Pilot Ama - Iro

[Sandy1]

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Fidelity

At time of writing, this ink is not depicted on a Pilot site, so one cannot determine if the ink I used is as intended.

 

Figure 1.

Swabs & Swatch

Paper: HPJ1124.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Pilot%20ama-iro/INK939_zps45242d47.jpg

 

Figure 2.

Nib-ism ✑

Paper: HPJ1124.

Depicts nibs' line-width and pens' relative wetness.

Distance between feint vertical pencil lines is 25mm.

Thumbnail:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Pilot%20ama-iro/th_INK938_zps1ef7c42f.jpg

L ➠ R: Elite, M200, 1745, 330, 45, NNPS.

 

WRITTEN SAMPLES - Moby Dick

Ruling: 8mm.

 

Figure 3.

Paper: HPJ1124.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Pilot%20ama-iro/INK942_zps8f2c8d2f.jpg

 

Figure 4.

Paper: Rhodia.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Pilot%20ama-iro/INK943_zpsfa03ba50.jpg

 

Figure 5.

Paper: G Lalo.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Pilot%20ama-iro/INK944_zps9cc9a2ba.jpg

 

Figure 6.

Paper: Royal.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Pilot%20ama-iro/INK945_zps0ec58d04.jpg

 

Figure 7.

Paper: Staples.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Pilot%20ama-iro/INK946_zpsc955a65f.jpg

 

OTHER STUFF

 

Figure 8.

Smear/Dry Times & Wet Tests.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Pilot%20ama-iro/INK941_zpsfa2da5f1.jpg

 

Figure 9.

Bleed- Show-Through on Staples.

Thumbnail:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Pilot%20ama-iro/th_INK947_zps2fe7f1cb.jpg

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

 

Type:

• Dye-based fountain pen ink.

Presentation:

• Bottle.

Availability:

• Available at time of writing.

Daily writer?

• A contender.

A go-to ink?

• When a lustrous Turquoise-Blue ink is desired.

USE

 

Business:

(From the office of Ms Blue-Black.)

• May not have sufficient gravitas for general business correspondence; and better suited to that which requires oodles of animation / conviviality.
• Perfect for signing a letter resigning one's position.
• Perhaps too vibrant and fleet-of-foot for extensive reading, so for those of us who write at length, Pa-i might not make the cut for personal work product.
• Ms Blue-Black would be more than happy to keep a hogshead of ama-iro to hand as an alt/aux ink, for brief cheery notes, forms that do not require much writing, doodling during boring presentations, and mark-up / annotation of material printed in Black.
• Not enough zap for error correction or grading.

Illustrations / Graphics:

• Certainly.
• For charts & graphs, Pa-i will serve to extend the palette of Blue-centric inks; and has the snap to be used for 'block' and 'line' presentation formats.
• Line quality is very high, so may be used for labels, but one might need to suppress shading for taut lines.
• As a watercolour, it does lose a lot of its lustre when pale; and the water resistance is such it seems ill-suited to over-working and reworking with wet media. Pa-i seems to be at its best when run from a pen.

Students:

• As for Business use, it may be too vibrant for general notes; and if run at the darker values, would be very likely to cause bleed- show-through on 'lowest bidder' papers.
• That said, the vibrancy and water resistance make it a contender as an alt/aux ink.

Personal:

• Yes please!!
• An obvious choice for postcards from Bora Bora.
• Forget about using this for pro forma personal business correspondence - I have far too many other inks for such bumph.
• This ink is definitely a harbinger of good news, so nothing dour upon the sheets written with Pa-i; and as good news is welcomed by all, I would use this ink to convey that to any of my family, friends & acquaintances.
• Even when writing about routine matters, this ink is likely to elevate the mood of both the author and the recipient, but I'd keep the letters from going on endlessly - after all, one can use Blue-Black to follow-up after a brief interval when things have returned to normal.
• From the pen+paper combos I've tried, there is some soft shading potential to balance the vibrancy, so Pa-i should not become strident nor flat.
• When run from the narrow nibs it avoids becoming vapourous, and does not bog-down from the wide nibs

PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE & CHARACTERISTICS

 

Flow Rate:

• A bit high.
• Controlled.

Nib Dry-out:

• Not seen.

Start-up:

• Immediate.
• With confidence.

Lubricity:

• Very good.
• Feedback was clear.
• Narrow nibs were OK on toothy / textured papers.

Nib Creep:

• Not seen.

Staining (pen):

• Not seen after three days.

Clogging:

• Not seen.

Feathering / Wooly Line:

• Not seen on papers used.

Aroma:

• Faint inky goodness.

