Colour chart

The creation of an ink colour chart for fountain pens

At first, the idea was to compare the few inks I owned, then I used it to choose new inks and finally, to share it with fountain pen enthusiasts who were looking for new inks to discover.

It all started in December 2014. I own only a very small proportion of all the inks displayed on this site. The overwhelming majority was sent to me by the members of the French language forum www.stylo-plume.org I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to them for donating so many samples. Without them, this colour chart would never have been so substantial.

Many thanks to Jérôme, Laurent, Alain, Serge, Didier, Guillaume, Coxynell, Christophe, Maggy, Pascal, Marc, Jean-Michel, Claudio, Rodolphe, Jean, Luce, Blandine, Maria, Stephane, Marie-Noëlle, Marc, Julien, Thierry, Laurent, Marie-Noëlle, Marc de Moselle, Julien, Thierry, Laurent, Jérôme, Anne, Hélène, Guillaume, Sylvie, Nicolas, Marie-Christine, Allen, Piautre, Bernard, Jérôme, Aloa and Nicolas, Francis, Marc, Sabrina, Ludovic, Arnaud M, Christophe well as to all future donors.

How are the tests carried out?
Ink sampling is almost a ritual, and the process never changes.
As soon as I get some new ink, I choose a fountain pen to fill it with, then I use a syringe to fill it and finally the test may start. I always use an A5 (148x210mm) Bristol board (or Super White paper – Clairefontaine 205g). I always write and draw the same elements so the comparison is easier.
Each ink sample is tested in such a way. Then, the A5 card is scanned and uploaded to this site as well as on the forum mentioned above.
I also perform the same test on a blank Rhodia notebook (90g/m2 vellum paper).

All the cards are strictly identical and include —as mentioned above— a writing sample, the same village and mountain drawing (representing a typical Savoie landscape, Savoie being the place where I live) as well as flat tints.

I will keep this colour chart updated as long as I receive new ink samples.
Don’t forget you can also see it on www.stylo-plume.org.