Pilot Document Ink - 30 ml Bottle - Black

Pilot Document Ink, according to a poll in How to Pen and Ink, this is the third most popular ink used in Japan behind Pilot Drafting Ink(1st) and Kaimei China/Sumi Ink(2nd). So is this ink as good as the polls say?

Pilot Document Ink can be marketed by most retailers as the water resistant brother to Pilot Drafting Ink. Water resistant? Well if you know how to read Japanese, it is stated on the package that it is water pigment based. However when this ink dries, it actually becomes water resistant! Water resistant? What about waterproof? Apparently this ink can only stand up to about 2-3 brush strokes and after that it partially runs with the water. It's outlines remain intact(that is where the resistance part comes in) however, if you're using colored inks with this, it will make the pigment darker and more muddy. Therefore even though its outlines remain on the paper, part of the pigment will run, therefore making it only water resistant and not waterproof. Also it cannot stand up to erasers well. After about 3 eraser rubs, the lines start to significantly fade, even more so than its Water soluble Drafting Ink counterpart. However, what this ink has as an advantage over other waterproof inks that I've tried is that it's actually suitable to use and cooperates well with Copic Sketch! So even though it tends to make watercolor ink muddier, it seems to cooperate well with Copic Sketch's Super brush after it completely dries! Also this ink has a similar flow duration as Kaimei Lettering Sol, so thats another strong point about this ink. Would I recommend this ink? It depends on what you're looking for, if you color a lot with Copic Sketch, then yes, it's so-so with watercolors, but for heavy pressure eraser users, NO! But overall this is a good ink to use for manga!

Trivia: This is apparently Eiichiro Oda's Ink of choice!

I ordered this ink, one of several brands I have tried, and have to say it is both good and bad. Like the other reviews on this document ink and the drafting ink say, it does come off the pen nib easily, and cleans well out of brushes as well, but the major disadvantage for me at least is the issue with erasing. It is very very bad in this, and goes from a decent black to a very dull grayish black when erased over, and this is with a soft putty eraser which is very gentle on papers. Also, when painting in large areas of dark, such as for beta in manga, it provides a poor ink for covering large areas. It's probably ok for quick sketching and such, but I would nor recommend this for doing any serious work that you want to be archival.