The Indigraph Pen: A review and comparison between waterproof fountain pen inks and India ink.

[@starr-starr]

Thanks for this review, I’ve been curious about it since I saw The Mind of Watercolor use it. He said it had stayed just fine for over a year, which I found incredible. I was surprised at your tests, then realized I mostly use ink sketching in my little cellulose sketchbooks when I go for walks, and my pigment inks usually dry pretty quickly. I’ve never taken out a nice cotton sketchbook, I don’t know how that would behave! I shall have to make some tests.

[@mkompan]

You're welcome! I'll have to check out Mind of Watercolor's review.

[@greekveteran2715]

I'm in the middle of a sketch, using the Koh-I-Noor Red Chalk. I didn't know it was the best because that was the only Red Chalk pencil I was using for many years. I just got the 5.6mm set, that comes with 6 leads inside! I use the 5340 lead holder and I'm perfectly fine for many years. Thank you for sharing all this knowledge! When you use those classic materials, like Sepia, Red Chalk etc,, your sketches look a lot like the sketches the old masters did!! I really appreciate your work, keep it up!!

[@mkompan]

Thanks! I’m actually working on a video where I demonstrate an unusual way to work with red chalk that was used by the masters.

[@kellyro77]

That's interesting your experience with Platinum Carbon ink still bleeding on you slightly after a prolonged wait. I've been doing a lot of ink and wash sketching over the past few months in varying sketchbooks - 100% cotton and cellulose blends and I've not had that issue. I wonder if your environment has something to do with it, too. I live in Colorado - basically a desert climate, so maybe that's what prevents the bleeding. It's good to know there are actual fountain pen alternatives out there that successfully use India ink without disastrous clogging.

[@mkompan]

I was surprised by the variability in performance of both Carbon ink and Noodler’s black. I’m in Los Angeles, which is also pretty dry. The paper is the main factor and that’s the biggest advantage of India ink: it’s consistently waterproof on a variety of papers.

[@fabiosilvadesouza5364]

Thanks for this review, Marc! What a beautiful watercolor you have made.

[@mkompan]

You’re welcome, Fabio!

[@DavidGrossMimetic]

Rohrer and Klingner sketch black is for fountain pens and is the most waterproof ink I have found. Also it’s cheap, and very dense. I love it. I’ve kept it in pens for months without clogging, too. No idea why it is different, but it is great. Noodler’s has always failed for me on the papers I’ve tried.

[@mkompan]

I’ll have to give it a try. Noodler’s is very paper dependent, but is the safest of all the waterproof inks in terms of clogging.

[@karel9825]

Have you tried Super5 Darmstadt Black yet? It's from Germany and is the most waterproof fountain pen ink I've used. It's as waterproof as acrylic ink but it's safe to use in fountain pens. It also comes in several muted colours, which is great for drawing! I've tested it along many known inks (such as DeAtrementis Document, DeAtrementis Archive, Platinum Carbon, Noodler's Heart of Darkness, Noodler's Black, Noodler's X-Feather, Pilot Tsuwairo and even the latest Platinum Chou Kuro) on various papers (cellulose, bamboo, cotton, ...). All of these were not completely waterproof but Super5 was! On top of that, Super5 was the blackest of them all, apart from Platinum Chou Kuro which wins hands down when it comes to darkest fountain pen ink black. Oh, and they also sell a flex pen, but have yet to try it out.

[@mkompan]

I haven’t heard of this ink, but will definitely try it based on your recommendation. I’m not so obsessed with the blackness of ink, and on the papers I use Noodler’s black is fully waterproof, so I’m not desperately searching for something better.

[@karel9825]

@@mkompan I like the blackest ink because of the graphic work I'm doing, but sometimes a softer black can be needed as well. What papers are you using Noodler's Black on? I've had poor results when it comes to it being waterproof. The waterproof soft black I use is Rohrer & Klingner's Lotte (from the Sketch Ink series). Today I've tried the waterproof fountain pen ink from Octopus (also a German company). It's called Elephant Black (Write & Draw series) and my first test shows it is as waterproof as acrylic ink, just like Super5. And possibly a touch darker than Super5, but I need to do more tests on various papers for confirmation. It's also cheaper per ml of ink. Aside from Elephant Black they have many other colours as well.

