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De Atramentis Mahatma Gandhi: A Newbie’S First Attempt At An Ink Review


Dumatborlon

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Oh boy, photographing pens is already quite a hassle, but scanning or photographing ink is a nightmare. In any case, this is my first attempt at doing a review. Only after I’ve written all this up I noticed all those sticky threads at the top of the forum; well, I won’t be redoing it now, it’s way too late already. :o) I will try to update the review with any suggestions though, as soon as I have the time for it.

Well, anyway. Since I couldn’t find anything on ‘De Atramentis Mahatma Gandhi’ I thought I’d whip up a quick review of it. It looks like of all inks I’ve got, I managed to pick the one which is most difficult to get into a decent picture. That’s to people who still say that fountain pens are dead. Ink on paper has character, whereas coloured pixels on a tablet are just plain and boring. On to the review then, shall we?

To summarise what I’ve written on paper and to have something indexable for Google and its friends I’ll state that this is a yellow ink. The scanner in particular has an absolutely terrible time dealing with it and just plain gives up. On the scan, the ink is orange; on paper, it is actually far brighter than that. Not as bright as in the photograph, but the photograph gets much closer than the scan. Let’s say the colour is almost as bright as the pen with which I’ve written the sample (and which is visible in the photograph). As already said: It’s a difficult ink.

At least with my writing implement it writes rather wetly, but dries quite quickly. It gives a decent amount of shading (at least as much as can be seen with such a bright colour), does only feather on particularily bad paper (the sample is written on recycling paper). It offers no water resistance and will go out of its way to dissolve in the weirdest, most garish yellow hues imaginable, as if you popped a highlighter pen right onto the page. I now notice that I wanted to show the non-water-resistance as well but forgot; I will try to make a photo of it tomorrow. Depending on the paper, the ink does tend to bleed through, especially on bad paper. But this may also be an artifact on the rather broad nib of this pen.

Well, I don’t know what else to say about this ink. To sum it up: I like it, much so in fact. I will definitely keep using it; it’s just great for headlines, especially with a broader stroke and is just a fun, goofy ink to write, while being just dark enough to stay legible. But just barely so; I don’t think I’ll be writing page after page in this particular colour or if so, I’ll be looking for a brighter paper first. :o)

Now on to the pictures. First the scan. The colour is way off, though:

http://null.aleturo.com/Dumatborlon/5EGp+sk;sierre;jpeg-00091b.jpeg

Since the scan is so far off, there’s a photograph of the writing sample as well:

http://null.aleturo.com/Dumatborlon/5EGp+sk;%E2%99%80;saguaro;jpeg-00895.jpeg

I hope this is useful to someone and if not, at least it was fun to do. :o)

Cheers, Zefon

A dwarf’s unfailing capacity to believe what he prefers to be true rather than what the evidence shows to be likely and possible has always astounded me. We long for a caring Fortress which will save us from our childish mistakes, and in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary we will pin all our hopes on the slimmest of doubts. Gold has not been proven not to exist, therefore it must exist.

Philosopher Prokhor Zakharov, ‘For I Have Tasted The Plump Helmet’

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Hello Zefon....

 

Thanks for the review....

 

I know about the trouble with posting true colours....

 

Ihave written a topic about that with ideas what to about it.

A lot of members gave their ideas too.

 

I will send you a link later can't do that with my phone...

 

Well I am happy with your review. .. I simply love De Atramentis... a small but excellent grrman Tinten Manufaktur

 

I sm in frequent contact with the very friendly owner....

 

I have posted several reviews on DA..

Yesterday I posted Dokumentink Broen and green...

 

I love their merlot wine ink... Will post that later and send you the link

 

 

Tschüss 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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Oh yeah forgot to write...

 

The text in your review is vrry thorough and excellent

 

Thanks

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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Share on other sites

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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Thank you for the review Zefon.

 

Wow, what a difference between the scan and the photo!

 

I've never considered yellow inks before, but having seen this (photo), I might just do so.

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Hi,

 

Many thanks for the fine Review! :thumbup:

 

The depiction in the photo is really about as Yellow as I would find acceptable for reading, but only a small amount - a page perhaps. Yet it seems plenty bright, so could do for underlining text.

