The standard colors available since the 1920’s (that I know of, probably much longer) are black, blue, blue-black, red, and brown (sepia). Those were (and still are) the “standard colors” that were used for inkwells and fountain pens - other colors were less available, labeled for artists, came in smaller bottles, and cost more.
But try to find blue-black or brown ink in ball point or or even standard felt tip pens. Can’t. They only appear in those artist Pantone-type arrays in artist supply stores. (Brown will appear in children’s art pen sets only in larger sets, over a dozen colors)
Blue-black and brown are still very popular for quill work like caligraphy, so what’s going on?
Hmmm. What I always see in fountain pen cartridges is black, blue, and peacock blue. My understanding is that black’s standard because it has the highest contrast on white paper and is therefore easiest to read, and the blues are used for signatures–so they stand out.
This didn’t really answer your question, just a piece of trivia.
I use Sheaffer Skrip cartridges and blue-black ink seems to have the smoothest flow, though I enjoy being able to use other colors as well. I imagine that red is a classic color because it stands out, and is (or at least was) used in bookkeepping. When I took bookkeepping in high school, we did it by HAND, and had to use red ink to show a loss. Black ink is, well, black. When I had a new will drawn up, the lawyer was quite particular about having the signatures written in blue ink.
I usually use the pen with the blue-black ink for most everyday writing, though, because as I said, that has the smoothest flow. Also, my husband objects to reading lists written in lavender, so that’s another consideration.
I use both disposable fountain pens and a Parker Vector because I get writer’s cramp if I use any other kind of pen. Since I write with fountain pens exclusively, I’ve got one or two tucked into my purse. I don’t want a vial of ink exploding in there!
