I recently had the opportunity to test some white inks, and wanted to share my findings. Specifically, I wanted to see which white inks were best for calligraphy.
Here are my results! I hope you’ll find this helpful :)
White Calligraphy Inks
- Dr. Ph. Martin’s Pen-White Ink
- Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White Ink
- Speedball Calligraphy Ink
- J. Herbin Dip Pen Calligraphy Ink
- J. Herbin Dip Pen Pigmented Ink
These inks are either marketed as calligraphy inks or are popular within the calligraphy community. (You can click on the image for a larger view)
Dr. Ph. Martin’s Pen-White – ★★★★
- Very thick right out of the bottle
- Requires diluting with distilled water
- It is ~magical~ once dry, crisp and very opaque
- Handy eyedropper for easy diluting in separate container
Verdict: Worth the hassle of finding the perfect ink-to-water ratio because it is fantastic when diluted properly.
Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White Ink – ★★★★
This is hailed among many calligraphers are the holy grail of white ink! My coworker was kind enough to let me take a dip out of her bottle to test it out.
- VERY thick and pasty — even thicker than the Pen-White
- Requires more diluting with distilled water
- Crisp and opaque once dry
- Similar to the Pen-White
Verdict: Best ink for the price. Since you are diluting it so much, the tiny bottle will go a long way.
J. Herbin Dip Pen Calligraphy Ink – ★★★☆
- Lower viscosity and thus writes straight from the bottle.
- Better ink flow, smoother to write with
- Less opaque, fades significantly as it dries.
Verdict: I give this ink points for convenience, despite its low opacity. Plus, it is perfect for the rustic/vintage chalkboard look that is quite popular.
Speedball Calligraphy Ink – ★★★☆
- Only $2! An easy purchase if you are just trying out white calligraphy
- Bottle shape makes dipping easy
- Must be diluted with water
- Quite opaque once dry
- Less smooth and dries with a bumpy finish
Verdict: If you are going through the trouble of patiently diluting your ink, you might as well go for Dr. Ph. Martin’s.
J. Herbin Dip Pen Pigmented Ink – ★★☆☆
- More watery and less opaque than the other J. Herbin white
- If you write too slowly, ink drips off the nib
- If you write quickly, not enough ink is left on the page resulting in faded letters
Verdict: I don’t really like it :(
White Comic Inks
- Copic Opaque White
- Deleter White #1 and Deleter White #2 (Waterproof)
- IC Comic Art White and IC Comic Super White
- Kaimei Manga Pen Ink
- Kuretake Comic White Ink
Comic artists use white in many ways — adding highlights to eyes and hair, or covering up small mistakes. Many manga artists use the same G nib that is popular among calligraphers, so I figured it was worth a try.
These inks are VERY thick — almost all of them need to be diluted with water to be usable, and it took a lot of trial and error to get the right ink-to-water ratio for all of them. Once diluted, I was pleasantly surprised by how well some of them worked as calligraphy inks!
Copic Opaque White – ★★★★
- Very thick out of the bottle, requires diluting
- Smooth once diluted
- Very opaque and crisp when dry
- Annoyingly tiny bottle
- Kind of expensive for the size
Verdict: The most opaque of the comic inks, if you can get past the price and the frustration of scooping the ink out of the tiny bottleneck.
Deleter White #1 and White #2 – ★★★★
- Very thick out of the bottle, requires diluting
- Smooth once diluted
- Opaque when dry
- #2 is waterproof!
Verdict: There isn’t much difference between the two, but I found #1 to be slightly smoother.
IC Comic Art White and Super White -★★★☆
- Very thick out of the bottle, requires diluting
- Not as smooth as Deleter inks
- Super White is very opaque when dry
Verdict: The regular Art White is mediocre, the Super White is much better.
Kaimei Manga Ink – ★★☆☆
- Thinnest manga ink – thus, surprisingly smooth out of the bottle
- Decently opaque when dry
- Annoying caveat: chalky bubble effect
Verdict: Pretty decent, but with one MAJOR caveat. The pigment settles to the bottom, so when you shake the bottle to mix up the ink, a mass of bubbles forms. As you write, your pen leaves a trail of tiny bubbles that dry inside your calligraphy, making it look rough and messy :/
Kuretake Comic White – ★★☆☆
- Very thick out of the bottle, requires diluting
- Not cooperative with the paper I used
- Difficult to write with
- Not very opaque once diluted
Verdict: This is one comic ink that cannot really be used as a calligraphy ink. It works on some papers, but not on others — not worth the gamble
Some examples of my favorite inks in action…
Dr. Ph. Martin’s Pen-White
Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White
Speedball Calligraphy White
Dr. Ph. Martin’s Pen-White on a light gray envelope
There are some other white inks that I’ve heard about, but not yet tried. Eventually, I hope to try all of them…
- Winsor & Newton White Calligraphy Ink
- McCaffrey’s Bright White Ink
- Daler Rowney Pro White
- Ziller North Wind White
- & white gouache, white acrylic, etc…
Note: All product photos from JetPens.com and DickBlick.com. Review photos by me.
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