My search for a perfect fountain pen ink galloped out of control — fountain pen ink research is a fantastic rabbit hole to go down — and suddenly I found myself confused about what inks I have in my ink collection and what they look like. So in an effort to systematize I made ink sample cards, copying the look of the ink sample cards that Jane Blundell shows on her website.
The cards I made show how each ink write (with a dip pen) on one particular paper (I used Strathmore mixed media). They also show how the ink look when applied with a brush to a larger area, and they show how the ink react if I brush on water after the ink has dried. This last part adds valuable data, but is a design challenge with ink sample cards because it can all easily look like a messy smudge. I think Jane Blundell solved it beautifully, and the ink cards with inks that do not resist water actually look great, too.
