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Fountain Pen Ink Properties Explained: Sheen & Shading

By · Published · 7 min read

Compiled from 20 sources; we haven't tested these products ourselves yet. How we research

Quick answer

Fountain pen ink properties are the handful of traits that describe how an ink behaves: whether it's dye or pigment, how much it shades from light to dark, whether it sheens or shimmers, how it stands up to water, how fast it dries, and how wet it flows. Reviewers measure dry times from 3 to 90 seconds across popular inks.

On this page9 sections
Measured dry times of twelve fountain pen inks as bars to scale, from Waterman Serenity Blue at 3 seconds to J. Herbin Rouge Hématite at 90, with each ink's water resistance
Reviewers' smear tests · 1 s = 5.6 px · outlined range where testers disagreed

Products compared

  1. 50 ml Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki bottle with cerulean ink beside a blue swab card, drawn in proportionNo. 1Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki fountain pen ink, 50 ml bottle$$$Read the guide →
  2. 3 oz bottle of Noodler's Black with its catfish label beside a swab card, with a line still legible under waterNo. 2Noodler's Black fountain pen ink, 3 oz bottle$$Read the guide →
  3. 60 ml Platinum Carbon Black bottle beside a swab card with black writing under a blue wash, drawn to scaleNo. 3Platinum Carbon Black fountain pen ink, 60 ml bottle$$$Read the guide →
  4. De Atramentis Document Black 45 ml glass bottle beside a swatch card with a black line under a watercolor wash, with an inset of the line staying sharpNo. 4De Atramentis Document Black fountain pen ink, 45 ml bottle$$$Read the guide →
  5. 50 ml J. Herbin 1670 Emerald of Chivor bottle with its wax-dipped cap beside a gold-flecked swab cardNo. 5J. Herbin 1670 Emerald of Chivor fountain pen ink, 50 ml bottle$$$Read the guide →
  6. 50 ml Robert Oster Fire & Ice plastic bottle with blue-teal ink beside a swab card showing pink sheenNo. 6Robert Oster Fire & Ice fountain pen ink, 50 ml bottle$$$Read the guide →
  7. 50 ml Diamine Polar Glow bottle on four short feet, with bright blue ink, beside a swab card showing pink-red sheenNo. 7Diamine Polar Glow fountain pen ink, 50 ml bottle$$Read the guide →
  8. 50 ml J. Herbin 1670 Rouge Hématite bottle with its red wax cap beside a scarlet swab cardNo. 8J. Herbin 1670 Rouge Hématite fountain pen ink, 50 ml bottle$$$Read the guide →
  9. 80 ml Diamine Ancient Copper bottle beside a swab card, with one stroke shading from orange to red-brownNo. 9Diamine Ancient Copper fountain pen ink, 80 ml bottle$$Read the guide →
  10. 50 ml Waterman Serenity Blue faceted bottle beside a blue swab card, with the bottle tipped on its corner insetNo. 10Waterman Serenity Blue fountain pen ink, 50 ml bottle$$Read the guide →
ProductBrand originMade inPrice range
Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki fountain pen ink, 50 ml bottlePilotJapanJapan*Price range: $$$$20–75 per item
Noodler's Black fountain pen ink, 3 oz bottle (19001)Noodler'sUnited StatesUnited States*Price range: $$$5–20 per item
Platinum Carbon Black fountain pen ink, 60 ml bottle (INKC-1500)PlatinumJapanJapan*Price range: $$$$20–75 per item
De Atramentis Document Black fountain pen ink, 45 ml bottleDe AtramentisGermanyGermany*Price range: $$$$20–75 per item
J. Herbin 1670 Emerald of Chivor fountain pen ink, 50 ml bottleJ. HerbinFranceFrance*Price range: $$$$20–75 per item
Robert Oster Fire & Ice fountain pen ink, 50 ml bottleRobert OsterAustraliaAustralia*Price range: $$$$20–75 per item
Diamine Polar Glow fountain pen ink, 50 ml bottleDiamineUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom*Price range: $$$5–20 per item
J. Herbin 1670 Rouge Hématite fountain pen ink, 50 ml bottleJ. HerbinFranceFrance*Price range: $$$$20–75 per item
Diamine Ancient Copper fountain pen ink, 80 ml bottleDiamineUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom*Price range: $$$5–20 per item
Waterman Serenity Blue fountain pen ink, 50 ml bottleWatermanFranceFrance*Price range: $$$5–20 per item
Notes on these facts
  • Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki fountain pen ink, 50 ml bottle: Made by Pilot Corporation (Japan); sold in the US by Pilot Corporation of America. Made in Japan: Kohezi's listing for the 50 ml Kon-peki gives Made in: Japan and says Pilot has always made its own inks. Pilot's Japanese catalog page for INK-50-KO (read in full on October 20, 2026) doesn't state a country; its JAN, 4902505367281, carries Japan's 49 prefix, which shows where the code was registered, not where the ink was made. Source. Released: Pilot's Japanese site says Iroshizuku went on sale in 2007 with five colors but doesn't name them, so 2007 is the line's launch year; we found no Pilot date for Kon-peki itself.
