Wet vs Dry Inks

One of the questions I get the most is what’s the difference between wet and dry inks so it’s finally time to tackle the issue.

Wet Inks:

Wet inks put down more ink on the page than average or dry inks. They often have lubricants added like Sailor or Monteverde’s ITF technology. So many people tout wet inks as having the most shading, but often wet inks put down too much ink on the page to show the difference between the light and dark part of the ink. Monteverde, Pilot, De Atramentis, and KWZ are wet brands overall in my experience.

If you have a dry nib and want it to feel more of an average flow you can use a wet ink to tame the dry nib a bit. Some wet inks will spread out on the page as you write and they are more likely to bleed through the page. If your ink is too wet, you can add some distilled water to dry it up a bit.

Let’s look at some wet examples:

monteverde documental blue

pilot iroshizuku ajisai

de atramentis emerald green

kwz discovery green

Dry Inks:

Dry inks put down less ink on the page than average or wet inks. They have more water content than other inks, which makes the ink sink down into the page faster and therefore seem dryer as you write. In my experience there are a lot of brands that are dry overall: Callifolio, Ferris Wheel Press, Kyoto TAG, L’Artisan Pastillier, Papier Plume, Pelikan, Platinum Classic inks and Troublemaker.

Dry inks often have the most shading, especially chromoshaders/duo shaders. They don’t spread out on the page like some wet inks do. In general dry inks are better for left handers since they usually dry faster than wet inks. I have found that when I write a whole page with a dry ink that the further down the page I get the drier the ink gets. Occasionally a dry ink will become so dry by the middle of the page that I have to prime the feed a bit to keep it writing.

If I put a dry ink in a wet pen it can feel average (like Pelikan 4001 in a Pelikan nib), but then if I use a paper that sucks up ink more than average than the ink can feel extra dry. Here’s an example: a Pelikan M600 medium nib full of Kyo-no-oto Hisoku on Midori MD can feel awfully dry to me even though I’m using a wet pen. If your ink is too dry and you want it wetter, you can add a drop of an ink additive like White Lighting, which will lubricate it and make it flow better.

Let’s look at some dry examples:

callifolio bleu pacifique

ferris wheel press blue cotton candy

kyo-no-oto ochiguri-iro

papier plume bloody pumpkin

pelikan 4001 violet

platinum classic lavender black

troublemaker foxglove

Wet and dry inks can be such a subjective thing because they can feel different based on paper, pen and nib. My personal preference is to use wet or slightly wet inks because I prefer a smooth flow.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and is not sponsored.