Hand oil sensitivity:

• Not evident.

Clean-Up (pen):

• Fairly quick with plain water.

Mixing:

• No stated prohibitions.

Archival:

• Not claimed.

THE LOOK

 

Presence:

• Lustrous.
• Bright-eyed.
• A carrier of the infectious grin.

Saturation:

• Moderately high.

Shading Potential:

• Moderate.
• Possible from the narrow nibs.

Line quality:

• Most often very high.

Variability:

• Pen+nib combos used:
  • A bit more than expected.

  [*]Papers used:

  • About as expected.

  [*]Malleability:

  • Fairly flexible & well mannered.
    
  • While the wily practitioner would likely choose their pen before paper, to set the 'heft' of the ink upon the page; the choice of paper will certainly influence the overall appearance primarily by simultaneous [colour] contrast.
  • As the ink is not highly saturated, if it is run from a somewhat dry pen, the paper base-tint will be added to the ink's native colour, which may make the ink a bit pale and/or shift the colour - a useful property. Unlike some inks, Pa-i can accept the colour-shift from the warmer base-tints with good grace.
  • It was quite unexpected that the narrow nibs showed greater shading than the wider nibs.
  • Like several of the other iroshizuku inks, there is a bit of bleed- show-through even on the HPJ1124 when run from a wet pen, so the use of coated papers should be considered if one chooses to explore the full potential of this ink.
  • The consistency in its appearance across different papers supports its use as an alt/aux ink from the same [daily writer] pen.

Hi-Res Scans:

Originals are 60x30mm.

All images are thumbnails.

 

Elite on HPJ1124:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Pilot%20ama-iro/th_INK948_zpsf464a880.jpg

1745 on Rhodia:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Pilot%20ama-iro/th_INK949_zpsf39c604b.jpg

330 on G Lalo:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Pilot%20ama-iro/th_INK950_zps247f5ac6.jpg

NNPS on Royal:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Pilot%20ama-iro/th_INK952_zps16701999.jpg

PAPERS

 

Lovely papers:

• Cool crisp whites.
• Bundles of the good stuff!

Trip-wire Papers: ☠

• Not seen.

Copy/Printer Paper:

• Quality of the writing is very good.
• Doesn't get tangled-up in the OBAs.
  
• On the 20lb Staples, even when the ink was rather pale and the line unsaturated, there was too much bleed- show-through for two-sided use.

Tinted Papers:

• Not convinced.
• It seems to me that much of the ink's vibrancy will be lost on a paper that's away from a Natural White or the palest Powder Blue.
• I'd definitely steer clear of any with a Red thru Purple aspect.

Is high-end paper 'worth it'?

• Definitely.
• If one chooses to use wet pens or goes in pursuit of shading potential, papers with hard smooth [coated] surfaces will extend the range of Pa-i to an appealing extent.
• An absolute ace on ye olde tyme airmail paper. (Not shown.)

ETC.

 

Majik:

• Not quite, but mood elevation cannot be discounted.

Billets Doux?

• Not from yours truly, even if I were to smile in return.

Personal Pen & Paper Pick:

• I flipped a coin between 1745 on Rhodia and the NNPS on HPJ1124: two very different Looks, but the latter combo won the toss.
• I like the high % coverage from the wide nib, and the line is a combination of gentle shading and variable line width that keeps it fluid and lustrous on the page.
• As ever, the HPJ1124 does what it does best - mostly stays out of the way, though its slightly cool crisp surface adds just a bit of snap to the ink.

Yickity Yackity:

• Whee!
• Ah kushbaby, it might be a good time to send Ghandi out for coffee with ama-iro.

OTHER INKS

■ This Review uses the same Written Sample format, atrocious handwriting and some pen+paper combos common to most my previous Reviews of Blue inks. Consequently, ad hoc comparisons through manipulation of browser windows is supported.

■ Should that functionality not meet your requirements, I welcome your PM requesting a specific comparison. Additional scans may be produced, but the likelihood of additional inky work is quite low.

 

======

 

NUTS BOLTS & BOILERPLATE

 

Pens

Written Samples:

A. Pilot Elite + g-p steel EF nib.

B. Pelikan M200 + g-p steel EF nib.

C. Reform 1745 + duo-tone steel nib.

D. Sheaffer 330 + steel M nib.

E. Parker 45 + steel B nib.

F. Non-Nudist Pink Safari + goosed steel 1.1 nib.

Lines & labels:

• Pelikan 4001 Brown from a Pilot Penmanship + EF.

