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Never had a problem (other than I wish they did not fill the bottles as full). Bay State Blue is one that a few people complained about, but hell, folk complain about everything, even about getting to much for their money).

Some people hate Noodler's without any valid reason I can see. I've only used Noodler's Black so far, and its behavior varies considerably between pens, but then I have the same results (with different pens) with every other ink I've tried.

Keep in mind that "saturated" has two different meanings when referring to inks:

Chemical saturation refers to the amount of dye in the ink.
Color saturation refers to the intensity of the color on paper.

I mixed some Noodler's Black 1:1 with tap water and the only difference I could see was that it shaded just a bit with a broad nib. It probably lost some of its "bulletproof" qualities, though.

I use Zhivago regularly.

jar, so do I, but really if I'm honest with myself I find it hard to see the green element in an F nib. Plus, diluting it will make the bottle last longer won't it

Chthulhu, cheers

The majority of my inks are all made by Noodler's.
I use them in every pen I have, from El-cheapo Preppy eye-droppers up to and including an "Old-Style" Pelikan M800 and a rare Rotring 1928 LE in celluloid.
I've not once run into any problems, never once had a clog due to the use of Noodler's inks.
You've mentioned using Zhivago, but what pen/s are you concerned with?

If you decide to use filtered water, although it's not at all necessary, the best in the business is Aquafina.
I worked a short stint for Rain-Soft, we tested all types of bottled water and Aquafina was the ONLY one that returned "pure-water" results.
The closest thing to Aquafina was the water that comes from reverse-osmosis machines that vend out 1 gallon and 5 gallon jugs.
Distilled water is another good choice, it's relatively inexpensive and easier to find in more locations.
You could use tap water too but depending on where you live and where it comes from it's more of a gamble.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND TAP WATER!
Where I live we're on Artesian Well water, good water but needs fair amounts of chlorine in it to kill off any potential micro-organisms.
City water is even worse, filed with tons of chlorine and stuff like fluoride and who knows what else, not good at all for pen feeds and materials except for flushing, wouldn't want to use it in any inks without proper filtering first.

I say if you like a particular Noodler's ink then go for it, as Frank says it's only been inks like Bay State Blue I've ever heard issue with but I've not personally used BSB as yet.
I'm comfortable using Noodler's inks in any one of my pens, even those that are irreplaceable, so I don't understand why some people are afraid to use them in cheap pens or converters.
Just stay away from the ones that are specified NOT to be used in fountain pens [Links to Swisher Pens descriptions] such as Black Mamba [made for felt-tip markers] or Kung Te-Cheng [comes with its' own eye-dropper fountain & felt-tipped pens] or their highlighter inks and you should be OK!

EDIT: To fix broken Links, I hope.

-- Edited by InkaFX on Wednesday 18th of November 2009 10:02:44 AM

-- Edited by InkaFX on Wednesday 18th of November 2009 10:04:33 AM

man just boil a pot of water for 10 minutes or so, let it cool and refill the bottle. it'll come out great.

I've only tried three Noodler's inks: Polar Brown, Bad Blue Heron, and good old Black. I know that's not a very big sample to categorically like or dislike a brand, but I haven't really had my socks knocked off. Polar Brown smelled awful and left a film in my converter. I haven't spent much time with BBH, but I like the color. I really like Black, but I don't care much for black inks. It's a keeper, though, and will let me use FPs with my checkbooks and envelopes. That said, I've gotten some snail mail in really fantastic Noodler's colors!

I think I'm just an old man when it comes to ink colors. I tend to stick with Skrip, Waterman, and Pelikan inks (it helps that I can source all of these locally).

Of the 6 pens I have inked right now, 3 have Noodlers in them. I have Nikita, #41 Brown and Navajo Turquoise loaded right now. My favorite ink is BSB, for which I have one pen that only ever receives that. I have found the combination of this particular pen and BSB to be peerless. Is is as if the pen maker knew exactly what I wanted. I like the color of BSG but it bleeds through most cheaper papers. When my Mont Blanc green and Waterman green have run out I shall look for a Noodlers to substitute. I was thinking of Diamine Kelly Green, but Diamine is difficult to get out my way, and I do not want to have a bottle flown in, just in case I do not like it. My Noodlers collection also include Shahs Rose, which is good for writing love poetry, Apache Sunset, which wows everyone who sees it and is best used in a broader nib to get the shading effects.

That is all right by me, because I am sure none of my pens have a warranty anymore.