Best Fountain Pen Inks for Journalling

The best journalling inks are smooth, reliable, and easy to live with every day. Here are our top picks for fountain pen inks that are perfect for journalling.

What Makes a Good Journalling Ink?

Journalling puts ink through its paces. You're writing at length, often on a variety of papers, and you want an ink that behaves consistently without demanding too much attention. The best journalling inks share a few key qualities:

Good flow, smooth and consistent without skipping or hard starts
Reasonable dry time, fast enough not to smear as your hand moves across the page
Well-behaved on paper, minimal feathering and bleed-through, even on thinner journal paper
Readable, good contrast and legibility, especially for longer entries
Easy to clean, dye-based inks that flush out without fuss

Shimmer inks, heavily saturated inks, and iron gall inks can all be wonderful, but they come with trade-offs that make them less ideal for daily journalling. We'll note where exceptions apply.

Our Top Picks

1. Diamine Indigo

A classic for good reason. Diamine Indigo is a rich blue-black with excellent flow, fast-ish dry time, and well-behaved behaviour on most journal papers. It's distinctive enough to feel special but readable enough for long entries. A go-to for everyday journalling.

2. Diamine Warm Brown

Warm, earthy, and easy on the eye for extended writing sessions. Diamine Warm Brown has a relaxed, vintage quality that suits reflective journalling particularly well. Flows smoothly, dries reliably, and looks beautiful on cream or ivory paper.

3. Sailor Shikiori Souten

A calm, medium blue with a subtle grey undertone. Souten (meaning "blue sky") is one of the most pleasant everyday writers in the Sailor Shikiori range, smooth, consistent, and easy to read back. The 20ml bottle is compact enough to keep on a desk without taking up space.

4. Diamine Denim

A relaxed, slightly muted blue that's easy to write with for long periods. Denim has a slightly lower saturation than Indigo, which makes it feel lighter and less formal, ideal if you prefer a more casual journalling aesthetic.

5. Diamine Twilight

A deep blue-purple with a moody, atmospheric quality. Twilight is well-behaved on paper and has enough character to make journalling feel like an event. Slightly slower to dry than Indigo, so give it a moment on absorbent papers.

Tips for Journalling with Fountain Pen Ink

Match your ink to your paper. Thinner journal papers (Leuchtturm1917, Moleskine) benefit from drier, faster-drying inks. Fountain pen-friendly papers (Rhodia, Clairefontaine, Tomoe River) can handle wetter, more saturated inks without feathering. See our Fountain Pen Paper Guide for more detail.
Stick to dye-based inks for daily use. They're easier to clean and less likely to clog a pen you're using every day.
Avoid shimmer inks in fine nibs. Shimmer particles can settle in the feed and cause flow issues. If you love shimmer, use it in a broader nib and shake the bottle before filling.
Consider ink volume. If you journal daily, a 50ml or 80ml bottle will last much longer than a 30ml, Diamine's 80ml bottles are excellent value for heavy users.

Also Worth Considering

Diamine Graphite, a cool grey that's understated and easy to read; great for those who find blue or black too stark
KWZ Grey Lux, a sophisticated warm grey with subtle shading; beautiful on quality paper
Sailor Shikiori RikyuCha, a warm, earthy brown-green that's unusual and characterful without being hard to read