Papers:

• HPJ1124: Hewlett-Packard laser copy/print, 24lb.
• Rhodia: satin finish vellum, 80gsm.
• G. Lalo Verge de France: natural white, laid, 100gsm.
• Royal: 25% cotton, laser/inkjet copy/print, 'letterhead', 90gsm.
• Staples White: house brand multi-use copy/print, USD4/ream, bears FSC logo, 20lb.

Imaging:

• An Epson V600 scanner was used with the bundled Epson s/w at factory default settings to produce low-loss jpg files.
• Figures shown were scanned at 200 dpi & 24 bit colour.
• Hi-Res images linked were scanned at 300 dpi & 24 bit colour.
  
• No post-capture manipulation of scanner output was done, other than dumb-down by Epson, Photobouquet, IP.Board s/w, and your viewing gear.

Densitometer Readings on HPJ1124:

• Red 100
• Grn 186
• Blu 244
• Lum 180

Fine Print

⋄ The accuracy and relevance of this Post depends in great part upon consistency and reliability of matériel used.

⋄ Ink does not require labelling/notice to indicate (changes in) formulation, non-hazardous ingredients, batch ID, date of manufacture, etc.

⋄ As always YMMV, due to differences in materials, manner of working, environment, etc.

⋄ Also, I entrust readers to separate opinion from fact; to evaluate inferences and conclusions as to their merit; and to be amused by whatever tickles your fancy.

 

-30-

Tags: Fountain Pen Ink Review Sandy1 Pilot iroshizuku ama-iro amairo ama iro sky blue turquoise cyan

Edited February 2, 2013 by Sandy1

[neillmot]

"Perfect for signing a letter resigning one's position."

 

Great comment - an excellent review!

 

Tom

[sarahfar]

Thats funny... and your description of cheery appears pretty accurate too. Is this a color when you see it on paper immediately stands out ? Reminds me a little of Sheaffer Turquoise?

 

Best,

Mike

[Sandy1]

"Perfect for signing a letter resigning one's position."

 

Great comment - an excellent review!

 

Tom

 

Hi Tom,

 

Thanks for your kind words!!

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

Thats funny... and your description of cheery appears pretty accurate too. Is this a color when you see it on paper immediately stands out ? Reminds me a little of Sheaffer Turquoise?

 

Best,

Mike

 

Hi Mike,

 

 

Very true that ama-iro "immediately stands out."

 

On a crisp white paper ama-iro is quite vibrant even at modest saturation. Unfortunately, that perception / property is reduced during the media conversion from ink on paper under daylight to pixels on a monitor.

 

I did take a look at ama-iro sideXside with SS Turquoise, which is an inky favourite of long standing. I found that ama-iro has more vibrancy and lustre, and separates from the sheet (comes forward) to a greater extent.

 

Bye,

S1

[wastelanded]

I do wish I could have an RSS feed for your reviews, Ms. S., so I would know when there was a new one!

 

This looks like a lovely ink. Looks great on the off-white paper, I must say. Monitors being monitors, and my eyes being my eyes, how would you say it compares with old P4001 Türkis?

 

If Ms. BB would have a hogshead of it, then I know it's a good'un. Top-notch work as always, o mighty maven of inks.

[Sandy1]

I do wish I could have an RSS feed for your reviews, Ms. S., so I would know when there was a new one!

 

This looks like a lovely ink. Looks great on the off-white paper, I must say. Monitors being monitors, and my eyes being my eyes, how would you say it compares with old P4001 Türkis?

 

If Ms. BB would have a hogshead of it, then I know it's a good'un. Top-notch work as always, o mighty maven of inks.

Hi,

 

Thanks for your kind words!

 

I've posted a Review of P4T HERE. As I used much the same format for the Reviews, one can read across those documents to make their own comparison. (The M200+EF is the common pen.)

 

As mentioned above, Pa-i has considerable vibrancy that is lost during the journey to your monitor.

 

As ever, if you have specific questions after your own comparison, I always welcome further discussion & hair-splitting.

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

Even though I am very reluctant to compare inks that I've reviewed on the basis of dumbed-down flaky swabs, which ignore pen on paper and a multitude of other attributes, here are a few:

 

L=Pa-i. R=Sheaffer Skrip Turqoise.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Pilot%20ama-iro/INK014_zpsa597a2d1.jpg

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Pilot%20ama-iro/SSTurquoise_zpsa2df3a3d.jpg

 

L=Pa-i. R=Pelikan 4001 Turquoise.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Pilot%20ama-iro/INK014_zpsa597a2d1.jpghttp://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Pilot%20ama-iro/P4Turqoise_zpsce19d586.jpg

 

Bye,

S1

 

Edited February 10, 2013 by Sandy1