Fountain Pen Esoterica: Regular Ink, Sheening Ink, Shimmering Ink, Oh My!

Unless you're in the fountain pen community, you would not know there are certain... "fancy fountain pen ink" and new ones developed all the time. Most people expect black ink and blue ink, but there are actually dozens of fountain pen companies all over the world, and they launch new color lines all the time. Some of them can get really fancy, such as sheening ink (shows different colors depending on how much ink you use), and shimmering ink (includes sparkles!)

Photo by David Pennington on Unsplash

SIDENOTE: Fountain pen ink are dye-based, not carbon-based (aka "India ink") If you use carbon-based ink in a fountain pen you'll clog it. Same with "calligraphic ink" unless it is specifically labelled as "fountain pen safe". Calligraphic ink are often not dye-based, but pigment-based, and if they dry inside a fountain pen, the pen is ruined as those will NOT wash out. The pen will be permanently clogged by paint pigments. Calligraphic dip pens, with no feed mechanism, are not affected this way. TL;DR-- ONLY use "fountain pen ink" in fountain pens. 

There are other types of fountain pen ink, but they are more about ink's resistance to environmental challenges, like archival ink (no-fade), water resistant ink, quick-dry ink, and so on. How well they work also depends on what paper they are paired with. And that's another topic altogether. 

Sheening Ink

Sheening ink with its unique dye formulation, forms different colors depending on its concentration. This type of ink is typically slow to dry, and requires a thick pen stroke (made by special fountain pens with stub nib or wider, a cotton swab, or a brush) to see the multitude of colors from a single ink. Sometimes, it's just different shades of the same color, but sometimes, it's distinct colors or mixes thereof. You usually need a fountain pen of at least a broad nib, if not wider, to see the sheening colors, but it is beautiful. Also, you need paper that's NOT that absorbent, because the ink cannot "pool" to create the sheen if it gets absorbed into the paper!

Shimmering Ink

Shimmering ink contains shimmer particles that reflect light, so once they get on paper the inked area will "sparkle" if you shift the paper a bit under the light. However, the particles are known to clog some pens, and requires shaking before use as those particles can "settle" to the bottom of the ink bottle. It is sometimes added to sheening ink so you have an ink that both sheens and shimmers. Similar to sheening ink, they do not dry quickly. And thus, they require paper that are not very absorbent.

Watch Brian Goulet of Goulet Pen show off his "top 10 sheening inks"...  Keep in mind more than a few of these inks are also shimmering inks.  

Conclusion

There are a lot of developments in fountain pen ink, and the best known ones, sheening and shimmering inks, can produce some stunning visuals with the right paper and pen. And they are relatively cheap compared to cost of a new pen, esp. high-end pens, and can add to your enjoyment.