I recently ordered a handful of ink samples (Platinum Carbon, Noodler X-Feather, Sailor Kiwaguro and others) as I was having feathering trouble with a cotton based paper I was writing on. I wanted to test out each ink to see how it did. X-Feather was a bit better than the standard Pilot black ink I had in cartridge form, but still feathered badly in places. Sailor Kiwaguro did not feather at all in my tests, but as reviews on that product note, it isn't a real dark black at all (dries a washed-out black IMO). Hands down the winner of the test was Platinum Carbon Black: no feathering, but with a deep dark black I was looking for. It looks and dries wonderfully on the rather temperamental paper I am using. Highly recommend if you're looking for an ink that won't feather yet has a deep, dark black coloring.

I found the ink to generally be decent for what it is, however it suffers from a quite long dry time of around 35ish seconds (the slowest of all my inks I've tried so far). Additionally, when it comes to blackness I found it generally average especially compared to the noticably blacker Noodler's HoD Oh and for those who care, yes there is a small amount of nib creep with this ink.

Very messy black. Its BLACK BLACK.

Perhaps the price may be a sticking point over Sailor? But theyre virtually the same and I prefer Sailor.

If volume to price ratio is what youre after just go with Noodlers. I wouldn't be mad if someone gifted me this or I stumbled upon cartridges.

This is going to be too wet to be a writing ink for me, unfortunately. I tested it on Rhodia paper with a dip nib, and the juiciness is way beyond what works for the way I write. It is beautifully dark and smooth, will probably be amazing for drawing.

so glad I got a sample of this ink. it will be great for my watercolor sketching. It really is waterproof.

It is very permanent

Bought the sample in order to try this ink. My main ink now is Platinum Black (dye based). So Carbon black is a tone darker, it looks more like black, while dye based Black looks like dark grey. Carbon black has similar tone to Noodler's black. And the line is uniform, without tone variations. In other aspects, except water resistance, Platinum Black and Platinum Carbon Black are very similar.So Carbon Black is a nice performing dark black ink with bonus - maybe the best water resistance in the market.

Platinum Carbon Black is my first experience with pigmented ink. It does live up to it's reputation for being very black. It flowed well, dried fast enough and hasn't caused me any problems sooooo far.

Writing with this ink (in a fine nib Preppy) feels really great, but it dries really light! The ink looks faded, like an old photocopy. Shaking the pen before writing doesn't make a difference. Besides the color issue, I love this ink. It flows smoothly, is not too wet or dry, and behaves well on cheap notebook paper (no feathering or bleeding).

My first order with Goulet was a pen and a bunch of ink samples. Most samples were waterproof. My day job is as a researcher in a federally regulated industry. My notes (almost entirely handwritten) need to be secure, ie, waterproof. My previous pen of choice was Sharpie Pens. I know I'll still use them for some circumstances, but I also had hoped that I could find a good fountain pen and waterproof black ink to also use. The Carbon Black Platinum blew the rest out of the water. It is DARK, deeply saturated, smooth as silk flow in both my pens and on all papers tested. Pens Tested:- Hong Dian Black Forest EF Nib (from Amazon)- Monteverde Innova EF NibWrite beautifully in BOTH. I could also move between writing in notebooks (generic Leuchterm) and copy paper without problems. In the set of samples that I tested, none of them except the Carbon Black performed across all papers and in both pens. That alone will make this my Holy Grail Black Ink!!!

Honestly it flows great. It's just a little too watery for me. I am a lefty and it smears a lot. I might just have some bad technique. Other than that it's been nice.

Great ink as described Thanks Goulet team

This ink is great in a pilot vanishing point 18k EF on cheap paper. My pen had a slightly dry flow and this ink makes the nib a bit smoother and enjoyable to use. On cheap copy paper I find that wet inks like Iroshizuku tend to feel rougher because the ink absorbs so fast it doesn't provide lubrication. This dries fast on cheap paper but might stay wet a bit longer on fountain pen paper. I'm a lefty side writer and this ink dries fast enough on cheap paper to prevent smearing. As others have noted, it has a slightly sticky feel when wet and sooty when dry (obviously).

I've been using this in a TWSBI ECO EF and it gets along really well with that pen (note: I haven't tried cleaning the pen yet). I'm left-handed and have noticed this ink in this pen makes the pen write more smoothly over paper than the Noodler's Habanero I had had in there previously. Once the ink is dry I can use highlighters (Daiso or Zebra Mildliners) without smearing. I have noticed though that the ink will spread a bit if I highlight first then try to write over the highlighter. The ink is a really lovely intense black on Tomoe River paper.