[@mkompan]

@@karel9825 I find Noodler’s black tends to work best on hot press watercolor paper, such as Arches hit press. On other papers, such as my Talens art creations sketchbook it’s not perfect leaving a touch of residue, but it works well enough. I’ll have to track down this Octopus ink as well. This might not be easy to obtain for those of us living in the US.

[@dmitryivanoff2799]

Hi Marc, I keep returning to your website, it's a mine of valuable info. Following your advice, I fitted an FPR #5,5 into my Indigraph. It works excellent. I ordered an indigraph with a calligraphy ed.nib. I also have three nibs supplied by Indigraph. I wonder whether I can modify them similarly to FPRnibs? I tried to fit some dip nibs to the Indigraph, but failed. Incidentally, I bought my first Indigraph last year and used it from time to time, devoting most of my attention to Ackerman fountain pens. I checked the water level in the Indigraph pen but did not clean it regularly as suggested by the firm. Nevertheless, the pen writes beautifully each time. Their technology really works.

[@mkompan]

Thank you! I angered the Indigraph people with this review, but it is a useful pen for some people and I wish them well.

[@ichirofakename]

1. Great, thorough, review, thanks. 2. I do multi-color pen & ink drawings. Sometimes when a new wet line crosses an old dry line of another color, bleeding will occur, with one or both inks seeping into the the other. Of course this can be cool, but I wish I had the option of turning this behavior off. Can you get India-like inks in colors other than black? If so, then that's just great, I'm talking myself into buying a bunch of new ink and some expensive pens to put it in. Too bad I don't still have my Rapidographs.

[@retardno002]

Yep, it's not called India Ink but there are pigment inks in many colors, check out Winsor & Newton's selection. Edit: I just looked it up on Amazon, Dr. Ph. Martin's calls theirs India ink regardless of the color. There's a full color set for about 80 bucks.

[@ichirofakename]

@@retardno002 I see Dick Blick also has something called Acrylic Ink. It may just be watered down paint.

[@mkompan]

1. Thank you, as always. 2. Yes, you can use color shellack-based inks in this pen. Not every ink will work equally well. The indigraph website has ink recommendations which they rate on 0-5 scale.

[@sheilasinghal2922]

Thanks for such a comprehensive review. I've been curious about these. I'm a big user of dip pens and (perhaps oddly) technical pens, but I like the convenience of fountain pens when I'm out and about. Thanks in particular for your assessment at the end about who would benefit most from this pen. I'm thinking this may be an in-the-future-but-not-right-now purchase for me. 😊

[@mkompan]

My pleasure! I used technical pens early on (my step father was a graphic artist and had them in his studio.) Using them again for this video brought me back to that time long ago.

[@sheilasinghal2922]

@@mkompan You've inspired me to dig them out again. At one point they were the only kind of pen l I used. I had the full range with multiple pen bodies, and used to love them. By the way, your channel has become my favourite art-related channel.😊

[@richardfuchs5131]

I have in the past used India ink in fountain pens for sketching for ink and wash without any issues because I stored the pens upright in my pen and brush stand. I have at times found that if I rinse the cap with water and don’t dry it the pen responds to use again a few days later better than when I didn’t. I also had the practice o dipping my pen in my water for the water color paint prior to starting using it and wiping it off to get it restarted. But all this changed when I discovered the noodlers inks. I have settled on using the Lexington gray instead of black as it appears more like graphite than black ink. Which currently works for me.

[@ichirofakename]

I'm also a fan of Lexington Gray. I like that it isn't as harsh as a real black, but when you need to you can layer it up to black. I wonder, though - if you like graphite, why not just use graphite?

