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What FP ink is similar to Pigma Microns? (For Bullet Journal)

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
I use the Pigma Microns in the bullet journal. Looking to get a fountain pen but I know there are many different type of ink.
Anyone know what would be similar to the Pigma Microns?

I found this “Pigma ink is archival quality on paper: waterproof, chemical resistant, fade resistant, bleed free, quick drying and pH neutral.”

So is “Pigma” they type of ink I need to look for?
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
I found this “Pigma ink is archival quality on paper: waterproof, chemical resistant, fade resistant, bleed free, quick drying and pH neutral.”

So is “Pigma” they type of ink I need to look for?
I think "pigma" is a brand name of the Sakura company. Anyhow, I've never seen it used in FP inks.

If you are looking for something similar, let us know which of those qualities are most important to you ... and other qualities ... and we can make suggestions. Is "waterproof" the most important, or fade resistant? Or bleed-free and quick-drying? And are you looking for black, a specific colour, or a whole rainbow?

For starters, check out the recent Iron Gall ink thread ...
... for good suggestions on inks that will probably tick most of your boxes.
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
Fade resistant and bleed free is the top 2 important factors. Mostly black ink will be fine. I’ll take a look at that thread thanks!
 

Alacrity59

Wanting for wisdom
About the pen. For the purpose I personally love the Pilot VP in fine. Fine is very fine in this case and the VP is as handy as a ball point and dries out more slowly than other pens. It's downfall is ink capacity but with how fine the thing writes you don't go through ink all that fast.
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
About the pen. For the purpose I personally love the Pilot VP in fine. Fine is very fine in this case and the VP is as handy as a ball point and dries out more slowly than other pens. It's downfall is ink capacity but with how fine the thing writes you don't go through ink all that fast.

I really want this pen. I use a pen constantly at work. Every 2 hours we have to record data on a spreadsheet, yeah....hand written spreadsheet! The boxes are small and a fine point pen is what I’m in the market for. A clicker style would be ideal. But...I just don’t know if the VP is worth the price. It’s like $140.

I’m on the fence because I haven‘t heard much about it. Plus I‘m worried that carrying it in my shirt pocket the ink will come out.

Also, how durable is it? Built to last?

It would be nice to have just 1 pen. To use at work and with the Bullet Journal.

As a cheap alternative I ordered the Pilot Metro. No idea if the ink is what I’m looking for or comparable to the Micron ink. But I just liked the color.

F6B62494-6ED2-4D88-B696-1DA84FA00F71.jpeg
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
Well that was a short thought process. I just ordered the Pilot VP in Extra Fine with some ink.
Now I can at least use any ink I find that suits my needs.


C51BC4FD-2558-4350-9057-341F5D9E515C.jpeg
 
Well that was a short thought process. I just ordered the Pilot VP in Extra Fine with some ink.
Now I can at least use any ink I find that suits my needs.


View attachment 1156039
I have a pilot metro and they are good little pens and the nibs write great. I have never tried a Vanishing point but it is on my list of pens to buy. I will probably wait until after Christmas to pick one up. Let us know what you think of it once you get it
 
Noodler's has a lot of permanent ink options. X feather or the bernake series are very fast drying without the potential issues of iron gals.

I noticed you purchased the Vp. Good choice, hope you enjoy
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
A clicker style would be ideal. But...I just don’t know if the VP is worth the price. It’s like $140.

I’m on the fence ... I‘m worried that carrying it in my shirt pocket the ink will come out.

Also, how durable is it? Built to last?

The Vanishing Point is made with the clip at the nib end, so the pen is carried "nib up" when in pocket. So no worry about ink leakage that way.

I have two of them. They strike me as well-made pens so durability should not be an issue (provided you don't beat the he!! out of it or loan it to your family members.)

The Metropolitan should also be an enjoyable pen.

You got cartridges for each pen ... nothing wrong there, although a lot of experienced pen users end up preferring converters and filling from bottled ink. But you can refill cartridges by using a syringe; it works getting ink from bottle or from ink sample vial.


Eventually the cartridges will wear out at the junction point, but should be good for many repeat fillings before that happens. (So maybe don't throw our any used cartridges.) So you can keep getting samples from Goulet until you find "the one ink" you love, and then buy a bottle.
 

Alacrity59

Wanting for wisdom
I'll add that you can buy the nib/converter for the VP separately in case you want to change size later.
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
Makes me feel a bit better getting some reassurance about the Pilot VP. I’ll be using it exclusively, both at work and home. Might load up the Metro with a different color ink and find a use for that. But the VP will be in my pocket, on the desk, in my bag. Nothing crazy. I did see that the nib can be swapped out. If I don’t like the Extra Fine nib I’ll get the fine. But Im’ thinking the Extra Fine will work better for work since hand writing numbers on a spreadsheet with tiny boxes requires a precise point.

I’ve been using the Pilot G2 in a .7 and it’s barely passable. I’ve tried the G2 in the .5 and I think it was a Micro .3. I found those to be to scratchy on the paper. Felt like I was tearing the paper or cutting in to it.
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
Just touching base to say I really like the Pilot Namiki Speia so far. Dries fast in the Bullet journal. No idea how it lasts in the long run. But I’m happy with it’s performance so far.
 
I really want this pen. I use a pen constantly at work. Every 2 hours we have to record data on a spreadsheet, yeah....hand written spreadsheet! The boxes are small and a fine point pen is what I’m in the market for. A clicker style would be ideal. But...I just don’t know if the VP is worth the price. It’s like $140.

I’m on the fence because I haven‘t heard much about it. Plus I‘m worried that carrying it in my shirt pocket the ink will come out.

Also, how durable is it? Built to last?

It would be nice to have just 1 pen. To use at work and with the Bullet Journal.

As a cheap alternative I ordered the Pilot Metro. No idea if the ink is what I’m looking for or comparable to the Micron ink. But I just liked the color.

View attachment 1156036

In regards to durabilty, I've had a VP in the sleeve pocket in my chef coat for six years. It is fine. Just a few scratchs and one spot where the laquer finish chipped off when I bumped it on something. No clue what. No clue when.

The matte black will "patina." Some like it. I didn't. Anyways. Great pen! 10/10. Will order more. Like seriously. It lives up to the hype. I have a lot of nice pens. I carry the VP and a LAMY 2k daily. Even on my days off. You just never know when you need a pen. Or a Sharpie but I think the Sharpie is more brainwashed into me than anything else.

No problems with the mechanism. Writes the same after many years. It has killed two bottles of Pelikan 4001 Turquoise and a bottle of Diamine Registrar's Ink. That is a lot of line check sheets, menus, prep lists, etc.

The only problem I have had with it, is the nib tends to bend when it lands point down on hard tile floors. I've been able to fix it both times. (Lucky, I know!)
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
In regards to durabilty, I've had a VP in the sleeve pocket in my chef coat for six years. It is fine. Just a few scratchs and one spot where the laquer finish chipped off when I bumped it on something. No clue what. No clue when.

The matte black will "patina." Some like it. I didn't. Anyways. Great pen! 10/10. Will order more. Like seriously. It lives up to the hype. I have a lot of nice pens. I carry the VP and a LAMY 2k daily. Even on my days off. You just never know when you need a pen. Or a Sharpie but I think the Sharpie is more brainwashed into me than anything else.

No problems with the mechanism. Writes the same after many years. It has killed two bottles of Pelikan 4001 Turquoise and a bottle of Diamine Registrar's Ink. That is a lot of line check sheets, menus, prep lists, etc.

The only problem I have had with it, is the nib tends to bend when it lands point down on hard tile floors. I've been able to fix it both times. (Lucky, I know!)
Thanks for the info! I’m looking forward to it’s arrival.
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
Got the VP today and loaded it up. Feels nice in the hand, some weight to is. Clicker is smooth and audible, feels solid. The nib is scratchy on the paper though. I thought it would be smoother. Maybe it’s the cheap paper I have, or maybe it‘s the Extra Fine nib. Hopefully it smooths itself out. I do like the size of the Extra Fine writing so I don’t want to move up to a Fine point. But if it continues to be scratchy I might have to try a new nib.
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
I thought it would be smoother. Maybe it’s the cheap paper I have, or maybe it‘s the Extra Fine nib.

If you are new to fountain pens, you are probably using too much pressure to write. Kind of like switching to wetshaving ... "no pressure" is the key.

It may take some time to figure out the proper pressure (or lack thereof) to use and maintain contact and ink flow to the paper but not dig the nib into the paper. Keep at it and aim for a "light hand" ... you will slowly improve and improve!
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
Oh brother! I suppose that’s it because I know I have heavy writing hand.
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
So I left it open and the tip dried out. How do I get it flowing again? squeeze the ink insert a little bit?
 
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