Inks

Introduction

In the following table are the 269 fountain pen inks from Greg Clark's Ink Sampler, 2001 edition. The data can be used to answer many questions about the inks, especially comparisons such as which ink is the darkest, which is the most colorful, is an ink bluer or redder than another.

L* is the CIE 1976 lightness value and corresponds approximately to perceived lightness. A value of 0 (zero) is an incredibly dense black and a value of 100 corresponds to the illuminant.

C* is the CIE 1976 chroma value. It is a measure of the colorfulness of a sample. A C* of 0 (zero) corresponds to a neutral gray. The higher the value, the more intense the color.

h(ab) is the CIE 1976 hue value. It is the hue of the sample reported in degrees in a polar coordinate system with 0 (zero) degrees corresponding to a red color. 90 degrees is a yellow color, 180 degrees a green and 270 degrees a blue color. The colors in the graph below are only an approximation to give you a rough idea of the ink's color compared to the others.

For more information on these concepts I recommend reading Billmeyer and Saltzmann's Principles of Color Technology.

Measurement Conditions

Each ink was measured with a GretagMacbeth Spectrolino equipped with a D65 filter. Each page was backed by a special white plastic with flat spectral response. The spectral measurements were made with SpectraShop™ and the calculation of L*C*h(ab), dominant wavelength and excitation purity were made with the newer SpectraShop™ 2.

If you would like to make your own ink comparison charts of your own, contact us. We sell GretagMacbeth and X-Rite spectrophotometer products and we will give you a copy of SpectraShop™ free (a $195 value) with every purchase of a Spectrolino, EyeOne or DTP-22.

Graphical versions of the data are available:

Alphabetic	1.1 MB	Lightness, chroma and hue graphs sorted alphabetically
Lightness	656 KB	Graph sorted by lightness
Chroma	644 KB	Graph sorted by chroma
Hue	964 KB	Graph sorted by hue

Data:

