Red ink: When do you use it?

[dontwo]

I'm an editor, so I use a red ballpoint more than anything else at work. My favorite is the Bic Cristal Exact.

 

[Mitzie]

Does red ink or any distinctive colour command peoples' attention. I had a boss once who sent notes to me and he always used a deep turquoise colour pen...I knew at once by that colour I needed to immediately attend to his requests. His notes just stood out. I suppose that's why teachers in their marking used red.

 

[Nobeard]

I really like the Chinatown red by P.W. Akkerman

 

[aldomarino]

Red ink is something I have always felt... unsettled with in my fountain pens.

I don't do marking/grading/editing, but sometimes it's still nice to have a good contrast ink. I tend to have three pens loaded at a time, with one of those three being specifically for that role. However, I still don't need that third colour very often, so will occasionally use it as a general pen just to keep the ink flowing through it, and stop the feed drying or clogging.

Here's where I am torn:

A dark red (Diamine Oxblood or Crimson) is fine for general use, but not great as contrast inks. Matador and Red Dragon are much better as contrast inks, but a page, or even a paragraph, written in that ink, can get a bit garish. Majestic Purple, Burnt Sienna, or Ochre, all seem to do both. They stand out well, but don't strain the eyes if used as a regular pen. So logic says use those, and ditch the reds... but I still kind of feel (irrationally perhaps) that I still ought to have a red or two in the line up. Even though I can't quote put my finger on why (and therefore choose which would serve me best).

Do you guys use your red inks often, and what for? Or do they sit unused, while you constantly reach for other colours instead?

I teach Kindergarten through Grade 14 at the local Junior College. I use LOTS AND LOTS of red ink, usually Pelican.

 

[tm3]

Red is my favorite and main go to ink…I wrote this earlier today!
View attachment 1711788

Nice color -- what ink is that?

 

[Matt O]

Nice color -- what ink is that?

Thanks! It is a blend that I did years ago.

Vr

Matt

 

[tm3]

Thanks! It is a blend that I did years ago.

Vr

Matt

Too bad that I can't buy it. It looks like what I think Black Swan in English Roses should look like, but doesn't.

 

[blethenstrom]

Too bad that I can't buy it. It looks like what I think Black Swan in English Roses should look like, but doesn't.

Diamine Oxblood looks fairly similar.

 

[Nobeard]

I wanted to use red ink, or any ink, in my Christmas cards, but the cards are always too slick for fountain pens or the paper is too absorbent and the lines just fuzz-out. So I always have to use a roller ball pen for my Christmas cards.

 

[Nobeard]

I also like just plain Waterman red ink

 

[pdk9]

Waterman Audacious Red is great for simple grading. All of the other “close to reds”, are not true reds good for correcting or editing in my opinion.

 

[blethenstrom]

Waterman Audacious Red is great for simple grading. All of the other “close to reds”, are not true reds good for correcting or editing in my opinion.

Waterman Red is a great red and I think also Sheaffer Skrip Red in the same ballpark of red.

 

[Tirvine]

I rather like using it on Christmas cards.