Brown Sugar - Monteverde

[visvamitra]

Monteverde is part of Yafa company. Some time ago the company offered wide array of new inks with Ink ITF™ - new Ink Treatment Formula that's supposed to drastically improve ink-flow quality, extend cap-off time and improve ink drying time on paper. After trying two inks I can agree it's not just marketing - the inks behave very well.

Bottle

The inks can be bought in 30 (and 90) ml bottle. The bottle is made of lass, has simple design and id pretty functional - stable and with wide neck allowing to fill quite comfortably (as long as there's more than 60 % of the ink content in it) even monster fountain pens straight from the bottle.

Ink

The ink is well saturated and displays pleasant range of warm hues. The shading is visible. The flow is smooth and the ink feels well lubricated even in dry pens. Some feathering and bleed-through will be experienced only on crappiest papers (hello Moleskine). Drying time is reasonable. Also, it's impressive that the ink doesn't dry out when you leave the pen uncapped. Even after three minutes the pen starts without any skipping when you put the nib to the paper. Basically, it's ok.

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

Color ID

Color range

Copy paper, Kaweco Classic Sport, M

Munken Rough, Platinum 3776, B

Fabriano, Kaweco Classic Sport, stub 1.1

Rhodia, Wing Sung 696, F

Water Resistance

[Uncial]

Is it a little bit like Whaleman's Sepia by Noodler's (without the behavioural problems)?

[dan in montreal]

 

Monteverde is part of Yafa company. Some time ago the company offered wide array of new inks with Ink ITF™ - new Ink Treatment Formula that's supposed to drastically improve ink-flow quality, extend cap-off time and improve ink drying time on paper. After trying two inks I can agree it's not just marketing - the inks behave very well.

 

Thanks for this review. I'm not sure this color suits me though.

I originally took this ITF thing as just another marketing gimmick. On a whim, I got a bottle of their Red Velvet and I was surprised by its flow and wetness. It's super well behaved. I'm glad some of their other inks have the same properties. Now I'm waiting for a bottle of California Teal.

[Intensity]

Is it a little bit like Whaleman's Sepia by Noodler's (without the behavioural problems)?

Except, of course, it’s the opposite of that ink where it washes off completely

[RJS]

I bought this ink last week, on sale on Amazon for £5 in the large jar. I've never disliked a Monteverde ink, so I was interested to try this. Trying it was difficult, however. Opening the bottle was bloody difficult, and I'm a big strong guy. Dried ink was all over the area around the lid, and it had obviously set firm inside. It opened after applying every ounce of my strength to it, and the threads took some substantial cleaning with a wet wipe after I did. Sloppy filling seems to be a standard Monteverde trick, from my experiences so far.

 

The ink is a pleasant brown colour, though less reddish than it appears online. Some shading, and as usual from Monteverde, exceptional behaviour- good flow, doesn't dry out fast at all, etc. Worth a try, if anyone is interested in the colour.

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the heads up about the issues with opening the bottle.  

And also for your impression of the color.  I had considered trying Brown Sugar a couple of years ago, then saw a review/scan where it looked as if it had fairly red undertones and I find that (for the most part) I prefer browns that are more sepia-toned (Edelstein Smoky Quartz and Iroshizuku Yama-guri are particular favorites), or more warmer/yellow undertones medium browns.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Carrau]

14 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

Thanks for the heads up about the issues with opening the bottle.  

And also for your impression of the color.  I had considered trying Brown Sugar a couple of years ago, then saw a review/scan where it looked as if it had fairly red undertones and I find that (for the most part) I prefer browns that are more sepia-toned (Edelstein Smoky Quartz and Iroshizuku Yama-guri are particular favorites), or more warmer/yellow undertones medium browns.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Ruth, you might want to check out Birmingham’s Tattered Jute, which is a sepia brown, like a less saturated (and less expensive) version of Kobe #3 Old Foreigner’s Ward Sepia, and it’s Everlasting (very water resistant).  

[inkstainedruth]

I always forget to look at their website.  I was so disappointed when their B&M store closed, and being able to just wander in and go "So, Nick -- whatcha got in today?"  

And of course I miss them naming their inks for Pittsburgh area things.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth