PENS:
Due to some freak accident, this page got deleted and I have no idea how. *gurmbles*

Technical Pens: (See pic below)
These are my primary choice of pen when it comes to inking, the Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph Technical Pens. I will never use anything else again, at least I don't think. There are many pros and many cons to these pens. You just have to find your groove with them.



Cons: These pens are expensive! If you were to go to a store and buy just one pen, it would cost about $25can or more. $25 is the wholesale price. And they have about 11 or 12 different tip sizes. So picture trying to buy each one individually. It would cost a fortune. But you don't need one of every pen size, but you'll need a few at least. The reason why you need more than one sized pen is due to the simple fact of their make up. They tip is made of metal and that doesn't leave very much to vary your line widths with. This is why you need more than one pen. The .35 or size 0 is the one that I use the most. Smaller ones for smaller detail and larger ones basically for filling up space. But don't let the price fool you becuase you can buy them in sets saving you lots of money. I've seen a set of 7 identical to mine for about $100can. But I couldn't afford even that. I'm a bargain hunter and I got my set for $55can off of eBay. eBay is probably the best place to look for these pens. There's another drawback still. They are very high maintenance depending on the usuage. If you use them as much as I do the maintenance isn't that bad because the ink keeps flowing through the pen so it doesn't really get a chance to dry up. But if you're only inking here and there and leaving them for weeks at a time, this can get to be a pain because they have to be completely taken apart in order to clean them properly. The instuctions say you don't have to, but I prefer to do a solid cleaning to get the gunk out. If you do what the instuctions say, you just need to soak it in pen cleaner and that's not good enough because it doesn't get the guck out. You'll need a gazillion Q-Tips to clean them too because the tips are small and a Q-Tip is just about the only thing that will fit in there to clean it. You have to be super careful too when cleaning them because there is an important piece that has a long and fine piece of metal sticking out and this is what balances the amount of ink that comes out similar to the way a ball point pen works.
Pros: You can use whatever ink you want. Certain people prefer certain Brands. I like that Higgins Black Magic stuff. The ink is also a nice rich black as opposed to a faded out one that looks more like grey. The ink flows out smoothly and in small quantities meaning that it dries really fast as opposed to a crow quill that will leave a thicker bead that takes longer to dry. Depending on the paper, you should always get nice consistant lines that don't look jagged and nice and smooth. It looks like there are more cons than pros, but if you can get the hang of using these, you'll never go back. I know I won't.

Pigma Microns: Can't afford $100 for a set of technical pens? There is an alternative! The Sakura Pigma Micron pens is probably what you're looking for. These also have pros and cons that differ from the technical pens... Cons: The ink in these pens sucks. It's not a nice rich black like you'll get from the technical pens. It's not very consistant either. They're the equivilant to inking with markers. Remember when you used markers as a kid and they used to run out of inking so easily? Think of these. They also don't last forever meaning that you have to buy news ones shortly which also means that in the long run it could cost you more than the Technical Pens. Pros: Unlike the expensive counter part, these are cheap. They're maybe $5can for one pen. They also don't have a metal tip meaning that you're less likely to rip and drag the paper. The tip is also kind of a weird felty/rubbery tip also meaning that you can vary the line width by pressing a little harder which you can't do with the Rapidographs. I still don't like them though.