(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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