 

Thanks for confirming that it has some shading, even on modest paper. I think that when an ink is a rather unusual hue, to have some malleability & flair makes it that bit more special. Otherwise the recipient might think you'd taken to writing with a high-lighter. :)

 

Bye,

S1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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Goodness, so much information! Thanks big time for that link, now I definitely have something to try out when I'm idle. ^^

A dwarf’s unfailing capacity to believe what he prefers to be true rather than what the evidence shows to be likely and possible has always astounded me. We long for a caring Fortress which will save us from our childish mistakes, and in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary we will pin all our hopes on the slimmest of doubts. Gold has not been proven not to exist, therefore it must exist.

Philosopher Prokhor Zakharov, ‘For I Have Tasted The Plump Helmet’

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About water resistance:

The ink does provide some degree of water resistance, depending on how quickly the watter is blotted away. When done right away, a very faint neon yellow line remains. When left to soak, the yellow dissipates and is not readable anymore. As before, the scanner is unable to pick it up, but you can see the faint traces of the yellow lines in the left three water drops. The top-right one was left to soak for a little bit longer and practically disappeared, leaving only a yellow smear on the paper (not visible on the scan).

http://null.aleturo.com/Dumatborlon/5EGp+sk;sierre;jpeg-00092c.jpeg

The red part of the ink apparently offers no water resistance at all and vanishes instantly. I mean: One drop of water and that orange hue is gone without a trace right away.

But the yellow component is curious, though, and I think I now understand why the scanner has such a hard time in picking it up. The ink seems to be a blend of that orange you see in the scans and a fluerescent yellow as found in highlighter pens. In fact, the yellowish smear left behind by the watter has that particular highlighter colour and if exposed to blacklight it flares up like in a discotheque. Maybe if I can think of a way on how to do it, I’ll try to photograph that effect; it’s rather interesting. A very peculiar colour, that’s for sure. :o)

And since it’s such a difficult colour to replicate on-screen, I’ll pick up Peter’s idea from the ‘Merlot’ thread: If you want to see how it really looks like, then I can send you a postcard or something like that. Just drop me your address and I’ll see to it!

A dwarf’s unfailing capacity to believe what he prefers to be true rather than what the evidence shows to be likely and possible has always astounded me. We long for a caring Fortress which will save us from our childish mistakes, and in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary we will pin all our hopes on the slimmest of doubts. Gold has not been proven not to exist, therefore it must exist.

Philosopher Prokhor Zakharov, ‘For I Have Tasted The Plump Helmet’

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I think that this is very well done for a first ink review. The color of the ink is highly attractive.

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Well I will send you my postadress... and a postcard with de Atramentis Merlot....

 

I know you are not into darker inks... but this wine looks so nnice you wanted to lick the paper....

 

 

On waterproof....

 

quite a few inks are not waterproof these days... As you mentioned they survive a drop when quickly blotted....

 

they survive a drop but not a bath.....

 

Funnily this may very from ink to ink even if the inks are made by the same Manufacturer

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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Apparently, it makes a huge difference which scanner I’m using. I should have dusted off and used my trusty old ‘real’ scanner right from the start. This time around, the colour actually comes very close to what is on the paper:

http://null.aleturo.com/Dumatborlon/5EGp+sk;%E2%99%80;summaprada;ppm-00004.jpeg
http://null.aleturo.com/Dumatborlon/5EGp+sk;%E2%99%80;summaprada;ppm-00003.jpeg

I’ll be taking the ink out for a bath, then I’ll finally shut up about it. :o)

A dwarf’s unfailing capacity to believe what he prefers to be true rather than what the evidence shows to be likely and possible has always astounded me. We long for a caring Fortress which will save us from our childish mistakes, and in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary we will pin all our hopes on the slimmest of doubts. Gold has not been proven not to exist, therefore it must exist.