  • Noodler's Black fountain pen ink, 3 oz bottle (19001): Made by Noodler's Ink, Massachusetts (run by Nathan Tardif). Made in United States: Noodler's About Us page says its ink is 100% made in the USA from cap to glass to ink. Dromgooles adds that the inks are handmade in small batches, and Pure Pens describes Noodler's as a small company in southern Massachusetts run by Nathan Tardif. Source.
  • Platinum Carbon Black fountain pen ink, 60 ml bottle (INKC-1500): Made by Platinum Pen Co., Ltd. (Tokyo). Made in Japan: Luiban, a Berlin pen shop, lists Japan as the country of origin for the 60 ml INKC-1500, and Phidon Pens in Canada describes it as made in Japan. Platinum's Japanese product page (read on October 21, 2026) doesn't state a country. Source.
  • De Atramentis Document Black fountain pen ink, 45 ml bottle: Made by Tintenmanufaktur Jansen, Horhausen, Germany. Made in Germany: Goulet Pens says De Atramentis inks are exclusively handmade in Germany; De Atramentis's own site gives its address as Tintenmanufaktur Jansen, Forststraße 8, 56593 Horhausen, Germany, but its product page doesn't print a country of origin. Source.
  • J. Herbin 1670 Emerald of Chivor fountain pen ink, 50 ml bottle: Made by J. Herbin (Jacques Herbin), Exacompta Clairefontaine group, France. Made in France: Jacques Herbin's French product page says 'Fabrication française' (French-made) and that the cap waxing and the seal on the bottle are done by hand in the Jacques Herbin workshop. Retailers also list the 50 ml bottle as made in France. Herbin has belonged to the French Exacompta Clairefontaine group since 1990 (Exaclair catalogue). Source.
  • Robert Oster Fire & Ice fountain pen ink, 50 ml bottle: Made by Robert Oster Signature, Coonawarra district, South Australia. Made in Australia: Goulet's listing (read in full on October 21, 2026) says Robert Oster Signature inks are handmade in Australia and that the PET bottles are made in Australia's first carbon-neutral plastics plant; it quotes Robert Oster saying the inks originate from the Coonawarra district of South Australia. Goldspot also says the inks are made in Australia. Robert Oster's own site (robertosterink.com) didn't load from our network, so we couldn't read the maker's page. Source. Price: example listing.
  • Diamine Polar Glow fountain pen ink, 50 ml bottle: Made by Diamine-Speciality Inks Limited, Merseyside, England. Made in United Kingdom: Diamine's history page says the brand makes its inks at its own facility near Aintree Racecourse, on the edge of Liverpool (see our Diamine Oxblood guide). Diamine's Polar Glow listing (read on October 22, 2026) doesn't print a country of origin. Source. Released: Diamine says Polar Glow comes from its 2019 Inkvent Calendar (Blue Edition); Mountain of Ink says it was later sold on its own in the Blue Collection.
  • J. Herbin 1670 Rouge Hématite fountain pen ink, 50 ml bottle: Made by J. Herbin (Jacques Herbin), Exacompta Clairefontaine group, France. Made in France: Jacques Herbin's French product page (read in full on October 21, 2026) says 'Fabrication française' (French-made) and that the cap waxing and the seal on the bottle are done by hand in the Jacques Herbin workshop. Source. Released: Goulet says Rouge Hématite was first released in 2010 to celebrate Jacques Herbin's 340th anniversary; Herbin's page doesn't give a date.
  • Diamine Ancient Copper fountain pen ink, 80 ml bottle: Made by Diamine-Speciality Inks Limited, Liverpool, England. Made in United Kingdom: JetPens' listing says Diamine ink is produced in the UK, and Diamine is a Liverpool ink maker (see our Diamine Oxblood guide). We didn't find a country of origin printed on Diamine's own Ancient Copper page. Source.
  • Waterman Serenity Blue fountain pen ink, 50 ml bottle: Made by Waterman S.A., Paris (part of Newell Brands). Made in France: Goldspot lists the 50 ml bottle as made in France, and Officeworks (Australia) gives France as the country of origin; its barcode 3034325106298 carries a French GS1 prefix. Waterman was founded in New York in 1884 but today is Waterman S.A., based in Paris, owned by Newell Brands since 2000 (Wikipedia). Waterman's own site (waterman.com) blocks automated reading behind a browser check, so we couldn't read its French or English product page; the ADI distributor listing seen in search also gives France. Source. Price: example listing.
  • Price bands are typical US retail, checked October 2026.

