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Visconti Black


JJBlanche

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Attached below is an image of a writing sample with Visconti Black, and below that, the review proper. Regarding the image, "lorem ipsum" is a nonsense language used by printers to showcase a font/color (ie: it takes focus away from content and puts it on aesthetics). The water test was performed by submerging and agitating a sample swatch of the given ink in reverse osmosis water for thirty seconds, then letting it drip dry.

 

A key has been added, written on Clairefontaine paper, with a number of different inks for reference.

 

Standard Disclaimer: Image provided only to give a general sense of the color. The vibrance and nuance are typically lost when an ink is digitized.

 

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/3903/viscontiblkcf1.jpg

Review

 

When I write a review, I first focus on color, and award an ink 0 to 100 based upon that alone, separate from other considerations. I then deduct points from the color score for defects (ie: lack of flow, creep, etc), to arrive at an overall score.

 

Color

 

I've heard nothing but bad about Visconti Black. It's too washed out, it's green, it's this, it's that. To me, Visconti Black is a perfectly acceptable, nay desirable, black ink. It is not a solid monotone black, but rather black with some grey shading, which, in my opinion, injects life into an otherwise boring color. If you're looking for a black to do pen drawings, this is probably not it, but for standard writing I find it perfectly acceptable.

 

Just to address the bullet points on this ink:

 

* It's not green, period. A coffee filter test and a separation in RO water revealed some purple, but absolutely no green.

 

* This ink does shade, and is thus not a solid and uninterrupted black. However, this is a black ink that happens to shade grey, not a grey ink that happens to shade black.

 

When push comes to shove, though, this is just an average, run of the mill color (ie: black), and as such, deserves an average, run of the mill rating.

 

Color Score = 75

 

Deductions

 

Visconti Black is a pretty well rounded ink, and as such deductions aren't applicable.

 

Bonus Points

 

The primary reason I bought Visconti Black is because (surprisingly) it represents about the best value per volume as far as black inks are concerned. Note that I'm referring to the 50mL plastic bottle, not the nifty inkwell.

+3

 

Overall Score = 78

Edited by JJBlanche
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  • 7 months later...
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hi JJ. i missed this review back in june last year and i'm glad i checked it out. love that gray shading part! do you see any green in it? thanx for reviewing this.

regards,

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  • 5 years later...

Hey,

 

Just purchased some on this review, excellent review thanks.

''You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes''. A A Milne

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A black that seems to be overlooked, as a majority of FPNers posting to the forum seem to be on the hunt for the blackest black inks. That is not Visconti. But for those seeking a black with character (shading) and intensity that changes with the pen used, I highly recommend it.

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A black that seems to be overlooked, as a majority of FPNers posting to the forum seem to be on the hunt for the blackest black inks. That is not Visconti. But for those seeking a black with character (shading) and intensity that changes with the pen used, I highly recommend it.

any suggestions on truly black inks?

 

Regards

 

Peter

Das leben ist wie ein Perpetuum Mobile mit ein Mangel..... Immer im Bewegung jedoch nicht unendlich. (life is like a troubled Perpetuum Mobile ever moving but not for ever)

Tricked throughout the centuries...

For centuries people had been tricked by kings & "religion-alism"

In the 20th century people got tricked by communism

Today people get tricked by (neo)capitalism :)

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