Abstract: The present invention is drawn to ink compositions and methods for ink-jet recording. The ink compositions can include a milled pigment, a surfactant, a non-aqueous co-solvent system, and at least 2 wt % resin solubilized in the ink composition. The non-aqueous solvent system comprises a main co-solvent system, where each co-solvent of this system has a surface tension less than 32 dynes/cm at 25° C. The co-solvent system also includes gamma butyrolactone and a second co-solvent system. The second co-solvent system includes one or more co-solvent(s), each having a surface tension of greater than 32 dynes/cm at 25° C. The second co-solvent system or other components can optionally act to increase the overall surface tension of the ink composition as a whole.