Pilot – Red (Bottled Ink)

September 5, 2017

Pilot – Red (bottled ink)

I was really surprised to see that this ink has not yet been reviewed, and apparently is not that easy to find compared to the other “regular” Pilot branded inks. I bought a bottle of this in Taipei for roughly NT$60/30cc (~$2/30mL), which turns out to be a fraction of what it would cost to get it in the US ($9 on Amazon for the same bottle, last time I checked). I believe this should be the same ink as Pilot’s red cartridges, but I have not used any of the cartridges so I can’t say for certain. I am, however, fairly sure that this is different from the Pilot Mixable Red cartridge that comes with Pilot Parallel pens.I've used up all my Mixable Red cartridges, but from memory, the colors are quite different.

This ink is a pretty straightforward and mild red, but it definitely leans to the pink side rather than orange. In fact, depending on paper/pen/nib configuration, this ink can appear pink rather than truly red. On absorbent paper like copy paper, the ink darkens enough to become a middle-of-the-road basic red. I was dissatisfied with this color when I first tried it, until I used it on plain copy paper, which made a dramatic difference. (Interestingly, a red cartridge of Platinum that came with a Preppy had the same issue to an even more dramatic degree—no matter the paper I tried it on, it would always look unmistakably pink. The Pilot red at least looks red on cheap paper.) I’ve gone through roughly 20mL of this bottle and have never run into any behavior issues. I use this ink to grade papers, and so I’ve experienced it on a wide variety of papers types; it behaves acceptably well (slight feathering/no bleeding) even on the worst papers. This definitely isn’t my favorite red (too pink for me; I prefer more saturated, orange-leaning reds like Wild Strawberry) but due to its price and performance, it’s currently my most-used red by a fairly large margin. Once I run out, I probably won’t buy another bottle unless I can get it at the original price.

Lubrication: Moderate

Shading: Virtually None

Sheen: Low (slight golden sheen when pooled, but rarely visible in regular writing)

Water Resistance: Moderate (a lot of the color washes off, but it leaves a readable pink behind)

Other notes: If the ink gets onto your nib/feed (happens a lot for me, as I carry the pen in my pocket), it will leave a gold/green sheeny coat. This has never solidified into “crud” for me, and is easily wiped off.

The following sample was done with a Pilot VP (F) on Tomoe River (52gsm, white, loose-leaf) and a water brush for the doodle. I also cheated and used a Micron pen for Snoopy. Flex writing was done with a Zebra G dip nib.

Bad Scanner Disclaimer: Both scan and photo turned out relatively accurate this time. You can see that the ink is definitely on the pink side on TR paper, even when heavily pooled.

Scan:

Photo:

Comparison inks from left to right (big smear is the featured ink):

Pilot Iroshizuku Kosumosu, Diamine Vermillion, Pilot Iroshizuku Momiji, Diamine Wild Strawberry, KWZ Thief’s Red

Here’s a small writing sample (scan) of the ink on copy paper. The color on cheap paper is much more of a true red.

September 6, 2017

Wonderful review. A brilliant way to show off any ink.
Thank you.

September 6, 2017

Great review again—and I love the drawing! Looking forward to your next ones.

September 6, 2017

Great review, but that does look very pink. Pinker than Sailor Irori.

September 6, 2017

Great review, but that does look very pink. Pinker than Sailor Irori.

Yes, I would call it more pink than red on most FP-friendly papers, but more red than pink on most "regular" paper (typical copy paper, notebook paper, legal pads, etc. that are generally more absorptive). I personally use this exclusively on copy paper, where I find the shade acceptable. I do not have Irori on hand, but from memory, Irori is both slightly more orange and more vibrant, consequently showing up as a truer red on most papers.