[@richardfuchs5131]

@@ichirofakename because I use ink and watercolor wash. Graphite doesn’t really show strong enough for the appearance I’m trying to achieve

[@gobot90]

@@ichirofakename Cause it’s a dry, ie different, medium?

[@kellysartthrob]

Interesting. I never noticed a problem going over Platinum Carbon Black ink with watercolor, but I never put it down in a wash, only somewhat fine lines. Mostly I use a mixture of fine liners and technical pens with my fountain pen though, and mostly on Fabriano Artistico hot press. They changed their sizing though so it will be interesting to see if there's a difference. I never gave that much consideration. Thanks for the review. Very helpful, as always.

[@mkompan]

I think you can probably get away with using India ink just by spraying the inside of the cap with water (or putting a little wad of wet cotton inside the cap. I'm experimenting with it right now and will share my results soon. It will of course not work as nearly as well.

[@TheMarioMan247]

If you look at the site, they now sell a version of the indiegraph cap that you can post, but is sold separately, instead of as an option in place of the stock cap. Also, would you if the Indiigraph would play nice the Kuretake Black/Sumi 60 inks or Deleter Comic Inks?

[@mkompan]

Sorry, I haven’t used those inks. Their site has a long list of inks that they approve for the pen. If it’s not listed, you might want to contact the company and ask.

[@lostolli7766]

That's really an interesting approach. I am pretty new to inks and fountain pens etc. but I wonder, if this result can't be achieved with cotton. Shouldn't it be possible to achieve a similar result with wet cotton in the cap or even better, a small diy reservoir? Filling the cap with water and then sealing that reservoir with cotton. So that behind the cotton there is still some water. I don't know if that will really work and how convenient this is, but at least it should be interesting to try.

[@mkompan]

I’m actually experimenting with different methods to see how they work. If the results are good, I’ll make a video in it.

[@SDPickups]

You missed DeAtramentis document black ink. Its as blac as india ink and is completely waterproof and made for fountain pens. Best fountain pen ink out there. But mostly only artists know about it. Try some.

[@mkompan]

Didn’t miss it, just didn’t include it. I agree, great ink!

[@atelierthhun1165]

I thought this pen was a nice idea so appreciate your balanced review. With so many variables to juggle between ink and paper it's a fraught decision. One thing that limits my use of Indian ink is how unevenly shiny it can dry. Carbon and document inks seem to dry more matte. Thanks for removing temptation and another great review.

[@mkompan]

There are many variables. I went into this video, thinking that the results would be clear cut, with the India ink being clearly superior, but that wasn’t the case. The paper is really the biggest factor, and results are hard to predict. India ink also varies greatly, with some drying more matte than others.

[@atelierthhun1165]

@@mkompan With paper my own rule of thumb is if it will accept masking fluid it won't work with ink as it will sit on the surface. I can't guarantee it's 100 % accurate with all paper but it's worked for me so far.

[@mkompan]

@@atelierthhun1165 That's an interesting rule of thumb that makes sense. Thanks for the tip!

[@FrancoisTHX]

Thanks a lot for the video! I'll stick with Carbon Black and just pay attention to which paper I'll be using!

[@mkompan]

You're welcome! I do want this company to succeed, because they're producing an innovative product. But, carbon ink works well enough on a large enough range of papers that this pen will not be for everyone.

[@qquarnster]

I was considering this pen when I saw it on kickstarter, but after some research decided to go with a safety pen instead. The safety pens being made out of ebonite and having an ebonite feed have the advantage of not reacting to solvents as opposed to the abs plastic in the Indigraph pen, so you can get really creative with ink compositions. Should it ever clog, you can just soak the safety pen in the appropriate solvent, but since retracting the nib and giving it a shake puts it in contact with fresh ink, and thus solvent, it'll effectively unclog any dried ink in the feed by itself. Despite being polished, the natural rubber surface is very grippy even for sweaty hands like mine. They are indeed fiddly however, with requiring extra care both when extending and retracting the nib, and can require heat-setting the "mouth" end of the section using a rubber tube if you find it isn't sealing tightly enough around the nib unit with it extended.

