Calligraphy Ink Reviews

I’ve spent a lot of time playing around with different calligraphy inks for my dipping pen. There are still more that I want to try, but I thought I’d post some calligraphy ink reviews to help you choose the best ink for your project. I’ll keep adding to this post as I test out more brands.

Black Inks

The first ink I tried was Higgins Waterproof India Ink. It comes in a bottle with an eyedropper, which actually just got in my way. The dropper didn’t work well with my nibs, so I had to find a spot to put the lid since it’s rounded and won’t stand up on its own. The ink itself is rich and smooth and I liked it a lot.

I also tested Winsor & Newton Black Indian Ink. This was very similar to Higgins. I liked it and would use it again.

White Inks

I thought I would also love Higgins Super White Pigmented Drawing Ink. But it was disappointing. It was thin and watery. Even after going over it twice, it still looked grayish on black cardstock.

So I moved on to Winsor & Newton Drawing Ink Bottle, White. It beat Higgins, but not by much. It was slightly more opaque, but I was hoping for more.

Next I tried Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White. This ink is very thick, much to thick to write with straight out of the bottle. You dilute a small amount with a bit of water. Although it’s a bit more time consuming, I appreciated the ability to make the ink just the consistency I wanted. Because of that, I had a much more opaque ink compared to the previous ones I tried. It was also the most expensive.

Colored Inks

I tested out Winsor & Newton Colored Drawing Inks.  This ink has an interesting consistency… it looks slightly gel-like in the bottle, but is pretty runny on paper. These had an effect that looked a lot like Crayola marker. So while I might use them to color in accents, I wouldn’t recommend it for lettering.

I also played around with watercolor paints. The trick is to use tube watercolors so you can make the paint a bit thicker. Try changing the paint color mid-word for an interesting ombre effect. Watercolor paint is really forgiving to letter with and is an inexpensive alternative to calligraphy ink. I used Sakura Koi Assorted Water Color Tube Set.

What’s your favorite brand of ink? What kind should I try next?