Key takeaways

  • Dye inks such as Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki dissolve in water and wash off a page; pigment inks such as Platinum Carbon Black and Sailor Kiwa-guro stay put once dry but need weekly cleaning, per Goulet.
  • Shading is the light-to-dark variation within one stroke; Diamine Ancient Copper and Polar Glow are the high-shading examples among our inks.
  • Sheen is a second color on heavy pooled ink: pink on Robert Oster Fire & Ice and Diamine Polar Glow, green on J. Herbin Rouge Hématite.
  • Shimmer is suspended gold or silver particles, as in Herbin's 1670 Emerald of Chivor and Rouge Hématite, which need a shake and a wetter nib.
  • Measured dry times run from 3 to 4 seconds for Waterman Serenity Blue (Goldspot) to 90 seconds for Rouge Hématite (Mountain of Ink).

What are fountain pen ink properties?

They’re the traits reviewers use to describe how an ink behaves on paper: its base (dye or pigment), shading, sheen, shimmer, water resistance, dry time, flow and saturation. No maker publishes most of them, so the figures below come from retailer and reviewer tests, mainly Goulet Pens and Mountain of Ink, and they vary with pen, nib and paper. Our best fountain pen inks roundup ranks inks; this page explains the words.

Property What it means Example
Dye or pigment Dissolved colorant, or solid particles that bond to paper Dye: Kon-peki; pigment: Platinum Carbon Black
Shading Light-to-dark variation in one stroke Diamine Ancient Copper, high
Sheen A second, metallic color where ink pools Polar Glow, pink; Rouge Hématite, green
Shimmer Suspended metallic particles Herbin 1670 Emerald of Chivor, gold
Water resistance How much survives a wet page Document Black, high; Fire & Ice, none
Dry time Seconds until a smear test comes clean 3 to 90 s across our inks
Flow How wet the ink runs from the nib Kon-peki, wet; Pelikan Royal Blue, very dry
Saturation Density of the color Diamine Blue Velvet, high

Dye or pigment: which base is your ink?

Dye inks are the default: the color is dissolved in water, so they flow freely, clean out easily and wash off a wet page. Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki is the model dye ink, wet and bright, which Goulet rates low for water resistance. Nearly every Diamine, Herbin, Waterman and Pelikan ink is dye.