[@mkompan]

I agree that the safety pen is actually the better solution to using all kinds of inks. However it can be very messy, requiring a eye dropper to fill, and you risk getting ink everywhere every time you open it. This pen operates like a regular fountain pen, and is a better everyday option for most artists.

[@indigraphpen]

@@mkompan I guess this is a rather subjective point of view. At Indigraph we have tested more than 50 different inks, Indian Inks, waterproof, normal inks, colour inks... With very good results. Practically, it works like an ordinary fountain pen, except for the cap that contains the technology to keep the nib wet. The Safety pen method was a reference, and we wanted to improve it, as it is quite likely that with these pens you will end up getting ink stains. You proposed us to make a review of our pen, and we thought it was good to let people know about our pen. And that they could see the difference between waterproof inks such as Carbon (which is not a Indian ink) with other Indian Inks. Noodler's Black (also not a Indian ink) What surprises us is the negative view you give about our pen, when we have found many people who are delighted with the pen, and who have been able to find that point that makes it special. At least we have managed to let people in the USA know that Indian Ink is a correct term. 😂😂😂

[@mkompan]

@@indigraphpen I think my video made it perfectly clear that your pen indeed works very well, and that there is a marked difference between the performance of India ink and the other two popular fountain pen inks. My channel offers unbiased, honest opinions and if something I made just sounded like advertising I would quickly lose the trust of my audience. The safety pen is messy and hard to operate and for most artists your pen is the better option. I’m sorry this review offended you! It was certainly not my intention. My criticism of the pen were very minor (and yes, subjective). It’s a well made product that serves a valuable purpose!

[@mkompan]

@@indigraphpen my review wasn’t at all negative! I say clearly that the pen works perfectly well, is well built and thoughtfully designed. The criticism is very minor and should not put anyone off from buying your product. And I agree that the price of this pen is fair, and most of my audience regularly pays more for fountain pens. For many artists this pen is completely out of reach, and since they’re used to buying cheap, disposable pens, there needs to be a more affordable option. Think of it as a stepping stone to getting your pen. People come here for my honest, unbiased (and yes, of course, subjective) opinion and expect me to give a full reporting of what I like and dislike in a pen. Something that sounds like advertising would make people not trust me. Again, I’m sorry if you found this review unfairly harsh. If I didn’t like your pen, I would not have taken so much time to make this video. Your pen works perfectly and will be useful to many artists!

[@drawingarchitecture]

Marc, I have been using Sailor’s Carbon Kiwaguro ink with my Sailor Fountain pens - I find it more black than the Noodler’s Black. I would wait an hour before I place in watercolor, but i find the newer batch of Kiwaguro has been less water-resistant. This Indigraph pen is interesting. But the $100 tag price won’t be attractive for students. Good job on the tests of the inks as it was informative. I am currently often using fountain pen paper notebook, Tomeo River brand and the 52g/sqm paper can actually take watercolor. The paper is a nice translucent perfect for tracing over schematic designing. Ink just flows smoothly on the surface with no feathering.

[@mkompan]

100 is indeed expensive and not just for students. I’ve been experimenting with cheaper methods of making a pen work with India ink. If they work I’ll make a video on it.

[@indigraphpen]

Honestly, with the manufacturing methods, quantities, materials... 100 is a fair price. It is not a disposable tool. Nor is it a whim. It is a reliable and versatile tool. We understand that for many people it can be an economic effort, but compared to other tools, it has many advantages. The use of India ink as normal, up to 9 interchangeable nibs. This pen should be seen as an investment. Nowadays, we can spend 100 in the blink of an eye, a tank of petrol for 1 month, a dinner with your partner. Everyone has to see what they are passionate about. Before we got to the dampening system we have in our Indigraph pen, we spent more than 2 years developing prototypes. We used gels, sponges to retain humidity, cotton wool...

