What’s the difference between calligraphy and fountain pen ink? Is a Calligraphy pen a Fountain pen? Can you write calligraphy with a fountain pen? Are calligraphy pens the same as fountain pens? is calligraphy fountain pens? Is calligraphy and fountain pen ink the same? And are you confused about that? Let’s find out the answer from this article 

What’s the difference between calligraphy and fountain pen ink? The Main difference between calligraphy ink and fountain pen ink is their consistency. The calligraphy ink is thicker compared to fountain pen ink. Also the Chemical Composition is different in both. Calligraphy ink is pigment base and fountain pen inks are dye based and water base.

What’s the Difference Between Calligraphy and Fountain Pen Ink? 

Calligraphy ink pen is made of pigment and a binder. It has different composition in calligraphy ink, calligraphy pigmented ink color is derived and not dissolves dyes but from finely ground up solid matter and similar to paint and fountain pen is almost entirely dye based and contains solid pigment in a liquid suspension. 

Calligraphy ink and fountain ink are made up of different chemicals and have different compositions based on fountain pen and calligraphy pen.

Fountain pen ink is water based but calligraphy ink contains shellac and are typically only used with dip nib pens because shellac  will clog and destroy the closed ink delivery mechanisms in a fountain pen. Sometimes it  depends on ink. 

Some ink will be useful to use in calligraphy pen as well it can be useful in fountain pen. You should check the bottle for that information.

Calligraphy inks are pigmented, which means their color is derived from not dissolves dyes but from finely ground up solid matter, similar to paint. These particles will clog up your fountain pen. Certain ink like india ink contain gum arabic which is a thickening agent that will further clog up a fountain pen. 

The ideal fountain pen ink is free flowing or we can say free of sediment and non-corrosive. These benefits may be compromised in the interest of permanence or manufacturability and in order to use some widely available dyes.

Are Calligraphy Pens the Same as Fountain Pens?

Calligraphy pens are not the same as fountain pens. They both are made differently and have different purposes of use. A calligraphy pen is designed to produce a special style of writing. They had a different type of inks and fountain pens are also made for a special type of writing. They also have their special type of ink and nib.

Calligraphy pens are made to work with thick ink, because the ink also has to work with dip pens. Therefore calligraphy pens are made to not get clogged up with thick ink. 

On the other side fountain pens are made to work with normal ink. Therefore if you try to use it with calligraphy ink. It will get clogged up easily.

So both pens are made for their own purpose and should be used for only that. So that’s a basic point there. Now let’s see the fountain pens and calligraphy pens in detail.- 

A fountain pen is a pen which uses a tined, metal nib and feed system with an ink reservoir. Like in the image below.

On other hand calligraphy pens are designed to produce a special style of writing. Their nibs are different from fountain pens.

Calligraphy pens have 4 categories. such as Glass pens, brush pens, dips pens, and most common types which are nib pens. Following is the examples with images of calligraphy pens and fountain pens. so it will helps you understand better.

1. Dip pens:- 

2. Glass pens:- 

3. Calligraphy Brush Pens:-

4. Nib Pens:-

And the tricky part here is some fountain pens are consider as calligraphy pens. But not all fountain pens are calligraphy pens, and not all calligraphy pens are fountain pens.

For Example Here: A fountain pen that is not a calligraphy pen:-

Here is a calligraphy pen which is not a fountain pen:-

And here is a example of fountain pens that we can consider as a calligraphy pen.

So from above you can easily see that there are few types of calligraphy pens. Such as dips pens, brush pens, glass pens, etc. And fountain pens are different from calligraphy pens. It also requires different type (thin) of ink, as well as nib. 

Calligraphy nibs produce fancy and it’s own style of special writing.

Calligraphy nibs shaped to produce the letterforms correctly for particular writing styles. Usually it’s italic nibs that get referred to as calligraphy pens. Italic nibs are broad and square ended, making a thick stroke in one direction and a thinner stroke in the other.

But on the other hand fountain pens don’t need to produce calligraphy style of writing. Most professional calligraphy is done with dip nibs because they produce crisper letters and can be used with thicker, more light-fast inks.

Some calligraphy styles need a thin nib that produces thicker lines when more pressure is applied (copperplate, roundhand, spencerian etc.)

Ultimately, however, calligraphy just means “beautiful writing” – Kallos = beauty, Graphos = writing. It’s more how you use the pen than the type of pen you use, and beautiful lettering can be made with a pencil, or even a broom!

So in simple language calligraphy pens and fountain pens are different. Some fountain pens can be considered calligraphy pens. But not all fountain pens can be considered calligraphy.

Also calligraphy pens have different and unique nibs compared to fountain pens. Therefore it produces a unique style of writing. We also saw examples of them.

Difference Between Calligraphy Ink and Fountain Pen Ink

There are many differences in calligraphy ink and fountain pen ink. Every product has different chemical composition, solid thickness or thinness etc.

These all little things make the difference between calligraphy ink and fountain pen ink. 

Fountain pen ink is a solution, it has fluid that is made up of solvent and a solute. Solvent is a liquid form that the solute has been dissolved in, this is the consistent solution and, 

calligraphy ink is pigmented, their color is derived from not dissolved dyes. In fountain pen ink the solutes are reduced to the molecular level therefore no solid matter to clog up a fountain pen, but in calligraphy ink not dissolves dyes but finely ground up solid matter, and equal to paint. These particles will clog up a fountain pen. 

