Whether you own a cartridge-converter or piston-filler pen, you have many options for fountain pen ink. In general, any conventionally formulated fountain pen ink, which includes all those that we offer on our own Inks page, should be safe with your pen. We do recommend regular cleaning of your pen, especially if you use pigmented or carbon inks, which do have more potential for causing clogged feeds if the pen is neglected.

There are two current fountain pen ink brands, neither of which we choose to sell, which are currently the subject of much debate in the fountain pen world. These are non-traditionally formulated inks, and while many users are very devoted to them and report no difficulties, many other users report problems with leaking, clogging, and poor ink flow after using these non-traditional inks.

Particularly if you are new to fountain pens, our suggestion is to stick with reliable, traditionally-formulated inks. And with the numerous new exotic and unusual ink hues available from companies such as Pilot, Sailor, and Pelikan, there is certainly no need to sacrifice color and variety while sticking with an ink that won't harm your pen.