Noodler's Tiananmen - Red

[Sandy1]

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http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/b4a04182.jpg

 

Please Note: The template continues to evolve, so things may have been juggled or eliminated or presented differently.

 

⊹ ⊕ ⊹

Fidelity:

One may compare the colour of the ink I received to the marketing company's depiction by going to their site: http://noodlersink.c...lers-ink-color/

 

Figure 1.

Swabs & Swatch

Paper: HPJ1124 24 lb.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Noodlers%20Tiananmen/192a8fd8.jpg

 

Figure 2.

NIB-ism ✑

Paper: HPJ1124.

Depicts nibs' line-width and pens' relative wetness.

IMG-thumb:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Noodlers%20Tiananmen/th_938747aa.jpg

Pens: L ➠ R: Estie, 600, 502, M400, Insignia, 1911.

Figure 3.

Paper base tints:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN%20Stuff%20-%202011/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20Chocolate/86f3378c.jpg

L ➠ R: HPJ1124, Rhodia, G Lalo white, Royal, Staples 20 lb.

 

WRITTEN SAMPLES - Moby Dick

Ruling: 8mm.

 

Figure 4.

Paper: HPJ1124.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Noodlers%20Tiananmen/c4d522b4.jpg

 

Figure 5.

Paper: Rhodia.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Noodlers%20Tiananmen/1d596fa2.jpg

 

Figure 6.

Paper: G Lalo, Verge de France, white.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Noodlers%20Tiananmen/4665b157.jpg

 

Figure 7.

Paper: Royal - 25% rag.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Noodlers%20Tiananmen/f611cfda.jpg

 

Figure 8.

Paper: Staples 20 lb. multi-use

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Noodlers%20Tiananmen/c581f110.jpg

 

Figure 9.

Grocery List

Paper: Pulp. One-a-Day calendar page.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Noodlers%20Tiananmen/0631a9a0.jpg

 

OTHER STUFF

 

Figure 10.

Smear/Dry Times & Wet Tests. ☂

 

Note: For the S/DTs the numeral '4' was written Right-to-Left (countdown mode) at five second intervals.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Noodlers%20Tiananmen/c02f055a.jpg

 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

 

Type:

• Dye-based fountain pen ink.

Presentation:

• Bottle.

Availability:

• Available when Topic posted.

Daily writer?

• For those who use Red ink on a daily basis.

A go-to ink?

• When an organic Red is desired.

USE

 

Business:

(From the office of Ms Blue-Black.)

• As a group, the Red-centric inks run the risk of being overly personal and/or shouting, so their Business use may be limited by those characteristcs.
• Not suited to business correspondence.
• A good choice for those using a range of colours on a routine basis.
• I would not use this ink for editing or mark-up, preferring other eye-catching colours.
• Serves as a stable low-glow 'priority' colour that suits non-screaming exclamations, error correction and grading.

Graphics / Illustrations:

• Another welcome addition to the warm part of the palette.
• A colour with good stability and presence, that runs well at all densities including dilution.
• Does not blush Pink or flash Orange.

Students:

• Best kept aside for error correction or to indicate highly significant things.

Personal:

• No.
• Maybe.
• Yes.
• As ever, I fuss about with the Red-centric inks, most often choosing wet narrow nibs to submerge the colour while I get comfortable. However, for this ink, I find the colour demands presence on the page that wider nibs deliver - no half measures here.
• The presence on the page is strong, so I prefer paper formats less than A4/Letter.

PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE & CHARACTERISTICS

 

Flow Rate:

• Middling.
• Unacceptable with flexi nib on the 502.^†

Nib Dry-out:

• Nib tip seemed to dry-out a bit faster than expected.

Start-up:

• Immediate.
• No significant virga was seen.

Lubricity:

• OK.
• The ink has a strange feel, rather viscous, which muffles feedback.

Nib Creep:

• Not noticed.

Staining (pen):

• Not seen after five days.

Clogging:

• The slightly viscous feel has me wondering . . .

Bleed- Show-Through:

• HPJ1124: Show-through 1911.
• Royal: Show-through from M400 & 1911.
• Staples 20lb: M400. LINK

Feathering / Wooly Line:

• A bit wooly & plump on the absorbent papers, but no gross feathering.

Aroma:

• Mild.
• Inky.

Hand oil sensitivity:

• Not noticed

Clean Up (pen):

• A bit slower than usual, but thorough with plain water.

Mixing:

• No stated prohibitions.
• Addition of a miniscule amount of surfactant to increase the flow may lower the impression that the ink is more viscous than usual.

Archival:

• Not claimed.

Smear/Dry Times & Water Resistance:

• HPJ1124: 10 - 15 seconds.
• Rhodia: <15 seconds.
• Staples 20lb: <5 seconds.
• In a previous Review, there was mention of the dreaded 'never fully dry' phenomenon. Post № 5 Please chime in!

† As ever, I do not cherry-pick pens that perform flawlessly with the ink under review - pens are chosen in advance. If a single unacceptable result occurs, that demonstrates an instance of a pen+ink combo that does not play nice together, nothing more. Quite frankly, I am surprised it does not happen more often.

 

THE LOOK

 

Presence:

• Stable warmth.

Saturation:

• Middling.

Shading:

• Very good potential.

Line quality:

• Fair.
• A bit choppy on the textured papers.
• