Caran D'ache Chromatics: Infinite Grey

[cybaea]

I don't have many inks that are 'just' grey so I thought this one would be an interesting addition to my hoard collection. Also, I was curious about a grey colour in a series called 'chromatics'…

 

In summary: Use this on absorbent papers, not Rhodia et al unless you are trying for a very specific look. With that caveat, this can be a useful ink for casual note taking and informal messages, even in an office setting. Your message will seem much less forceful than with a black ink, so consider it for situations where consensus-building is important, e.g. voluntary sectors. With a very wet writer (like the Platinum Century John Sorowka custom nib in the samples) you could absolutely use this for corporate signatures, especially, perhaps, if you want to subtly distance yourself from the message. Love letters seem unlikely.

 

Review:

 

Soak test:

 

 

Rhodia No 18 dotpad again:

 

 

Rhodia R paper:

 

 

Stock 'cartridge' paper (apologies for the corporate branding! It was the only pad I had to hand!):

 

 

Apologies again for corporate pad (but it is what I write most of my text on). (If you want to calibrate your monitor, the blue in the logo is Pantone Blue 072 U.)

 

The Lamy nibs are both the Z50 steel nibs.

 

Hope this is useful to someone.

[lapis]

Nice review. Especially the different papers used.

What is your feeling about the price? Yes, Iroshis are almost exactly just as expensive but most of us don't croak about that. We either buy them, or we don't

 

MIke

[cybaea]

Nice review. Especially the different papers used.

What is your feeling about the price? Yes, Iroshis are almost exactly just as expensive but most of us don't croak about that. We either buy them, or we don't

 

MIke

 

The price is outrageous; I can't defend it in any way. But if it is a hobby and you can splash out on a bottle (or two, or three, ... and you know where this slope goes) then why not? It is just under £30 for 50 ml of ink which will be hard to use up in less than, say, 500 hours of writing, depending on your nib. If those are pleasurable hours then the cost per hour compares well with, say, a cinema ticket.

[lapis]

What a great comparison!

A long time ago, I bought all 9 of the oldies... especially Amazon and Grand Canyon each several times, but I doubt if I'll do the same with these newbies....

[rudyhou]

i'm a fan of grey inks. i like this one. but would probably prefer a touch more darkness in the grey for it to be an everyday writing ink color.

[cybaea]

i'm a fan of grey inks. i like this one. but would probably prefer a touch more darkness in the grey for it to be an everyday writing ink color.

 

I know what you mean. What this ink has going for it is that it is a pure grey with not much else going on. But for a daily writer I would probably go for the Roberson Grey Hematite which I also reviewed: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/249384-c-roberson-co-penman-ink-classical-transparent-grey-hematite/

[inkstainedruth]

Pretty color. But in most of your samples it's pretty light and therefore hard to read. If I want a light grey ink that's expensive and largely illegible, I'll stick with J Herbin's Gris Nuage.

Thanks for the review, though -- it was useful to see in a variety of pens and on a variety of pepers.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[cybaea]

Pretty color. But in most of your samples it's pretty light and therefore hard to read. If I want a light grey ink that's expensive and largely illegible, I'll stick with J Herbin's Gris Nuage.

Thanks for the review, though -- it was useful to see in a variety of pens and on a variety of pepers.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

It is much too light on the Rhodia papers and even skips a little. I would only consider this one on absorbent paper. But it is still too light for my tastes. Now for drawing with ink, this one can be handy

[hsianloon]

I like it that you tried it on both yellow and white paper! I use yellow paper more often for journals and notes, so it's a big help seeing them presented this way. Any chance you have a fuyu syogun, diamine graphite or take sumi to compare with?

 

I'm looking for a dark grey ink for work...any suggestions?

 

Great review, amazing effort put in, thanks

[lovemy51]

thx for the review, cybaea! looks good on my screen, but if it shows a hint of grey, it's not for me. i stick to Omas Grey (silvery).

[Charles Skinner]

So light I may have to get a flashlight to read it! Unless I am doing something wrong, this is not an ink for me!

C. S.