Top Yellow Fountain Pen Inks
Although yellow may not be an everyday ink color, there are still some hidden gems that can be a standout on paper! From bright highlighters to rich golden shimmers, this list of yellow fountain pen inks reveals the brightest and boldest shades yet.
This subjective ranking focuses on readability, behavior in fountain pens, and overall aesthetic appeal. For consistency, I used Tomoe River 52gsm white paper, a Rohrer & Klingner glass pen, and a Kakimori dip nib for consistent testing.
Here's a breakdown of the inks reviewed and their final ranking:
Pilot Iroshizuku To-Ro
A relatively new ink, To-ro leans towards a sunflower orange. It's a nice color that is more on the orange side, but still a strong contender for a "sunflower" yellow.
Diamine Golden Sands
A personal favorite of mine, Golden Sands is a heavily shimmering gold ink. It's very shimmer-heavy, making it more of a gold than a true yellow, and tends to run off glass dip pens quickly due to the shimmer.
Robert Oster Aussie Liquid Gold
Aussie Liquid Gold is another shimmer-heavy gold ink, comparable to Diamine Golden Sands. It's popular for those seeking a true gold and has abundant shimmer that settles quickly.
Jacques Herbin Ambre de Birmanie
Ambre de Birmanie is a long-standing ink in Goulet Pens' history. This ink is more of an amber or brownish-gold color, leaning heavily towards orange/brown rather than a true yellow. It behaves very well and shows good shading.
Sailor Manyo Yamabuki
Known for dynamic colors, Yamabuki is surprisingly orange, almost a "construction yellow." While attractive, its strong orange hue makes it less of a pure yellow.
Rohrer & Klingner Helianthus
Among the more popular yellows, Helianthus has an orange tone but less so than Yamabuki. It's a nice color, though it wrote a bit wetter off the glass pen.
Diamine Sunshine Yellow
Sunshine Yellow is a very happy and bright yellow with some orange tones. It offers excellent shading and felt very controlled when writing with the glass pen.
Noodler’s Yellow
Noodler's Yellow is a true, solid yellow, often used for CMYK color mixing. It looks genuinely yellow on the page, not orange, gold, or brown. However, its lightness may pose readability issues with finer nibs.
Noodler’s Firefly
Firefly looks radioactive and is primarily designed as a highlighter ink. While unique and bright with a green undertone, it is practically unusable for regular writing in a fountain pen due to its extreme lightness.
De Atramentis Document Yellow
Document Yellow is an opaque, permanent artist's ink. It appears as a pure yellow, but it's very light and dries slowly, making it less suitable for everyday writing where readability is key.
The Final Ranking
After much deliberation, considering readability, behavior, and personal preference, here's my final ranking from best to last:
- Diamine Sunshine Yellow: Praised for its great shading, good behavior, and readability.
- Diamine Golden Sands: A slightly darker and more readable option among the shimmer inks.
- Rohrer & Klingner Helianthus: A strong contender with good qualities, slightly edged out by Sunshine Yellow.
- Robert Oster Aussie Liquid Gold: Another excellent shimmering gold, very close in appearance to Golden Sands.
- Noodler’s Yellow: A true yellow that darkens slightly when dry, but still potentially light for fine nibs.
- Pilot Iroshizuku To-Ro: A nice sunflower orange, but its strong orange leanings place it lower as a "yellow."
- Sailor Manyo Yamabuki: Highly orange, more akin to a construction yellow.
- De Atramentis Document Yellow: While permanent, its lightness and slow drying time make it less practical for general use.
- Jacques Herbin Ambre de Birmanie: More of a brown or sepia than a yellow, despite its nostalgic value and good behavior.
- Noodler’s Firefly: Unusable for writing, primarily functions as a highlighter.
There you have it! Try out these shades to explore the diverse world of yellow fountain pen inks, balancing unique properties with everyday usability.