Manufacturer	Lightness L*	*Chroma C(ab)**	Hue h(ab)
Aladine Black	25.75	2.39	342.53
Artist Line (Abraxas) Black	26.76	2.80	288.36
Aurora Black	25.89	2.64	50.92
Bexley Midnight Black	29.21	6.60	55.46
Campo Marzio Roma Black	31.19	5.40	346.24
Caran d'Ache Black	24.07	2.38	29.73
Cartier Black	25.59	8.08	305.69
Conway Stewart Black	26.04	2.22	22.95
Delta Black	23.55	2.13	305.53
Doctor Black	30.14	6.44	63.33
Dupont Black	28.76	3.25	64.16
Fharney's Black	26.64	5.80	50.42
G. Gnocchi Black	29.73	2.91	285.29
Herbin Noire	32.14	7.90	313.13
Hero Black	28.44	3.57	19.13
Higgins Fountain India Black	28.20	5.86	295.72
Lamy Black	24.93	3.80	344.78
Levenger's Black	31.71	3.56	35.40
Montblanc Black	25.20	7.61	303.96
Namiki Black	28.45	2.65	341.70
Omas Black	27.11	1.86	4.95
Panache/Hunt Black	26.34	5.48	299.57
Parker Penman Black	24.84	2.99	331.35
Platinum Black	28.70	2.47	24.52
Pelikan/Cross Black	25.83	2.40	33.72
Parker Quink Black	30.05	2.01	355.83
Platignum Black	24.74	1.59	319.48
Private Reserve Black	29.43	6.93	56.53
Rotring Dakota Black	25.36	3.45	42.16
Reform Black	24.38	6.67	303.77
Senator Black	27.16	2.42	356.35
Sheaffer Black	24.48	2.13	355.57
Signatore Black	28.45	1.49	335.64
Visconti Black	26.30	3.95	46.83
Waterman Black	31.99	4.04	316.50
Yard-O-Led Black	26.75	5.55	296.09
Campio Marzio Grigio	41.69	4.01	210.33
Herbin Grise Nuage	44.72	2.84	237.70
Levenger's Smokey	43.70	4.14	243.51
Omas Gray	47.02	9.65	297.24
Sheaffer Gray	44.58	1.81	357.79
Artist Line Nachtblau	35.40	25.62	286.65
Hero Blue-Black	40.23	18.01	265.38
Lamy Blue Black	55.47	5.52	223.78
Montblanc Blue-Black	39.61	15.92	272.82
Omas Blue-Black	45.22	11.47	247.45
Pelikan Blue Black	48.25	3.56	204.80
Parker Quink Blue-Black	41.65	26.62	270.97
Sheaffer Blue-Black	54.09	19.12	261.26
Waterman Blue-Black	40.51	31.60	261.05
Yard-O-Led Blue-Black	44.56	29.54	274.14
Aladine Bleu	31.31	34.83	288.18
Aurora Blue	35.67	54.67	297.43
Bexley Ocean Blue	36.99	62.79	289.52
Bexley Lapis Blue	32.69	60.57	303.56
Campo Marzio Blu	47.09	56.85	293.74
Campo Marzio Blu Notte	41.26	32.73	276.19
Caran d'Ache Blue	45.30	39.74	283.97
Cartier Blue	49.57	42.75	285.25
Conway Stewart Navy Blue	53.76	51.79	281.04
Delta Blue	47.68	56.66	288.06
Doctor Blue	46.23	20.03	262.88
Dupont Royal Blue	44.80	49.63	289.08
Dupont Night Blue	46.74	34.55	266.05
Fharney's Blue	36.03	61.87	290.41
G. Gnocchi Blue	44.54	55.41	286.18
Herbin Bleue Nuit	42.91	37.33	279.54
Herbin Bleu Myosotis	43.72	27.28	263.82
Hero Blue	39.09	37.80	290.70
Lamy Blue	40.44	45.79	284.71
Levenger's Blue	30.58	54.52	296.88
Levenger's Skies of Blue	47.56	52.12	281.44
Montblanc Blue	43.52	55.71	292.75
Montegrappa Blue	49.97	54.30	288.74
Namiki Blue	44.73	52.05	286.91
Omas Blue	51.38	46.61	289.66
Omas Roma 2000 Blue	36.45	65.99	293.23
Panache/Hunt Blue	31.34	53.54	290.37
Parker Penman Sapphire	33.27	54.12	285.07
Pelikan/Cross Royal Blue	49.32	50.11	291.36
Parker Quink Blue	47.93	46.86	280.80
Platinum Blue	40.47	31.07	280.11
Platignum Blue	43.26	49.05	283.96
Private Reserve Blue Suede	35.71	31.36	202.59
Private Reserve Naples Blue	40.60	45.19	254.51
Private Reserve Lake Placid	35.82	62.49	290.12
Reform Blue	47.38	40.14	283.37
Rotring Royal/Paris Blue	44.94	53.45	293.76
Rotring Ultramarine/Saxon Blue	45.78	58.70	302.34
Rubinato Blue	48.04	49.20	281.48
Senator Blue	61.10	45.34	280.49
Sheaffer Blue	52.97	43.39	275.43