Pigment inks carry solid particles that bond to the fibers. Platinum Carbon Black and Sailor Kiwa-guro are the Japanese standards; Platinum says its pigment won’t brown in sunlight or redissolve once dry. The cost is upkeep: Goulet says to clean a pen of Carbon Black at least weekly so the feed doesn’t clog. Noodler’s Black is a third type, a bulletproof dye that bonds to cellulose and, Noodler’s says, resists UV, bleach, alcohol and solvents once dry.

What are shading, sheen and shimmer?

Shading is tonal, sheen is a surface color, and shimmer is particles; an ink can do all three. Shading comes from ink pooling at the ends of strokes and drying darker there. It shows with wet, less-saturated inks on smooth paper, and Goulet rates Diamine Ancient Copper high for it.

Sheen is a metallic second color that forms where ink dries thick on coated paper: Diamine Polar Glow and Robert Oster Fire & Ice throw pink over blue, and J. Herbin Rouge Hématite throws green over red. A fine nib on absorbent paper shows none of it.

Shimmer is gold or silver flake suspended in the ink. Herbin’s 1670 series, including Emerald of Chivor, is the classic. Shake the bottle, use a medium or wider nib, and clean the pen before storing it.

How water resistant is each ink?

Pigment and document inks survive a wet page; most dye inks don’t. Goulet rates De Atramentis Document Black highly water resistant, and De Atramentis says it meets ISO 12757-2, the documentary-use standard. Mountain of Ink found Kiwa-guro “did not budge” and timed Platinum Carbon Black at 60 seconds to dry with high resistance.

Among dyes, Goulet lists Fire & Ice, Polar Glow and Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue as not water resistant, and rates Kon-peki, Ancient Copper and Rouge Hématite low. Mountain of Ink rates Waterman Serenity Blue medium. For a signature or an address label, use a pigment or document ink; for a journal, any dye will do.

How fast does fountain pen ink dry?

Between 3 and 90 seconds in reviewers’ smear tests, with most dye blues at about 20. The fastest figure we’ve seen is Goldspot’s 3 to 4 seconds for Serenity Blue on Rhodia, though Mountain of Ink measured 20 on its papers. Kon-peki is 20 to 25 (Goulet), Ancient Copper about 20, Polar Glow 15 to 20, Fire & Ice 30 (Pulp Addiction).

Pigment and shimmer inks are slow: Noodler’s Black 50 seconds, Platinum Carbon Black 60, Kiwa-guro 40 but smearable to 100, and Rouge Hématite 90, the longest Mountain of Ink had recorded. Left-handers and quick note-takers want the 20-second group; see our pens that don’t smudge roundup for alternatives.

What do flow and saturation change?

Flow decides how much ink the nib lays down; saturation decides how dark that ink looks. A wet ink like Kon-peki makes a dry pen feel smoother and a fine nib write wider; Mountain of Ink calls Pelikan Royal Blue very dry, which suits a wet broad nib. Saturated inks such as Diamine Blue Velvet write one even shade and dry slower; less saturated inks shade more. For matching a nib to an ink, see our nib sizes explainer.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between dye and pigment fountain pen ink?

Dye ink is a colorant dissolved in water, so it flows easily and washes off a wet page. Pigment ink carries solid particles that bond to the paper and stay put once dry; Platinum says its Carbon Black won't brown in sunlight or redissolve. Pigment inks need a pen cleaned about weekly, per Goulet.

What does sheen mean in fountain pen ink?

A metallic second color that appears where ink pools thickly and dries on the surface, usually on coated paper with a wet nib. Diamine Polar Glow and Robert Oster Fire & Ice sheen pink over blue; J. Herbin Rouge Hématite sheens green over red.

What is shading in fountain pen ink?

Variation from light to dark within one stroke, where ink pooled at the end of a letter dries darker than the thin start. It shows most with wet, less-saturated inks on smooth paper. Diamine Ancient Copper and Polar Glow are rated high for it.