[@drawingarchitecture]

@@indigraphpen I understand the advantages. I am interested in getting one as I am frustrated with my current "waterproof" fountain pen ink. I mentioned Sailor has somehow changes its formula for their black Kiwaguro ink and does not live up to the old formula I was used to. I have even spent more than $200 to get myself a nice Sailor Pro Gear pen because I like the flow and reliability of the ink always flowing out. But, students will not bother spending even $20 on a Fude nib - I'll probably have a review how it can work for sketching design ideas.

[@indigraphpen]

@@drawingarchitecture For us one of the best Indian inks is Pelikan, it is very black, dries very fast and is very water resistant., although is a bit satin, And the highlighter has a medium resistance. Dr. Martins A is very good with a glossy finish, although it is a little more viscous than Pelikan. viscosity in inks is very important, Higgins Drawing is very low viscosity and flows very well to Speedball Super Black ink which is like peanut butter (I am exaggerating).🤣🤣

[@mkompan]

Actually, I found the Speedball ink works very well! I think it's very hard convincing artists, who are used buying disposable pens for a few dollars, to invest $100 on a pen. I showed the pen to my students and their faces lit up with excitement. Then I told them the price, and I could tell their hearts sank. If we are going to educate young artists, there needs to be an introductory product that they can use before graduating to the superior performance of your pen. BTW, in the U.S. no one pays 100 for petrol (unless you're driving a giant truck.) We may not have universal healthcare, but gas is cheap. :)

[@SiebengescheitundNeunmalklug]

Thanks for the Great Review. Do you think White ink is a possible usage for this pen? Thanks for your opinion. Greatings from Germany

[@mkompan]

My pleasure. The company does not recommend using white drawing ink in this pen. I have tried it with De Atramentis Document white, waterproof ink designed for fountain pen, and while it works and doesn’t clog, the performance isn’t great.

[@SiebengescheitundNeunmalklug]

@@mkompan Thanks for the Advice. I have seen the Video about the White Document Ink. I follow your YT-Channel becaus I am a Fan of Albrecht Dürer and Fountain Pens and I noticed you did a lot of great Fountain Pen Drawings in the Style of Albrecht Dürer. I found out Albrecht Dürer did not use white ink, his Drawings with white were scrapt out. The Paper was white with a Blue or Green grounding and the white parts were scrapt out. But I could not find out how this were made. Whitch tool he use and what grounding color ist easy scrapable, I am in the Reserarch state. They call the Paper Venizianian Paper. Greatings from Germany.

[@mkompan]

@@SiebengescheitundNeunmalklug that’s interesting. My experiments with white ink showed that it doesn’t work well in quill pens, perhaps because the pigment size prevented proper flow. Modern white ink is made with zinc white, however, whereas artists prior to the 1800’s used lead, which may have performed better. Many of Durer’s drawings on toned paper (such as his famous praying hands) were done with a fine brush, which explains the effectiveness of his white lines, which I was unable to reproduce with a pen.

[@SiebengescheitundNeunmalklug]

@@mkompan I think you are correct he did not scrape the white out, he brushes the lines.

[@uiebwuiowebuiopwebfoipbewfoip]

wow those colored drawing are amazing

[@mkompan]

Thank you!

[@aufabwegen.online]

Hi Marc, at 15:04 there is a demonstrator shown. Which model is it?

[@mkompan]

That would be a TWSBI 580

[@aufabwegen.online]

@@mkompan Thank you for the quick reply ; )

[@TheDynamite333]

Thanks for the amazing review, very well explained.

[@mkompan]

You’re welcome!

[@larryglatt2548]

Thank you for this review, because of the price alone I will leave this one alone even though I understand they have a G nib availability.

[@mkompan]

The price does put it out of reach for many people. I didn’t see a G nib option for it on the website, and I have my doubts because the G nib usually is compatible with #6 size feeds, whereas this pen uses a #5 feed and nib.

[@larryglatt2548]

@@mkompan I 'misspoke', I meant they had a very small EF nib that someone touted to me from a competitor who also sells their pens. At 85 I'm spending a lot on some items, because nobody in my family would be able to use it.

