We’re running a sale this weekend in the shop for Father’s Day - through 11:59pm on Sunday, June 18, take 10% off paper and desk accessories using the coupon code “DAD10” at checkout!

A while back I did an "inks of choice" post in which, for the first time, I discussed my favorite inks by broad color category. This wasn't easy, as many of the colors I love and use on a regular basis aren't easy to categorize. Is it a blue? A blue-black? A dusky purple? Is this a yellow or an orange? A red or a brown? Is burgundy it's own color family? (You get the idea.)

Lately I've been involved in a project at my job that has required me to do more writing than I've done in a long time, given my mostly supervisory responsibilities at this point in my career. This has resulted in (1) a lot of different pens getting written dry; and (2) lots of different pens getting inked up, mainly with unassuming blue-black inks chosen for both performance and the fact that they're less distracting than other brighter options. Whenever I get caught up in a project like this one, and find myself looking at multiple inks in the same color family, I end up struck by how much variation there is among supposedly "identical" inks and ultimately realize that it's a key part of why I have so much fun with this hobby. Here, you have six inks that vary pretty wildly, even within brands. At the same time, it’s fun to see the commonalities that certain brands have, like that Pilot red sheen!

Blue Black Inks of Choice — My standard ink testing paper is Midori MD Cotton. It accurately reflects color despite being slightly off-white, and showcases ink properties such as sheen and shading fairly well.

Five Inks of Choice (Blue-Black)

Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo. Tsuki-Yo won the "Blue-Black" slot in the "Favorite Inks" post, and as I mentioned in that post, the main reason I love Tsuki-Yo so much is because it's not your traditional blue-black ink. Typically translated as "Moonlight", this ink features a navy undertone with reddish sheen - an office-friendly ink with just enough subtlety to make it interesting for fountain pen aficionados.

Iroshizuku Shin-Kai. Shin-Kai is what I would call the "true" blue-black in the Iroshizuku lineup. Typically translated as "Deep Sea," Shin-Kai somewhat resembles standard Pilot Blue-Black, but dries to an almost steel grey with blue undertones and, again, red sheen.

Pilot Blue-Black. Whenever I get a new Vanishing Point or other Pilot cartridge-converter pen, often the first ink to run through that pen is a standard Pilot Blue-Black ink cartridge. This particular ink has a degree of water-resistance, which is one reason why so many people enjoy it. What surprises me the most with this ink is the degree of red sheen this ink exhibits, which is even more pronounced than its Iroshizuku counterparts.

Red Sheen on Pilot Inks — I forget how much red sheen Pilot inks exhibit, until I swatch them next to other brands. The standard Pilot Blue-Black is kind of crazy, though the sheen only really comes out

Caran d'Ache Magnetic Blue. The "Grey-Blue-Black" of this group, albeit with purple (?) undertones when wet, Caran d'Ache Magnetic Blue is the most "traditional" blue-black ink of this group. It exhibits some shading but no sheen.

Platinum Blue-Black. Another standard Japanese blue-black ink that I use primarily in cartridge form, Platinum Blue-Black is more blue than other options, and also shows a good degree of water resistance.

Sailor Nano Souboku. Sailor makes a line of "nano" pigmented inks that are permanent, yet still "safe" for use in fountain pens. I've reviewed Kiwa-Guro (the "Nano-Black") in the past, but I've had this pack of the blue-black Souboku cartridges for more than a year and figured that I needed to put them through the rotation. Souboku looks almost teal when wet, and dries to a lighter blue-black shade than the other inks shown here. I like the Sailor "Nano" pigmented inks because they are permanent and tend to perform well on even the cheapest of office papers.

Blue Black Inks of Choice Part II — These three are the more “standard” blue-black inks that I’ve used.

Note: Why so many cartridges, you may ask? During my office reorganization/clean-out project from earlier this year, I came across more than a dozen boxes of cartridges, some of which had to be tossed because the ink had evaporated. Cartridges don't last forever, so if you have them, use them!

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No Bleed Through Midori MD Cotton — Look Ma! No Bleed-through!

Platinum Blue-Black is an undersung workhorse of an ink, and one I use a lot. Some feel that this ink isn't really a true blue-black, since it has a strong blue undertone to it, but it's nice-looking nonetheless. In the U.S., Platinum black and blue-black inks are best known for being the pack-in inks for Nakaya pens; each pen sold comes with 10 high-capacity cartridges . As I've mentioned before, when I first purchased my Nakaya, the blue-black cartridges were the only ink I used in the pen for quite some time.

Platinum Blue-Black Writing Sample Shading

This ink contains iron gall, which can be corrosive to metal parts in pens if the ink is left in there for long periods of time (i.e., months), so take care to use your pens and/or flush regularly. Iron gall, however, is what gives this ink its key properties, from its nice color and shading (pictured) to its performance on (most) cheap office papers without bleedthrough or feathering.