Philosopher Prokhor Zakharov, ‘For I Have Tasted The Plump Helmet’

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To round up the review a few last observations and scans:

The ink is saturated enough that it’s reasonably legible even on coloured paper, even on yellow sticky notes. It works better on blue paper (no scan for that).

http://null.aleturo.com/Dumatborlon/5EGp+sk;%E2%99%80;summaprada;ppm-00005.jpeg

As expected, it doesn’t really like to be taken for a shower. The paper remains smeared in fluorescent yellow and lights up like a Christmas tree when held to blacklight, but nothing discernible remains.

http://null.aleturo.com/Dumatborlon/5EGp+sk;%E2%99%80;summaprada;ppm-00002.jpeg
http://null.aleturo.com/Dumatborlon/5EGp+sk;%E2%99%80;summaprada;ppm-00006.jpeg

That’ll conclude the story, unless there are any questions. I have a whole bottle remaining, so there’s still plenty of time for further experimenting. :o)

Cheers, Zefon

A dwarf’s unfailing capacity to believe what he prefers to be true rather than what the evidence shows to be likely and possible has always astounded me. We long for a caring Fortress which will save us from our childish mistakes, and in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary we will pin all our hopes on the slimmest of doubts. Gold has not been proven not to exist, therefore it must exist.

Philosopher Prokhor Zakharov, ‘For I Have Tasted The Plump Helmet’

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Well I will send you my postadress... and a postcard with de Atramentis Merlot....

 

I know you are not into darker inks... but this wine looks so nnice you wanted to lick the paper....

I’ll certainly take you up on your offer; even though I don’t really see myself using it, seeing an ink in real life has more often than not swayed my opinion. So I’m curious. :o)

Edited by Dumatborlon

A dwarf’s unfailing capacity to believe what he prefers to be true rather than what the evidence shows to be likely and possible has always astounded me. We long for a caring Fortress which will save us from our childish mistakes, and in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary we will pin all our hopes on the slimmest of doubts. Gold has not been proven not to exist, therefore it must exist.

Philosopher Prokhor Zakharov, ‘For I Have Tasted The Plump Helmet’

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Zefon - Excellent review. I have the Mont Blanc Mahatma Ghandi, and this is a completely different color. Have you tried the MB version?

Troy

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Zefon - Excellent review. I have the Mont Blanc Mahatma Ghandi, and this is a completely different color. Have you tried the MB version?

Up until right now I didnt even know it existed. From this older review it looks just like the sort of orange that Id love to try out, but it doesnt seem to be available anymore.

 

Zefon

A dwarf’s unfailing capacity to believe what he prefers to be true rather than what the evidence shows to be likely and possible has always astounded me. We long for a caring Fortress which will save us from our childish mistakes, and in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary we will pin all our hopes on the slimmest of doubts. Gold has not been proven not to exist, therefore it must exist.

Philosopher Prokhor Zakharov, ‘For I Have Tasted The Plump Helmet’

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I cannot edit the original post, so this comes as a reply. I found some rather glossy paper, which brings out the shading rather nicely. Here’s a close-up:

http://null.aleturo.com/Dumatborlon/5EGr+sk;%E2%98%89;summaprada;ppm-00022k.jpeg

The colour suffers on this paper, but boy does it bring the shading!

A dwarf’s unfailing capacity to believe what he prefers to be true rather than what the evidence shows to be likely and possible has always astounded me. We long for a caring Fortress which will save us from our childish mistakes, and in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary we will pin all our hopes on the slimmest of doubts. Gold has not been proven not to exist, therefore it must exist.

Philosopher Prokhor Zakharov, ‘For I Have Tasted The Plump Helmet’

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Interesting colour, your perseverance is very appreciated. I have a lot of respect for Gandhi, so I mean no disrespect... The colour reminds me of... The inside of mangos! Particularly the Ataúlfo variety (not my photo):

 

http://www.mangozz.com/img/Mango-images/ataulfo_big.jpg

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."

 

B. Russell

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Thank you for the great review!

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

Quick colour comparison chart. This’ll update itself as I get more inks.

http://chiffre.aleturo.com/Dumatborlon/Colour-comparison/yellow.jpeg

A dwarf’s unfailing capacity to believe what he prefers to be true rather than what the evidence shows to be likely and possible has always astounded me. We long for a caring Fortress which will save us from our childish mistakes, and in the face of mountains of evidence to the contrary we will pin all our hopes on the slimmest of doubts. Gold has not been proven not to exist, therefore it must exist.

Philosopher Prokhor Zakharov, ‘For I Have Tasted The Plump Helmet’

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