Fountain pen ink is used to work in complex conditions, fountain pen ink uses more water and that is why the ink is thinner to pass but on other hand.

calligraphy ink is designed for dip nip, ink is thicker. But some of the people use calligraphy ink in fountain pen ink, calligraphy ink will pass in fountain pen ink but it will be clogged to transport the ink. Never use calligraphy ink in fountain pen ink.

Also the main difference between calligraphy ink and fountain pen ink, in calligraphy ink pen is tend to dip-pens or dip-wet if someone uses calligraphy ink into fountain pen ink it doesn’t flow through tiny blocks of fountain pen ink because fountain pen ink is thinner and more fluid. 

As we can see in the below chart there are some similar things in calligraphy ink and fountain pen ink, also there are some things that make the difference between calligraphy ink and fountain pen ink.

Calligraphy ink is made up of pigment based and due to the pigment base the ink is waterproof but on other hand fountain pen ink is made of dye based which means there is more use of water therefore fountain pen ink is not waterproof. 

In calligraphy ink some of the ink is oil based and in fountain pen ink uses a lot of water therefore it is water based. 

Sumi calligraphy ink is made up of burnt lamp oil and Bril dye ink is used in fountain pens.

Factors	Calligraphy ink	Fountain pen ink
Chemical	Graphene, charcoal and lampack	Solvents, resins and alcohol
ink	Pigment based	Dye based
Waterproof	Waterproof	Most are Not waterproof
Consistency	Thick than usual	Thin and liquidy
Best ink to use	Sumi ink	Colorverse multiverse
Oil based ink	Some of ink is oil based	No, it water based
Eco-friendly	Eco- friendly	Comparatively eco-friendly
Biodegradable	100% biodegradable	100% biodegradable
Toxic	Most of are non- toxic	Most of are non-toxic
Flammable	Non- flammable	Non- flammable

Can Calligraphy Ink be Used in Fountain Pens?

You should never want to use calligraphy ink in a fountain pen. Calligraphy ink has to be thick in Consistency. If you use calligraphy ink in your fountain pen it will get clogged up. And your pen will get ruined. So never make this mistake.

Lot of people made this mistake. They think the inks are similar and if they use any ink it will not make any difference. So they use calligraphy ink in fountain pens and eventually get their pen clogged up.

Calligraphy ink is very different from fountain pen ink. As we see above the chemical composition and consistency of both are really different.

Calligraphy ink has to be thick and it’s ideal to use in a dip pen. Therefore calligraphy pens are built to handle thick ink. They are built differently than usual, therefore they are a little expensive. 

But on the other hand, fountain pens are not made to handle thick ink, therefore they get clogged while using calligraphy ink. And you should never use calligraphy ink in fountain pens.

Fountain pen inks are water based therefore they are very thin and liquidy in consistency. 

If you use calligraphy ink in a fountain pen, the thick ink will get stuck into the pen’s nib. And the pen will become unusable again. You have to throw the pen.

Ink will get stuck and will not come out. Some calligraphy pens come with a very thin plastic sheet. If something similar happens with a calligraphy pen and for some reason if it gets clogged you can use the thin sheet to unclog the pen. And reuse and as normal.

And fountain pens are made for thin and liquidy/watery ink therefore it does not have any solution for it. You must have to get a new fountain pen.

Is a Fountain pen a Calligraphy pen?

Is a Calligraphy pen a Fountain pen? Calligraphy pen and fountain pen are very different from each other. Calligraphy pen is made for handling thick ink, but a fountain pen is not made for handling thick inks. Therefore if you use thick calligraphy ink in the fountain pen then it will get clogged.

Calligraphy ink is made for work with dip pens also. If ink is thin and liquidy it will slide through the pen. And doesn’t last that long. Therefore in order to work with dip pens the calligraphy ink has to be thick.

Other types of inks don’t have to be that thick. Therefore other types of pens don’t have to work with such heavy and thick ink. Therefore they doesn’t made for handling such heavy and thick inks.

Likewise every pen and every type of ink is different from each other. Similarly, fountain pens and calligraphy pens are different from each other.

Calligraphy pens are made for handling heavy and thick ink. On the other hand, the Fountain pen isn’t made for handling such heavy and thick inks. Also Their strokes are different from each other. Their weights and balance points are also little different from each other.

Conclusion- Difference between Calligraphy and Fountain Pen Inks

The calligraphy ink and fountain pen ink are different from each other. The fountain pen ink is water-based and Calligraphy ink is not water-based ink, they are oil based inks. 

The Calligraphy inks are made by using pigment in it. So they are pigment based ink. On the other side fountain pen ink used dye for color. So they are dye based inks.

Chemical compositions are also different in both of the inks. 

Calligraphy inks are mostly waterproof, but fountain pen ink is not waterproof mostly. Because they are water-based.

Consistency is one of the important factors while comparing them. The calligraphy inks are very thick. Because they were meant to be used in dip pens. The thick the ink the ideal it is for dip pens.

Therefore Calligraphy pens are designed to handle such thick types of ink. 

But on the other hand, fountain pen inks are water-based, so they are very liquidy and thinner in consistency.

Therefore Fountain inks are not designed to handle such thick ink. And if you use calligraphy ink in a fountain pen, it will get clogged. And destroy your pen. Therefore it’s one of the main factor while comparing both inks.