How to Choose the Right Ink Color

One of the greatest pleasures of using fountain pens is the vast world of ink colors available to you. With thousands of inks on the market — from professional blues to vibrant teals, moody purples, and earthy browns — choosing can feel overwhelming. This guide will help you think through your options and find inks that suit both your taste and your needs.

The Role of Color in Writing

Color isn't just decorative — it serves practical purposes in your writing. A well-chosen ink color can help you organize notes (color-coding topics or priorities), set the tone of personal correspondence, or simply make the act of writing more enjoyable.

On the practical side, darker inks with good contrast against white paper are easier to read and scan. On the creative side, unconventional colors can inspire you to write more often and make your pages feel uniquely personal. There's no wrong answer — the best ink color is the one that makes you want to pick up your pen.

Color Theory Basics for Ink Lovers

You don't need to be an artist to benefit from understanding a few color concepts.

The color wheel: warm colors on the right, cool colors on the left

Warm vs. Cool Colors

Warm colors — reds, oranges, yellows, and warm browns — feel energetic, inviting, and personal. They're great for journals, creative writing, and personal letters. Cool colors — blues, greens, purples, and cool grays — feel calm, professional, and collected. They work well for notes, work correspondence, and formal writing.

Complementary Colors

Colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel (like blue and orange, or purple and yellow) create strong visual contrast when used together. This can be useful for color-coding systems — pairing complementary colors makes each one stand out clearly. For example, if your main writing ink is a deep blue, an orange or warm amber makes an excellent accent ink for headings or annotations.

Analogous Colors

Colors that sit next to each other on the color wheel (like blue, teal, and green) create a harmonious, cohesive look. If you prefer a unified aesthetic in your writing, choosing inks from the same color family produces a beautiful, coordinated result.

Popular Ink Color Families

Each color family offers a wide range from light to dark

Blues

Blue is the most popular fountain pen ink color worldwide and for good reason — it's professional, legible, and universally accepted. The range of blues available is staggering: from pale sky blues (Pilot Iroshizuku Ama-iro) to vibrant medium blues (Waterman Serenity Blue) to deep, almost-black navy blues (Sailor Sei-boku). Blue-black inks offer a sophisticated alternative to pure blue, combining professionalism with a touch of character.

Blacks

Black inks are the go-to for formal documents, signatures, and anyone who wants maximum readability. Not all black inks are created equal — some have warm undertones (appearing slightly brown or burgundy in thin strokes), while others are cool and neutral. Pilot Iroshizuku Take-sumi is a beautifully behaved pure black. Aurora Black is renowned for its rich, deep saturation. Platinum Carbon Black is pigmented and fully waterproof.

Reds and Burgundies

Red inks are popular for grading, annotations, and adding emphasis. Bright reds can be hard to read in large amounts, but deeper reds and burgundies make elegant everyday writing colors. Diamine Oxblood is a perennial favorite — a rich, dark red with brown undertones that looks like vintage writing. Pilot Iroshizuku Momiji offers a brighter, more traditional red.

Greens

Green inks range from deep forest tones to bright emeralds to olive and sage. They're less common in everyday use, which makes them distinctive. Sailor Yama-dori is a beloved teal-green with stunning magenta sheen. Rohrer & Klingner Alt-Goldgrün is a warm, slightly golden green that evokes antique manuscripts. Diamine Sherwood Green is a rich, dark green that reads as professional while being clearly not-blue.

Purples and Violets

Purple inks occupy an interesting space — bold enough to be expressive, dark enough to be legible. Diamine Imperial Purple is a true, rich purple. Pilot Iroshizuku Murasaki-shikibu is a softer, more elegant violet. For something darker and more subdued, Robert Oster Midnight Sapphire bridges the gap between blue and purple beautifully.

Browns, Oranges, and Yellows

Earth tones are underrated in the fountain pen world. Brown inks like Diamine Chocolate Brown and Rohrer & Klingner Sepia are warm, readable, and give your writing an old-world character. Orange inks like Pilot Iroshizuku Yu-yake are vibrant and joyful. Yellow inks exist but are generally too light for everyday writing — they're best used for highlighting or accents.

Matching Ink to Purpose

Office and Professional Use

Stick with blue, blue-black, or black. These are universally accepted for business documents and signatures. If you want to add a touch of personality, dark teal or navy inks read as professional while being slightly more interesting than pure blue. Choose well-behaved, fast-drying inks that work on cheap copier paper.

Journaling and Personal Writing

This is where you have total freedom. Use whatever color makes you happy. Many journal writers rotate inks frequently, choosing colors that match their mood, the season, or even the topic. Sheening and shimmer inks can add a special touch to personal writing.

Letter Writing and Correspondence

Sending a handwritten letter already makes a statement — your ink choice is part of the experience. Rich, characterful inks work beautifully here. Deep burgundies, forest greens, and saturated blues all create a memorable impression. If you're addressing envelopes, consider a water-resistant ink in case of rain.

Art and Illustration

Artists often seek inks with interesting properties — high shading (variation between light and dark strokes), sheening, or water-reactivity for wash techniques. Many fountain pen inks work beautifully for sketching and can be diluted or combined with water for watercolor-like effects.

How InkPalette Helps You Choose

InkPalette is designed to bridge the gap between the color you imagine and the real-world inks that match it. Instead of browsing through endless swatches and reviews, you can:

• Pick any color using the color wheel or enter a specific hex code
• Upload an image and sample a color directly from a photo — a sunset, a flower, a piece of fabric
• See a list of real fountain pen inks that closely match your chosen color
• Compare multiple matches side by side to find the best fit

Whether you saw a color in nature and want to find an ink that captures it, or you have a specific shade in mind for a project, InkPalette makes the search fast and visual.

Building an Ink Collection

It's easy to accumulate more ink than you can use in a lifetime — most fountain pen enthusiasts will admit to this. Here are some practical suggestions for building a useful collection without going overboard:

Start with the Essentials

Begin with three to four versatile inks: a reliable blue or blue-black for everyday use, a black for formal needs, and one or two "fun" colors that you genuinely enjoy. This gives you enough variety for most situations without overwhelming you.

Expand Deliberately

Before buying a new ink, ask yourself: do I already have something similar? If you have three dark blues, a fourth probably won't bring you much joy. Instead, explore a color family you haven't tried yet. If all your inks are cool-toned, try a warm brown or a rich burgundy. Variety comes from range, not from having twenty shades of the same color.

Use Samples Generously

Ink samples are your best friend. They let you test an ink's color, behavior, and feel in your pens and on your paper before committing to a 30–80ml bottle. Most fountain pen retailers offer sample programs, and many enthusiasts swap samples with each other through pen communities.