Posts filed under Ink Reviews

Inkebara Crimson Fountain Pen Ink Review

Based in the Czech Republic, Inkebara is a new-to-me fountain pen ink manufacturer. Founded in 2016 out of a desire for more local ink options for fountain pen fans, Inkebara has branched out around the world, and on to my desk for testing.

I picked up several colors recently, and chose Crimson for my first review. Why? Because I don’t use many red inks and wanted to experiment with one for something different.

I’d hesitate to call Crimson a true red. It leans pink in all but the heaviest ink applications on the page, which do get into a redder range. That wasn’t my expectation when I cracked open this bottle, but I’m happy with the results.

Performance-wise, it has worked well. It has good flow, good lubrication, and despite being a lighter shade, good color saturation. I chose one of my favorite writing nibs to test with, a 21K Medium Fine in the Sailor 1911L Wicked Witch, and it has been perfect. My lines are fine and legible with a small bit of shading, and the ink dries quickly even on Tomoe River paper.

Reviewing a quality product in a simple, straightforward manner is difficult. It’s good-what else is there to say? I mean that in the most positive way. Even the price, $15 for 60 ml, is good. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to any fountain pen user.

With over 40 inks already on the market, and the level on enjoyment I am getting from this one, you can bet there will be more Inkebara inks in my future.

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

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Posted on July 25, 2022 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Inkebara, Ink Reviews.

Ferris Wheel Press Ink Charger Set 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!)

Ferris Wheel Press inks have been catching my eye a lot lately and I even bought a bottle at the Chicago Pen Show, despite my resolution to not buy more ink until the stash diminishes a little. It's even more tempting to cave in when the inks come in these adorable 5ml sample bottle sets.

The Fashion District Ink Charger Set is just that--adorable and tempting. It includes three tiny bottles of FWP ink in themed color sets. This one has Bathurst Blue Denim, Spadina Rose, and Queen Allium. The bottles come packaged in a nest inside of a box, but heads-up that mine were leaky. You can see the ink stains on the inside and outside of the cardboard, and two of the bottles were about 1/3 empty. They continued to leak a bit as I worked with them, and now I have a rose-colored ring on my desk mat. The bottles are also very narrow--made to fit a converter, but not a pen nib. So they won't work with any pens that have internal fillers, like piston or vacuum-fill pens.

Inside the adorable-but-kind-of-annoying bottles are three lovely ink colors. The Bathurst Blue Denim is a very nice grey-blue with a fine gold shimmer. The shimmer really comes through, even in finer lines, and the blue tone is just different enough to be more fun than a standard blue. The Spadina Rose is a really lovely dusty pink color, no shimmer, that looks like the perfect shade for a Victorian tea party. It's on the pale side for writing with very fine nibs, but has excellent shading with broader writing. The Queen Allium is a pink-toned purple shade with gold shimmer. It is also a pale, soft color that might be difficult to see in a fine nib, but it is also very rich where the ink shades and pools. The shimmer is slightly less visible in the finer/paler areas, but looks excellent with heavier application.

All three shades are beautiful and go really well together. The set costs $16 at Vanness Pens, which is just over a dollar per ml of ink, which is fairly standard for sample sizes. However, as I mentioned, I lost a few ml to a leak in the bottle's cap seals. In general, I'm a big fan of these inks. I like the softer colors, and I have had no issues with the full-sized FWP ink bottle I own. So while I'm not sure I'd recommend this wee set, I do recommend the inks themselves.

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

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Posted on July 7, 2022 by Sarah Read and filed under Ferris Wheel Press, Ink Reviews.

Monarca Tierra Colorada Ink Review

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

While it certainly feels like a desert some days in the Southeast US, it's far from accurate. The humidity alone is an undeniable factor, but it also has a lot to do with the colors — or lack of colors — that you find in this area. I've never been to Mexico, but I've been to New Mexico, Arizona, and southern Colorado where it's easy to find desert-like conditions. There's certainly a unique beauty in the tan/brown dominated palette, and it's one I find myself wanting to visit more often than not.

Monarca inks are made in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México, and feature several different collections that draw inspiration from the area. Tierra Colorada is a red-brown ink from the Semi-Desert collection, and it's quite a beauty.

This collection consists of 4 colors inspired by the semi-desert of Mexico, their names are inspired by Bizarra Capital poem by Ramon Lopez Velarde, born in Zacatecas, Mexico, who describes the landscape in an exceptional way.

Tierra Colorada is inspired by the red soil of northern Mexico, and I love the way it dries on paper. It's rich and has a wonderful earthly look. There's also a golden hue that comes through in certain light that adds some character to this red-brown ink.

While this ink behaves really well on nice paper, it tends to feather and bleed a lot on cheap paper. Since this is true for a lot of inks, I wouldn't let it dissuade you from trying it out unless you plan to exclusively use it on copy paper or cheap notebook paper.

The red-brown color is pretty strong through the ink, and it does exhibit some shading in some areas. The shading is mild and goes from medium red-brown to a darker red-brown. It's just enough shading to add visual interest and character to the dominant rich red-brown color.

In case you're curious, Monarca includes the Pantone code and RGB values of each of their inks! Tierra Colorada is Pantone 7594C and 12,58,45 in RGB. The actual ink has a lot more personality than the rigid and single color dimension of a color code, but this at least gives you a hint of what the dominant color is in digital terms.

The aspect of this ink that surprised me most is the dry time. It's a fast one! In my testing with different nibs, it easily dries before the 15-second mark when used in a wide nib (such as a medium stub or Monteverde's Omniflex), and under 10 seconds when used in a Medium or smaller nib. If fast dry times are your thing, this one does a great job.

Another interesting thing that Monarca does involves their packaging. The 30ml ink bottles come in a box, but they also come affixed to a wood base that holds the ink snug in the box during shipping. Best part of this is that you can use the wooden base to hold and display your ink! The additional sturdiness from the base and the small foam inserts that keep the ink bottle snug mean that you're less likely to tip the bottle over when using it. Plus, it has a groove in the front that can also hold a pen. One downside, though, is the diameter of the bottle's mouth. It's quite small, and some pens just simply won't fit into the opening. You'll have to resort to a syringe if your pen section can't clear the opening.

If you're interested in this ink company, check them out! The ink is well-behaved, looks great, and features unique colors inspired by natural beauty. Vanness Pens stocks the entire Monarca lineup, where you can find inks starting at $20 for a 30 ml bottle.

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

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