[@fabtext]

I realize this is a review of 2 specific inks but had to comment on DeAtramentis Document Black which has great qualities. What is the advantage of India Ink? Dense color? Thank you!

[@mkompan]

From what I could see the main advantage is that India is faster drying and more consistently waterproof that the other two ink, whose performance was heavily dependent on the paper. I have a sample of DeAtramentis Black, but have yet to dry it.

[@fabtext]

@@mkompan Thanks for responding. I've heard horror stories about India ink killing fountain pens! De Atramentis Document ink doesn't clog and is 'permanent' and dries fast. No problem being in pens for months without regular use. Also--Really enjoyed your tutorial on the pencils --and your drawings--superb!

[@mkompan]

@@fabtext thank you! I would never dare put India ink into my other pens, but this pen allows you to to do it, and works very well.

[@henrymach]

Do you know what's excellent for cleaning india ink? Windex

[@mkompan]

Diluted ammonia is a good way to go in general.

[@sjuvanet]

I love your fountain pen videos

[@mkompan]

Thanks!

[@Brosephus]

OMG I WAS JUST LOOKING AT THIS PEN THE OTHER DAY! Wow how weird! Thanks for this video, ima watch it now lol

[@mkompan]

You’re welcome Matthew!

[@ckmoore]

Wait - you put the 5.5 FPR in this and it worked?? Oh man... I have to try this out. I just retired my FPR pen because the ink disappears in the pen (i mean, it evaporates). I'm terrified of messing up my fude nib though. I truly love how well my IG fude nib works. Here's a question... would you rather use an IG fude nib, or a TWSBI fude nib? I'm considering switching to TWSBI for my fude needs due to the more comfortable pen. I find the thin barrel of the IG makes it harder to twist the pen as needed for proper fude usage. I imagine it would be fine for a flex nib though.

[@mkompan]

I've never tried the Indigraph fude so I can't compare it to the ones I have in my TWSBI pens. I agree that the Indigraph is not terribly comfortable,

[@creativecolours2022]

Ok.. Here is some information that you might be interested for while I'm watching this video. Sennelier paper is almost without sizing or it looks like it has a sizing that activates with water. It is a very odd paper. It might be that it has only a surface sizing. In any case it is impossible to use it as it comes out of the paper pad. You have to prepare the surface of the paper before you start drawing or painting with watercolours on it. Wet it and let it dry, or prewet it and start working with watercolors. When you do so it behaves differently. The Magniani paper is a completely different animal. It has medium sizing but great diffusion capabilities. Arches is the most hard sized paper but very overhyped and overpriced IMHO. I 've never liked it and I don't use it. Strathmore has a good range of high quality papers. Their best line is the 500 series. I like the watercolour Imperial one and the series 500 Mixed media one that used to be 100% cotton but I'm afraid that it is now discontinued. The series 400 Mixed Media paper has a plate surface and I wouldn't say that I like it because it is great for inking but very hard to work with watercolour particularly if you work in multiple washes ( as I do because I often make botanical illustrations). Here in Greece it is very easy to find Saunders, Fabriano and Canson papers. Strathmore are a rarity and Sennelier is not particularly well known or popular. India or Indian Ink is actually Chinese Ink. It is the same thing. But it is called India ink in Europe. Ινδική Μελάνη in Greek. Have you ever tried or perhaps reviewed De Atramenting Document Black ink? It is available in international type of cartridges too. It is considered one of the most waterproof and permanent ones. As I've said earlier on the discussion that we had on the other video, Indigraph is extremely overpriced for what it is offering. Their basic model starts from 89 euros and each replacement nib with the holding part from 40. So if you want to buy the basic pen with one extra nib you have to invest more than 150 euros ( or their equivalent in dollars depending the exchange rates or more if you add any import taxes in US) for a pen that is supposed to be a drawing tool. I'm not saying that it is not good to invest in high quality drawing and painting tools but ... ok there should be a limit. If I'm going to pay half of my monthly rent for a pen then I have no problem to go more traditionally and stick with a dip pen! Someone has to make a video and address this issue. The extreme pricing of art materials, that is not justified by the manufacturing costs as the Chinese manufacturers have shown us the recent years! Because all mainstream art material manufacturers made their products in China.