Signatore Blue	46.43	51.13	283.53
Visconti Lapis Blue	44.03	41.61	288.91
Waterman Florida Blue	37.71	51.29	290.04
Yard-O-Led Blue	43.93	50.90	270.64
Aladine Lagoon Blue	50.16	48.64	242.30
Bexley Turquoise	37.48	43.21	258.74
Campo Marzio Turchese	58.93	48.49	233.41
Campo Marzio Azzurro	51.83	47.88	239.67
Campo Marzio Blue Fluro	72.99	44.35	223.53
Conway Stewart Turquoise	55.42	50.64	234.62
Dupont Turquoise	56.17	50.71	234.40
Fharney's Turquoise	40.98	42.04	250.82
Herbin Bleu Azur	50.32	51.27	262.80
Herbin Bleue Pervenche/Turquoise	57.02	50.89	233.87
Lamy Turquoise	46.67	47.04	243.02
Levenger's Blue Bahamas	58.86	49.85	212.38
Montblanc Turquoise	65.44	49.71	225.97
Montegrappa Turquoise	63.23	49.78	228.05
Pelikan Turquoise	55.23	49.69	234.61
Rotring Carlsbad Turquoise	53.80	49.29	204.04
Sheaffer Peacock Blue	50.85	46.23	237.84
Visconti Turquoise/Aquamarine	56.78	49.07	232.22
Waterman South Seas Blue	47.58	44.35	241.34
Yard-O-Led Turquoise	62.76	51.88	229.77
Aladine Violet	38.52	77.37	323.57
Bexley Mountain Violet	29.57	61.79	324.81
Campo Marzio Violette	29.45	70.90	312.05
Conway Stewart Violet	38.48	76.93	309.21
Fharney's Plum	28.92	54.13	327.91
Herbin Violette Pensee	49.21	63.23	303.48
Levenger's Amethyst	30.54	66.60	308.46
Omas Violet	34.91	78.87	310.61
Pelikan Violet	36.65	75.18	316.61
Private Reserve Plum	36.37	78.14	324.36
Private Reserve Tanzanite	33.32	55.21	304.80
Rotring Jakarta Violet	36.75	71.78	309.67
Rubinato Violet	42.94	50.78	302.32
Rubinato Violet Scented	42.48	54.98	302.47
Sheaffer Lavender	42.82	86.25	308.54
Signatore Violet	48.50	52.89	301.50
Waterman Purple	32.85	61.98	308.12
Aladine Sepia	32.57	31.71	6.70
Artist Line (Abraxas) Aubergine	41.12	29.06	355.92
Cartier Bordeaux	37.25	41.39	4.84
Campo Marzio Polvere de Luna	42.29	20.80	0.65
Rubinato Bordeaux - Scented	42.13	41.30	28.27
Conway Stewart Burgundy	34.20	29.54	5.33
Herbin Poussiere de Lune/Burgundy	49.42	20.97	345.24
Montblanc Bordeaux	45.04	39.54	0.56
Sheaffer Burgundy/Bordeaux	33.61	29.46	333.90
Signatore Bordeaux	43.29	40.65	9.92
Visconti Bordeaux/Ruby Red	37.45	47.41	357.55
Yard-O-Led Claret	49.09	64.83	352.59
Artist Line Feur	46.88	61.12	32.03
Artist Line (Abraxas) Rubinrot	39.38	42.60	9.35
Artist Line (Abraxas) Weinrot	44.25	57.07	6.35
Bexley Crimson	38.93	51.16	21.96
Campo Marzio Rosso Fucsia	44.82	57.92	7.24
Campo Marzio Bordeaux	41.27	59.77	14.72
Herbin Rouge Fuchia	43.51	55.87	11.40
Levenger's Fireball	50.37	72.86	31.75
Levenger's Red	46.57	59.27	21.58
Omas Vespucci Red	44.51	55.00	12.04
Panache/Hunt Red	42.12	65.83	19.63
Private Reserve Red	47.64	67.43	18.47
Private Reserve Fiesta Red	37.19	47.71	22.26
Rotring Persian Red	37.33	53.21	12.26
Delta Red	49.56	71.96	26.59
Fharney's Apple Red	44.34	64.97	23.83
Herbin Rouge Caroubier	53.36	67.64	21.48
Hero Red	50.87	70.26	15.76
Rubinato Red	56.31	67.40	19.53
Rotring Brick Red/Sevilla Red	48.52	71.73	29.50
Senator Red	46.19	69.92	28.02
Sheaffer Red	50.80	63.15	14.99
Waterman Red	48.79	69.15	26.19
Aladine Rouge	64.68	70.31	23.79
Campo Marzio Rosso	58.96	72.96	28.72
G. Gnocchi Red	59.31	72.09	37.49
Lamy Red	62.78	76.16	33.82
Montblanc Ruby Red	61.48	70.93	26.59
Omas Hong Kong Red	59.84	73.79	30.28
Parker Quink Red	56.92	64.81	17.98
Pelikan Red	60.16	77.70	34.67
Platinum Red	61.23	74.78	26.24
Reform Red	64.70	70.14	23.39
Aladine Rose	48.85	60.87	32.93
Campo Marzio Rosa Cyclamino	50.29	77.43	330.49
