty hand.

Despite the potential downsides, the opulent, exotic quality of this ink is something every fountain pen user should experience.

Pilot Iroshizuku Kon Peki

A brand of choice for writers of all experience levels, Pilot offers a wide array of writing instruments (not just fountain pens) at all pricing levels. The Iroshizuku collection is PIlot’s premium lineup of fountain pen inks.

Of all the 20+ colors in this collection, Kon-Peki stands out as the fan favorite. This bold, cerulean blue color shades with a hint of pink sheen.

The bottle is also noteworthy. The Iroshizuku ink bottle is like a work of art for your desk. It contains the ink in a tall, flask-like glass shape. While this doesn’t effect the quality of the ink, it does accent your workspace.

Lamy Blue

Dependable, well-behaved, and suitable for office use, Lamy Blue is a classic example of a medium-toned blue ink.

If you’re looking for an unassuming, middle-of-the-road blue that’s not too flashy, this is the perfect blue color for daily writing.

Plus, Lamy 50ml ink bottles have a roll of blotting paper that serves as the base for the squat, circular glass bottle.

Aurora Black

Writers who need a business-appropriate black prefer the saturated, wet flow of Aurora’s tried and true black ink.

Aurora doesn’t make many inks. For decades, all they offered was either blue or black. Yet, fountain pen enthusiasts rave about the quality of these colors.

 

Tom’s 5 Favorite Fountain Pen Inks

Tom Oddo is Goldspot Pens’ resident fountain pen ink expert. Stacks of fully-filled ink journal notebooks and categorized Col-O-Ring cards are testament to his years of experience in testing ink. Which ink colors does he prefer in his pens?

Sailor Shikiori Souten

It’s hard to beat Sailor’s impressive range of ink colors. From the classic lineup of “Jentle” inks to their dozens of “Ink Studio” hues, there’s a Sailor color for everyone.

“Souten” is my choice for a bold, saturated blue with sheen. It’s similar to the popular Pilot Kon Peki.

Despite it’s richness and sheen, Souten has excellent flow and cleans out easily when the pen runs out of ink.

Taccia Hokusai Sabimidori

I feel this color deserves a lot more attention than it gets.

In collaboration with the Japanese stationery company Nakabayashi, Taccia produces some beautiful ink colors you don’t normally see elsewhere.

Sabimidori is one of those colors. Far from ordinary, this “rust green” ink is more like a teal. When you open the bottle, it actually looks like a dark blue. As you write, the color shifts from a dark blue when wet to a greenish-teal as it dries. It also exhibits coppery sheen.

Waterman Serenity Blue

I believe every fountain pen enthusiast, especially if you collect vintage pens, should have a safe option in their ink collection. For a safe ink that I would put in any fountain pen with confidence, I reach for Waterman Serenity Blue.

This ink has a medium-toned blue hue with shading and hint of sheen when using broader nibs. Most importantly, it’s a safe ink that I can easily clean out of any pen. I prefer using Serenity Blue to test nibs because I know how it will behave and how it should look on paper.

Colorverse Martian

Although I do prefer the company of cooler toned blues, aquas, turquoise, and teal inks, I do enjoy the occasional warm toned ink. Colorverse’s Martian scratches this itch on multiple levels.

First, there’s the theme. I love reading science fiction. One of my favorite novels is Robert Heinlein’s “Stranger in a Strange Land,” which is a story about a human who was stranded on Mars and raised by Martian aliens. I feel the complexion of this reddish orange ink matches perfectly to what I imagine the Martian soil looks like.

The ink itself is a delightfully bold, burnt orange with shading. If I want to write and dream about far away worlds, I’ll use Martian as my pen’s fuel.

Sailor Manyo Haha

I enjoy Sailor ink so much that I had to include two colors on my top 5 list. I feel that Sailor pioneers many of the trends you see in fountain pen inks. One of them is multi-chromatic shading, also called dual shading.

The Sailor Manyo collection is a beautiful range of colors inspired by Japanese flowers and plant life. “Haha” is no joke - it’s a wonderful, shading fountain pen ink.

This color has many facets to its appearance. It has a light, pastel blue base with tones of purple and green edging. It is a lightly saturated ink, so I would recommend using it with medium nib sizes or broader.

How to find the best inks for your fountain pen

As you browed through this list of top picks and bestselling inks, I hope you took notes because it’s now your turn to take the next step.

To find your ideal fountain pen ink, you’ll have to experiment a little. Step outside of your comfort zone and try something new.

So, pick one of the above suggestions and buy it, whether in sample form or a full bottle. Choose the color that intrigues you the most. To help, here are a few questions you can use to guide your decision.

Ask yourself, what excites you most when you look at your handwriting?

  • Is it a particular color family choice (a dark aubergine purple, a leafy green, a deep crimson red)?

  • Is it breath-taking to see the depth of shading in each letter?

  • Are you entranced by the electric sheen of a rich color?

  • Do you find glittery shimmer appealing?

  • Do you need your words (or drawing) to be waterproof?

Look over the ink options again and run this mental checklist. When a particular ink checks all the boxes (or, you feel some indescribable attraction to a color) then give the ink a try.

Once you’ve tried a few colors, you start to understand the particular types of pen ink you enjoy writing with the most. You might be drawn to using dark blue inks that sheen. Or, lightly-saturated purple shading inks are more your thing. Or, you switch your tastes based on the season and only want to write in browns and oranges during the fall. Whatever brings you joy as you write - and that’s all that counts.

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