Test your calligraphy ink
A useful ink test answers one question at a time: does this combination of nib, ink and paper work for the strokes you want to write? Use the same short exercise when you compare materials.
Start with a reference sample
Note the ink, nib and paper you are using. Prepare and clean the nib as described in the nib guide. Write a few hairlines, shaded downstrokes, ovals and one short word. Keep this sample beside your next test.
Change one variable
If you want to compare papers, keep the nib and ink the same. To compare inks, keep the nib, paper and exercise the same. Avoid changing several materials at once: you will not know which change affected the result.
What to record
- Flow: does the ink start reliably, skip or form blobs?
- Line edges: are the hairlines clear, or does the ink spread into the paper?
- Coverage: is a shaded stroke even, pale or broken?
- Drying: how long before the sample can be handled without smudging?
- Paper: is ink visible on the reverse, and does the surface catch the nib?
- Adjustment: what single change did you make, and what happened next?
Date each sample and keep it with these notes. Judge colour and coverage after the sample has dried as well as while it is wet.
If the ink does not behave as expected
Check nib preparation, the writing angle and paper compatibility before changing the ink mixture. The guide to blobs, skips and interrupted ink flow helps you identify the symptom.
If you decide to adjust a mixture, work on a small separate sample and follow the relevant product instructions. Do not alter a full bottle as a first test.