If you’re always on the look for the best everyday blue ink, you want to take a good look at today’s monthly ink comparison. In our monthly ink comparisons, we take a handful of inks, and put them side by side as they undergo standard ink review tests, writing samples, ink swatches, etc. Sometimes we feature a certain theme, other times we feature a new brand or new ink series release, but today is one of our monthly ink comparisons that features a group of similar inks. Read on to get a better look at some fountain pen inks often called the best everyday blue inks.
Fountain Pen Inks Featured in the Comparison:
For today’s fountain pen ink comparison, we pulled six blue inks that at least one of us here at Pen Chalet considers a good everyday fountain pen ink. Then we took a look at them in a side-by-side comparison to make it easier for you to determine which will work best for you. Here are the six inks featured in our best everyday blue inks comparison:
Krishna ACR Free Range Blue ink: a blue ink with a hint of lavender
Robert Oster School Blue ink: dark blue shading ink
Monteverde Capri Blue ink: a medium bright blue ink
Diamine Asa Blue ink: a medium vivid blue ink
Van Dieman’s Solar System Neptune ink: medium shading blue ink
Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki ink: lovely medium blue ink
Watch the Full Best Everyday Blue Ink Comparison on Video:
Interested in watching as we create the ink splashes, ink swatches, and writing samples with some of our favorite everyday blue fountain pen inks? We don’t blame you – there’s something very satisfying about seeing ink go down on paper. Check it out:
Did Some of our Everyday Blue Inks Stand Out in Other Categories?
As we went along, we took note of what we found most impressive about each of today’s blue fountain pen inks. Here are today’s everyday blue ink “awards” (as we see it).
Most Consistent Everyday Blue Ink Writer: Pilot Irishizuku Kon-Peki ink
Brightest Everyday Blue Ink/Fastest Drying: Monteverde Capri Blue ink
Most Shading Everyday Blue Ink: Van Dieman’s Neptune ink / Robert Oster School Blue ink
Most Unique Everyday Blue Ink: Krishna ACR Free Range Blue ink
Most Sheening Everyday Blue Ink: Diamine Asa Blue ink
Products and Items Used in Today’s Ink Comparison:
In addition to the six inks featured in today’s fountain pen ink comparison, we also used some additional items and products including the following.
- Wearingeul Jaquere Reservoir A5 Spiral Notebook (black/lined)
- paint brushes
- Sailor Compass Hocoro Dip Pens & Sailor Limited Edition Dipton Hocoro Dip Pens
- Pilot Iro-Utsushi dip pens
- cotton swabs
- water
Ink Comparison Results: Before We Dive In!
Don’t forget – the “best” fountain pen ink choices always depend on a bunch of different factors:
- the pen you’re using
- the project you’re going to work on
- your personal writing style
- your own personal preferences
To help you figure out the best everyday blue inks for you…we ran a couple simple ink tests. For the dry test, we put down a writing sample, waited a specific amount of time and then ran a dry cotton swab over the writing to see if it was dry. We did this with varying “times” until we could determine how quickly the ink dried. You can see the results in the video. For the water test, we wrote out a writing sample, waited 1 minute, and then ran a wet cotton swab over the writing. You can see these results in the video as well. Hopefully this information will help you determine your own personal “best” everyday blue ink of the group.
Which Everyday Blue Ink Dried the Fastest?
The fastest drying ink out of today’s fountain pen ink was Monteverde Capri Blue with an impressive dry time of 6 seconds.
Here are the results of the dry time test in order from fastest dry time to slowest:
- Monteverde Capri Blue ink (6 second dry time)
- Krishna ACR Free Range Blue ink (10 second dry time)
- Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki ink (11 second dry time)
- Van Dieman’s Solar System Neptune ink (12 second dry time)
- Diamine Asa Blue ink (22 second dry time)
- Robert Oster School Blue ink (25 second dry time)
Which Blue Ink Had the Most Shading & Sheen?
When considering the 6 blue fountain pen inks in this ink comparison, we didn’t have any inks that had a heavy enough sheen to show up in normal writing, but when applied in a particularly heavy saturation level (like in the ink splashes or with a really broad nib), we had 4 blue inks that showed potential sheening traits: Diamine Asa Blue has the most powerful sheen followed by Monteverde Capri Blue and Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki ink, and then Krishna ACR Free Range Blue surprised us with a very subtle sheen when we put it down with a Sailor Compass Hocoro dip pen using a 2.0mm nib.
FYI: When we talk about sheen, we’re referring to a visible metallic-like overlay that shows up after some fountain pen inks dry completely (often showing up in a completely different color than the base ink color). When we talk about shading, we’re referencing variations of the base ink color (lighter or darker colors) visible after the ink is dry.
While the Krishna Free Range Blue ink showed a pinky-violet sheen (very subtle), the other 3 sheening inks in today’s fountain pen ink comparison showed a maroon-ish/deep pink sheen at heavy saturation (you can see it in the ink swatches and in the name of the ink written beside the swatch for the Diamine Asa Blue ink).
NOTE: It was challenging to catch a good image of the sheen, but it’s easier to see in the video of the ink comparison. Check it out above!
Diamine’s sheen was the most extreme sometimes looking a bit hot pink, but outside of this ink comparison, the Diamine Asa Blue ink’s level of sheen would still just be a medium level. It’s not enough to be apparent in most writing and doesn’t disrupt it’s ability to fill your everyday ink needs.
The inks that showed the most shading possibilities during our ink comparison were Van Dieman’s Neptune ink and Rober Oster School Blue ink.
Which Everyday Blue Ink Was the Most Water Resistant?
The MOST water-resistant blue ink in today’s everyday fountain pen ink comparison appeared to be Krishna ACR Free Range Blue ink.
We chose today’s Most Water Resistant everyday blue ink award winner based on which ink had the most legible writing with the least distortion after the water test (described above).
Today’s inks in order of most water resistant to least water resistant:
- Krishna ACR Free Range Blue ink
- Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki ink
- Robert Oster School Blue ink
- Van Dieman’s Solar System Neptune ink
- Diamine Asa Blue ink
- Monteverde Capri Blue ink (if I didn’t already know what this one said, I wouldn’t be able to make out what the original writing said in the sample).
Enter to Win an Everyday Blue Fountain Pen Ink:
You can enter to win fun pens, inks, and writing accessories during Pen Chalet’s 15 on the 15th Giveaway, which happens on the 15th of every month. The inks we use in our ink reviews and comparisons are often included as prizes, so keep an eye out for these to pop up!