What is shimmer ink and is it safe for fountain pens?

Ink with suspended gold or silver particles, such as Herbin's 1670 Emerald of Chivor and Rouge Hématite. It's safe in most pens if you shake the bottle, use a medium or wider nib and clean the pen before storing; Goulet warns the flakes can settle in a fine feed.

Which fountain pen inks are waterproof?

Pigment inks like Platinum Carbon Black, Sailor Kiwa-guro and De Atramentis Document Black, which meets ISO 12757-2, and Noodler's bulletproof dyes like Noodler's Black, which bond to cellulose. Most other dye inks, including Iroshizuku and Diamine, wash off.

How long does fountain pen ink take to dry?

From a few seconds to a minute and a half, by reviewers' smear tests: Waterman Serenity Blue 3 to 20 seconds, most dye blues about 20, Noodler's Black 50, Platinum Carbon Black 60, and shimmer-heavy Rouge Hématite 90. Coated paper and wide nibs slow it.

What does saturation mean for ink?

How dense the color is: a saturated ink like Diamine Blue Velvet writes the same dark shade throughout, while a less saturated ink shades. Saturated inks tend to be wetter and slower to dry; they can also stain demonstrator pens.

Is iron gall ink safe in modern fountain pens?

Modern iron gall inks like Pelikan's 4001 Blue-Black are made for fountain pens and darken as they oxidize, giving some water resistance. They're acidic, so don't leave them in a pen for months; Pelikan's Royal Blue is a plain dye ink, not iron gall.

Sources (20)

  1. Goulet Pens: Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki, ink review (dry time 20–25 s, low water resistance, shading)
  2. Noodler's Ink: Durable Ink Classification (what bulletproof means; resists UV, bleaches, alcohols and solvents on cellulose)
  3. プラチナ万年筆: インクの豆知識 (Platinum Japan ink notes: carbon black pigment doesn't brown, doesn't redissolve once dry)
  4. The Goulet Pen Company: De Atramentis Document Black ink review (30+ s dry time, high water resistance, wet flow, low shading)
  5. De Atramentis (Germany): Dokumenten-Tinten (document ink: lightfast, legible after water, ISO 12757-2)
  6. Goulet Pens: Jacques Herbin 1670 Emerald of Chivor, ink review (10–20 s dry time, water resistance, shimmer care)
  7. Mountain of Ink: Ink Review No. 144, J. Herbin 1670 Emerald of Chivor (30 s)
  8. Goulet Pens: Robert Oster Fire & Ice 50 ml bottled ink (not water resistant, not shimmering, not pigmented)
  9. Pulp Addiction: Robert Oster Fire and Ice (30 s dry time with a medium nib on Rhodia)
  10. Mountain of Ink: Ink Review No. 905 Redux, Diamine Polar Glow (15 s, high pink sheen and shading)
  11. Goulet Pens: Diamine Polar Glow ink review (20+ s, not water resistant)
  12. Mountain of Ink: Ink Review No. 181, J. Herbin 1670 Rouge Hematite (90 s, green sheen, low water resistance)
  13. Goulet Pens: Diamine Ancient Copper, ink review (about 20 s, low water resistance, high shading)
  14. Goldspot: Waterman Serenity Blue review (3–4 s dry time on Rhodia, not very water resistant)
  15. Mountain of Ink: Ink Review No. 1634, Waterman Serenity Blue (20 s, medium water resistance)
  16. Mountain of Ink: Ink Review No. 2457, Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue (40 s, very dry flow)
  17. Goulet Pens: Pelikan Royal Blue 4001 (not water resistant)
  18. Mountain of Ink: Ink Review No. 446, Sailor Kiwa-guro (40 s and 100 s dry times, high water resistance)
  19. Goulet Pens: Platinum Carbon Black 60 ml bottled ink (pigment, clean weekly)
  20. Mountain of Ink: Noodler's Black (50 s dry time, no feathering or bleed-through)

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