Review on 🖤 Review: Pelikan Drawing Ink 518 Black Fount India - 1oz Bottle (221143) by Barbara Simmons

good thick black ink, doesn't smudge, not waterproof so not suitable for watercolours, might be good for some markers, the longer they dry (1 to 3 days) the bigger it gets it becomes waterproof. I dilute it with distilled water to get different shades of grey, a nice neutral color with no red, blue or brown undertones. Excellent for pen and ink work with fountain pens, fountain pens and with a brush. It is less likely to cause problems with fountain pens than other manufacturers' carbon pigment inks. I've used it in platinum and experimental fountain pens with EF tips for several weeks and have had no starting or drying issues. Not too wet and not too dry, can be applied fully or diluted. Odorless and just a well made ink. I'm currently testing the lightfastness (100% and 50% reduction) so I won't know the results for a few months, but Pelikan claims excellent lightfastness. I like the non-waterproof feature and come back with a wet (water) brush to darken vias and blurry lines. You can even fix lines (though a little halos) if you do it within a reasonable amount of time. I use this ink for direct pen work and platinum black under watercolour. A little bleed through on carbon paper but no bleeding, so you can imagine how well this works on art paper, although I can't comment on the various magazine articles. Bristol Plate Smear Test (weather permitting) 7 to 10 seconds without any smearing so I guess I'll have to rate that as pretty fast, good for lefties. Dries to a nice matte finish (very slight shine if you have a really tight area). I even use this ink in a 6x0 (0.13mm) Koh-i-Noor ink liner and have had no clogging, starting or skipping issues and seems to wash out easier than technical pen inks (and unlike fountain pens, by the way, hold the pen down !). All in all, an excellent professional ink, extremely economical, as thick as most conventional inks and can be used in fountain pens without hesitation. I do NOT recommend putting this paint on good clothes. Can't say if I can classify it as archival as I haven't completed my lightfastness test, but 3 weeks in the South West sun has so far produced 0 fading at full strength and dilution. This ink has been around for a while and I don't know why it isn't as well known and used as the more ubiquitous ink. I don't think it is no longer in a plastic bottle but in a very nice Pelikan glass bottle (30ml). If you really like black ink for writing or drawing with a fountain pen, try this ink, I think you will be impressed. Of course, keep these and all inks out of direct or strong indirect sunlight as they tend to crack and thicken to some extent. To be honest I haven't compared this ink to many others but it certainly holds its own against platinum charcoal. Ink, Sailor Nano, Lami, Aurora, and some fountain pen inks (soon we'll see how they compare to De Atramentis docs and regular inks). Could it end up like your favorite mascara?