I am in the military and in search of a black ink I can use at work. That means it performs well on cheap paper, fast drying, and can handle spills ranging from coffee to hydraulic fluid to jet fuel. TL:DR - A great ink if you have quality paper.All testing done with a Jinhao X450: Goulet Extra Fine nib. Paper includes Post-its, cheap copy paper, and mediocre notebook paper. THE GOOD - A solid no shading black ink. I know it sounds boring and maybe off-putting, but actually there is nothing notable about this ink. Its a quick drying (about 7 seconds), reasonably waterproof, no feathering, ink. THE BAD - I was debating between a 3 or 4 star for two reasons. First, this ink does NOT work well with cheap copy paper. It bled through so bad I actually had to take it out of my work pen after 1-2 days. I tested it a couple times because it was so significant. The strange part is that it works perfectly fine on notebook paper. Not a single instance of bleed through. Strange. The second reason is that this is a pigmented ink. Which means the maintenance required on your pen goes up significantly. FINAL THOUGHTS: I gave this ink a 4 star because, though I had to replace the ink for work purposes, the ink performed really well on every paper other than the cheap copy paper. But that bleed through was so significant on the cheap paper I had to take a star. The deciding factor was whether to take a star for the increased maintenance for the pigment. I decided not to because I did not feel it would effect my overall enjoyment of the ink and its something you would expect from any pigmented ink. A great ink I would recommend for anyone that can guarantee that quality paper will be available. Unfortunately, I am looking for an ink to use at work. I will not be buying a bottle.

I ordered this Platinum Carbon Black ink in a sample vial - and I'm probably going to get a bottle as soon as it runs out. First, as an aside, the service and overall experience dealing with Goulet was terrific as usual - they always give 110% when it comes to satisfying customers.As to the ink, I was hesitant for a while to get into Platinum inks - basically, I was pretty happy with the inks I had from other brands/makers, and none of them really stuck out as super-appealing to me. But as I've started to use my fountain pens more for drawing & sketching, I was curious about trying a pigmented ink (to use especially for outlining, as it does not get absorbed into the paper, and then stays in place when other water-based colors are applied over it). I plan to keep Carbon Black permanently in my Platinum brush pen for this purpose, as well as in my Platinum Desk Pen (EF) for more formal writing (ie. singing checks/ legal documents/ etc.). Very happy with this addition to my collection!

Good ink. Good black. But it fades to a dark grey on all the papers I have tried. Looks like a politician's heart to begin with, but tomorrow it will be a little lighter. The change is hard to notice until you put a true black beside it. It does get a little shiny if your nib is very wet, and it looks good in a brush pen.

I finally got around to using my sample of Platinum Carbon Black and have to agree with previous reviewers: it is wonderful for drawing and for washes. I have it in my falcon and it has been behaving beautifully. It dries in about 7 -10 sec (medium fast) and flows beautifully. Can't wait to order a bottle.

This ink is superlative. A friend gave me a recommendation and I was sold as soon as I tried the ink. I will be buying more in the future!

Loved to try it and will buy the full bottle as soon as possible. Great for people who like to draw and to put watercolor washes since it will not lift after drying. I was searching for a nice ink that would help me to replace the disposable Sakura Micron Pigmas for a more definitive pen option and this one does the job very well.Awesome ink! :)

I really liked the look and feel of the Platinum Carbon Black. See to be perfect for using with watercolor for sketching. Very black and waterproof.

When doing pen/ink drawing and coloring them with watercolor washes, PCB is the only black that really holds up.

I wanted to try this ink before I spent the money for a full bottle, as it is a little pricey. Ink samples are an awesome way to do that!I ended up liking this ink a lot for it's waterfast properties. Similar to Noodler's Bulletproof Black, it does not wash off the page once it is dry, and watercolors can be applied on top. Carbon Black (to my eye) is a bit darker and more saturated than NBB. I bought a full bottle after trying the sample.

The ink is fine. I don't use black as much as I use blue, though.

I like black inks. I'd rotated through a few and was previously using Noodler's Black, which is darker looking on paper, but had some annoying qualities with the surface residue smearing even after the ink was long dry. The platinum is 'lighter' under direct light due to the sheen the ink has, which I find super gorgeous, and it also doesn't smear in the slightest. Behaves incredibly with the pen and papers I use on a regular basis. Promptly ordered a full bottle.

This ink is often touted as an artist go-to for its water resistance. If you wet it and softly brush across it, it lives up to that rep, but rub it harder and it will definitely shade. For an art ink that stands up to just about anything, I'll be sticking with Pelikan Tusche A. As a standard black ink, it stands up to erasing better than Noodler's black, but Noodler's is more bulletproof when facing water.

I was recommended this ink from an artist friend who said it was great for sketching. While I've only used it a little, it does seem very good for that, but it's a little grey for me.

Absolutely my favorite of all the blacks I have tried. No undertones of other colors. And once it is down on paper, it's not going anywhere. A little more attention to cleaning is needed, but otherwise wonderful.