Posts filed under Ink Reviews

Van Dieman's The Wilderness Series Federation Peak Ink Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

With summer ending and fall already laying its stake where I live, I've reluctantly gotten out some darker inks that I haven't tried out yet. The cooler weather and different feeling in the air seems like a perfect time to try out some more moody and ominous ink colors, right?

I've really been enjoying a small handful of ink samples that I got from Van Dieman's recently. Each ink I've used so far has so much to offer in terms of performance and color. The Wilderness Series is a collection of ten inks that represent the Tasmanian wilds that make me really want to visit some day. The latest ink in this collection that I've had the pleasure of using is called Federation Peak, sharing its name with the mountain found in Tasmania. The marketing copy does a great job of explaining the name:

This ink is an ash dark grey based upon Federation Peak, a lone quartzite mountain possessing a menacing sharp spire on the Eastern most tip of the East Arthur ranges, overlooking Hanging Lake and 600m above Lake Geeves in the southwest wilderness of Tasmania.

But I also encourage you to do your own reading on the mountain!

Van Dieman's The Wilderness Series Federation Peak

Getting back to the ink, it's a dark gray that looks more like a black ink when writing. If you look closer, you can see the ash gray mentioned earlier, but this is certainly a dark and ominous color. I like that's not so dark that you mistake it for a black ink. It looks black at first glance, but there's just enough character to make you look twice and notice the details. It can certainly pass for a black ink if needed.

What really makes this ink interesting for me is the small amount of shading that you can tease out in the thinner strokes. There's a dark gray tone and sparkle that peak out from under the black, similar to tall mountain peaks glimpsing out behind thick fog. This character makes me keep coming back to this ink over other bright inks that I have on my table. It's not a plan black or dark gray ink — it's something in between that has a small amount of sparkle, despite not having any kind of sparkle or glimmer ingredient. It's subtle and magical.

Van Dieman's The Wilderness Series Federation Peak Swab

Like most (all?) Van Dieman's inks, this one is dye-based. It will resist water just fine but is gentler on your pens than a pigment-based ink. You sacrifice longevity, but it shouldn't be a problem for most people. If you need archival quality ink and paper, you definitely know what to look for.

In my use, the ink behaves really well. I haven't had any instances of ink getting stuck or not flowing smoothly. My experience with Van Dieman's as a whole has been nothing short of stellar. They make great inks that behave well in your pens, are dependable when writing, and feature interesting colors.

My ink collection is notably short on one thing at this point: true black inks. I just don't have space for them and have nearly zero interest in them. I know that there is plenty of nuance and character between different black inks, but it's not something that has interested me up to this point. With Federation Point and other dark gray inks, there's something about them that I am certainly drawn to. They're trying to show you something that is hidden beneath the surface, and I love watching that peek out in the shading on the page as you use the ink.

Federation Peak is available in a 30ml bottle for just under $13, or you can snag a small sample vial if you're not sure you want the whole bottle. These Van Dieman's inks are such a great value for what you get, and I encourage to check out all their other offerings!

(Vanness Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Van Dieman's The Wilderness Series Federation Peak Writing

Posted on September 29, 2021 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Van Dieman's, Ink Reviews.

Pennonia Vattacukor Fountain Pen Ink Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

Romanian ink brand Pennonia is making a big splash in the pen world with its lovely colors and fun formulas. I was excited to try them for the first time with this bottle of Cotton Candy ink.

The ink comes in a generous 50ml dark glass bottle that's perfectly shaped for pen filling. It's wide enough to be stable, but deep enough to fill your pen easily. The label on the bottle is made of fountain pen friendly paper and includes a swab of the color, so you get an honest idea of what the color looks like.

This color is, if you ask me, the perfect pink. It's not too red or purple, it's not too pale. It's readable, rich, definitely pink, and shows some incredible shading. The color is exactly the color of cotton candy.

It looks great in writing and in swabs, and the swab color even looks like the writing color, which is rare in samples. Chromatography shows a pure pink color, which is not surprising. It dries fairly quickly, and does have a dry feel to it when writing, but it flows well and doesn't dry out in the nib. I set this pen down for a week, then picked it back up and the ink flowed right away.

There is not much water resistance. Writing may survive a quick, light splash, but where I let the water sit for a minute, the ink is totally gone. It does not show any sheen or shimmer--just the lovely shading from sugar-pink to deep pink.

I will definitely be using this ink often in my rotation. I love pink, but many true pinks are too pale to read in low light, and I'm usually writing in low light. This is a winner from Pennonia, and now I'm even more excited to try more of their colors. And since they're only $13 for 50ml, I can afford to do that! I highly recommend giving this brand a try.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Posted on September 16, 2021 by Sarah Read and filed under Pennonia, Ink Reviews.

Pennonia Tihanyi Lila Ink Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Purple inks have always been a favorite of mine, and I'm always excited to try out new and interesting shades. The latest purple ink I've been playing with lately is from a Hungarian maker: Pennonia. Tihanyi Lila is an understated and somewhat dusty purple that I just can't get enough of.

One of my all-time favorite purple inks is KWZ Gummiberry because it's rich, bright, and explosive. It's a vibrant purple that pops off the page and demands your attention, and it makes me smile every time I see it. Tihanyi Lila is way more subdued, but just as beautiful and enjoyable. It's the more pale tone that really speaks to me and possibly the in-between blue/gray hints that really intrigue me. It's unique in that way, and I guess that's why I can't put it down.

This is definitely the most gray-toned purple I've ever used, and I really don't have much to compare it against. It really looks to me like a gray ink that someone added just enough purple to in order to shift the balance just the slightest bit toward the purple spectrum. It's pale and a little pastel, seems thin in places, but rich in the thicker parts where the ink pools. The shading is what sets this ink apart and makes it so interesting. If it didn't have the shading aspects, it would be a fairly dull ink.

And while it doesn't have an intense amount of shading, it's just enough to add the right amount of character to transform this ink into something more than the base tone. According to the marketing information, this ink color is inspired by the lavender fields that are found near the town of Tihany in Hungary. The purple tone in this ink really does a great job of capturing the organic nature of a field of lavender waving gently in the wind. It's a beautiful characterization.

Getting on to how it performs as an ink, Tihanyi Lila hits all the usual goals without any trouble. It's a smooth and well-lubricated ink that flows easily and works well in all the pens I've tried so far. It washes out easily and doesn't dry up in the nib or feed in between uses.

The dry time can be a little long depending on the nib. Smaller nibs like EF or F aren't a big deal — the ink is normally dry after 10 - 15 seconds. In the 1.1mm stub I used for the review pictures, it took between 20 and 30 seconds to dry. Once the ink is dry, though, it's water resistant. Not archival quality, but pretty close.

If you're interested in picking up a bottle, they come in at $13 for a generous 50ml bottle, and just a few bucks for a small sample. The bottle isn't anything special, but I was extremely thankful for the large mouth. I wish all ink bottles had wide openings like this one — makes it so easy to fill!

Overall, I've really enjoyed using this ink. It's not flamboyant, but that's okay. It's beautiful for what it is, and I just keep coming back to it. Not all inks need to be bright and loud. I like those too, but the subtle inks hit a different spot for me. Pennonia Tihanyi Lila is a lovely purple ink that you should definitely try.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!