De Atramentis Document White — Ink Review #117

De Atramentis — Document White

 

Ink Review # 117

 

Originally posted on FPN: Mar 6, 2024

 

Ink: Document White

Series: Document

Type: Pigment ink

Brand: De Atramentis
Country: Germany
Availability: 45 ml bottles.
Pens Used: Pilot Kakuno EF, Lamy Safari (EF, F, M, B)

Description

To my knowledge, there are two white inks by De Atramentis, Document and Artist, Noodler’s Whiteness of the Whale (though technically speaking, it’s not a white ink from what I understand), and Octopus Write & Draw Polar White Bear.

This is an unusual ink, somehow with a Maalox texture, like liquid chalk or whitewash; take your pick. 😛

It’s disconcerting when you see it in a fountain pen. It shows off all the muck in the feed and how dirty your converter truly is.

Here is a photo of a stained no-name Chinese piston-filler.

I tested it on two types of paper: one a no-name notebook bought from Amazon (a not-so-black, absorbent paper), and the other a true black Mixed Media paper from Clairefontaine.

It really needs a true black paper to contrast with. Don’t go for cheap paper; you’ll regret it.

This is more of a sketching ink than a writing ink, or maybe an ink for teachers who have nostalgia for blackboards.

It was fun reviewing this ink, as there’s not much to do. I didn’t bother to use stub and flex nibs, and doing the chroma was irrelevant. 😛

Pigment Ink Note: Pigmented fountain pen inks are best used in well-sealed pens that are easy to dismantle. Some colours clean out easily, while others may need pen flush if water alone is not enough.

Cleaning: Cleaning this ink is really difficult and time-consuming. So don’t fill your latest shiny, overpriced piston filler with this ink, otherwise you’ll curse the pen, the ink and the hobby.

Writing Samples

No-name very absorbent notebook from Amazon:

Clairefontaine

see the contrast between the two papers (photo:)

Artwork

The Artist within

Balloon

Clairefontaine paper. 

Detente

Ink Characteristics

·      What I liked: Sketching on a very dark paper.
·      What I did not like: Clogging in some pens, cleaning, work with a Japanese EF
·      What some might not like: You need black paper.
·      Shading: n/a
·      Ghosting: n/a
·      Bleed through: n/a
·      Flow Rate: Wettish
·      Lubrication: n/a
·      Nib Dry-out: Yes
·      Start-up: Yes.
·      Saturation: n/a
·      Shading Potential: n/a
·      Sheen: n/a
·      Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: n/a
·      Nib Creep / “Crud”: Yes.
·      Staining (pen): n/a
·      Clogging: Yes.
·      Cleaning: Very, very difficult. Takes time.
·      Water resistance: I cannot ascertain it. I tried a wet Q-tip on the Clairefontaine and the Q-tip turned black. I assume the color of the paper came off, so did the ink

Please don't hesitate to share your experience, writing samples or any other comments. The more the merrier.  😊