During a recent trip to the local art store here, I found out that Pelikan has a new bottle design for their Fount India black ink.

In the picture above, the new design is on the left with a white cap that tapers to the top. On the right is the earlier design which has the cap doubling up as a dropper. There's nothing wrong with redesigns but I kinda prefer the dropper because it's useful.

The new design has a tapered end that's small enough to go inside pen converters. But the Fount India is a pigmented ink so I will not recommend its use in fountain pens. The label claims that it's "drawing ink for fountain pens" but I will not be putting pigment ink into any fountain pens regardless of what the label says.

One downside to the new design is that you can no longer easily open up the bottle to use for dip pens, and even if you open it up, the opening will be too small.

So basically now if you want to use Pelikan ink, you have to get the new bottle and use it to refill another bottle. An extra unnecessary step.

Some may not like the plastic bottle but I like it. You can bring it onto planes and the air pressure would not affect it because the plastic is capable of stretching.

Here's the ink test I did, and below are the close ups.

Note that I've edited only the exposure of the scan slightly and left the paper texture visible.

The Fount India produces black that's less dark than other inks I've used. You need to layer it to get dark blacks. The black has close to a neutral tone not leaning to warm or cool. When used it in saturation, it dries with a slight sheen.

The picture above compares various brands of black ink. Top half of the square's a single layer wash and the bottom has a double layer wash.

The ink and brush can produce strokes with sharp and clearly defined edges. Performance is similar on smooth and cartridge paper.

Drying time is quick. It dries within seconds after lifting the brush. After it dries, it holds up well to erasing, and even rubbing your finger over it will not smudge.

Unfortunately, the Fount India is not waterproof as this test has shown.

Conclusion

It's not dark black so it might be an issue for those who require a darker level of black.

I'm not so keen about the new bottle design as I prefer the old bottle with the dropper. I'm glad I have some of the older bottles that I can reuse. You need an extra bottle to use with the new bottle design.

Availability

Find more reviews at Dick Blick Art Materials | Jackson's Art (UK)