Campo Marzio Red Fluro	61.01	85.61	343.66
Fharney's Hot Pink	52.65	85.33	346.25
Herbin Rose Cyclamen	45.31	81.15	331.31
Levenger's Pinkley	58.10	79.45	348.14
Private Reserve Baby Lips Pink	70.68	63.80	7.48
Private Reserve Hot Bubble Gum	52.83	85.30	345.68
Rotring Pink/Florence Rose	43.88	80.81	330.50
Rubinato Cyclamen	44.65	83.09	329.30
Aladine Orange	68.53	90.77	56.89
Campo Marzio Arancio	65.51	71.35	51.09
Conway Stewart Orange	69.29	85.27	53.59
Fharney's Orange	59.17	83.95	44.92
Herbin Orange Indien	57.58	74.73	41.44
Omas Triratna Saffron	64.28	75.85	52.07
Private Reserve Orange Crush	47.11	62.38	39.91
Private Reserve Tangerine	57.45	80.78	44.18
Delta Yellow	89.26	93.03	92.76
Fharney's Yellow	81.96	97.85	81.76
Herbin Jaune Bouton D'Or/Buttercup Yellow	89.20	40.11	84.28
Private Reserve Buttercup Yellow	79.94	95.60	80.23
Sheaffer King's Gold	69.07	72.46	70.21
Aladine Amber	31.49	16.49	41.64
Artist Line (Abraxas) Marroni	40.70	25.30	30.27
Bexley Mocha	46.12	34.24	62.25
Campo Marzio Sepia Cafe	54.38	30.23	51.46
Conway Stewart Brown	48.35	39.86	51.43
Delta Brown	37.44	26.06	45.94
Dupont Sienna/Brown	39.66	32.55	38.87
Fharney's Copper	40.11	29.20	52.86
G. Gnocchi Brown	46.27	26.81	47.10
Herbin Cafe des Iles/Brown	45.03	11.78	35.32
Levenger's Cocoa Brown	40.12	24.12	36.19
Omas Sepia	33.40	16.96	42.99
Pelikan Brown	35.67	28.86	31.00
Parker Penman Mocha	36.07	13.65	44.86
Private Reserve Copper Burst	45.15	33.32	62.22
Rotring Sienna Brown	33.85	20.91	43.66
Rubinato Sepia	47.23	27.93	47.67
Rubinato Sepia Scented	43.26	40.97	36.64
Sheaffer Brown	49.73	22.50	67.29
Signatore Sepia	53.21	36.11	42.02
Visconti Sepia/Brown	48.17	28.21	49.46
Waterman Havana	33.47	11.56	24.10
Aladine Vert	54.39	53.47	183.50
Artist Line (Abraxas) Blaugrun	53.36	28.33	177.47
Bexley Harmony Green	33.11	30.16	164.25
Campo Marzio Verde	59.27	58.10	172.06
Campo Marzio Vert Oliva	63.48	57.98	114.16
Campo Marzio Verde Prato	68.50	75.90	129.04
Campo Marzio Green Fluro	94.80	71.72	119.31
Conway Stewart Green	28.19	7.32	33.42
Delta Green	60.38	60.29	167.82
Fharney's Forrest Green	36.11	35.53	164.86
Herbin Verte Olive	54.74	48.08	101.16
Herbin Green/Verte Reseda	61.70	57.15	182.05
Herbin Vert Pre	72.59	78.90	117.54
Levenger's Green	40.96	47.58	174.68
Levenger's Always Greener	69.22	64.14	125.06
Lamy Green	53.44	59.19	169.58
Montblanc Green	59.18	53.19	183.83
Montegrappa Green	60.00	62.89	167.27
Omas Green	61.51	61.03	161.57
Parker Penman Emerald	36.18	32.27	154.03
Parker Quink Green	55.07	55.13	175.30
Pelikan Green	50.06	58.32	171.35
Private Reserve Avacado	33.73	21.36	138.49
Private Reserve Sherwood	33.14	30.49	164.48
Private Reserve Spearmint	41.75	47.01	147.32
Reform Green	59.21	53.32	183.28
Rotring Shannon Green	52.46	53.88	176.65
Rubinato Green	48.72	56.92	170.88
Sheaffer Green	63.85	66.57	163.15
Senator Green	47.83	51.03	177.42
Signatore Green	61.20	66.22	154.49
Waterman Green	45.92	38.33	185.82
Carters Ink Washable Blue	36.93	24.63	267.78
Carters Ink Permanent Blue/Black	35.87	16.47	279.25
Carters Ink Washable Black	28.17	0.64	224.09
Carters Ink Permanent Red	45.94	34.00	32.26
Crescent Fre Flo Blue Black	38.09	11.25	252.12
Sanford's Washable Royal Blue	64.29	30.95	281.15
Sheaffer Skrip Persian Rose	28.50	14.48	330.47
Stafford's Brown	51.92	12.50	48.93
United Drug Co. Graph Blue	40.50	21.07	262.85
Iron Gall	33.78	3.11	76.86