[@mkompan]

@@creativecolours2022 thank you for your detailed advice/recommnedations on papers. Arches can be hard to work on, and isn’t my favorite. Magniani is wonderful however. I agree that the prices of some fountain pens can be outrageous, in part because at some point someone decided they should be sold as a luxury/status objects. But in some cases, it’s difficult to say if the price is justified, since we don’t know all of the costs (design, manufacturing, promotion). With a small company like Indiegraph, the cost might be very high, hence the high cost. Indiegraph can defend itself (and has in the comments section), but keep in mind that this is not a disposable product, and will probably give you decades of use.

[@creativecolours2022]

@@mkompan I don't doubt that these pens are well made and that they will last for decades. The problem is that their price point is over my art materials budget and I wouldn't buy this pen as a status symbol but for professional and constant use. So the pen and the spare parts and the extra nibs have to to have more reasonable price. It makes sense f.e that the cap of these pens that has this patented reservoir costs a lot to be made. But why is justifiable the 40 euros price for the spare nibs along with their feeders? What is so exclusive or so unique in stainless steel nibs with plastic feeders?

[@TheMarioMan247]

i think your audio bugged out at 7:00 unless you edited that out yourself

[@mkompan]

Thanks for catching that. I had a lot technical issues making this video.

[@davidbyers7246]

I have never understood the popularity of hatching and cross hatching. I understand that some people like it, but it so often looks like someone has just put lines on what could have been a good drawing. If using ink, there must be another way of shading. As to the Indigraph, a wonderful pen! I use it in drawings and writing too sometimes.

[@mkompan]

I see nothing wrong with you expressing your preferences, but this way of working has a long history, being used by Michelangelo, DaVinci, and Raphael, and a countless number of other masters, so just recognize that your opinion is an a rather extreme outlier.

[@davidbyers7246]

@@mkompan I do use hatching occasionally, I not strictly against it, however I am surprised by how common it is when there are other ways of shading.

[@LyubomirIko]

Its too pricey for artist, it's a shame simple technology as this continue to cost that much, this is as much as brand new smartphone. Meanwhile a dip nibs cost close to nothing. They could easily become a recognizable worldwide artist brand if they cut the pretentious crap and sell it in plastic for 12$. I just want to draw. Artist's drawing fountain pens cost that much. Artists don't really need aluminum premium quality and stuff like that. I really hope some Chinese copy appear and ship a reasonable priced product.

[@mkompan]

The price will put this pen out of reach for many people, but 12 dollar plastic pens break and need to be replaced, whereas only have to buy this pen once. If you consider this a long term investment then perhaps the price is reasonable. Furthermore, I’m against the theft of intellectual property. I’m sure someone will make a cheaper knockoff at some point, but I will not buy it. There are cheaper (but probably less effective ways) to use India ink in a fountain pen which I will post soon.

[@LyubomirIko]

​@@mkompan PILOT brand have premium product that cost more than 200$ yet a Parallel Calligraphy Pen for art making cost 8$. Its all plastic and it doesn't break at all, can last many years. It is a lot more unique technology than this on top of that. Normal fountain pen from Pilot for calligraphy like Plumix - can be found even cheaper. They know their target groups well and are worldwide recognizable brand. I don't mind pretentious premium pens - but they are whole another obsession that have nothing to do with art supplies and making art. The majority of people interested in india ink and this product will be artist for obvious reasons. Milking artists is nasty. Chinese competition in such cases - for the win. They are saving the whole capitalism thing anyway.

[@portraitofman2063]

@LyubomirIko if you want to support Chinese slave labor in yet another market, while ironically decrying capitalism....go right ahead...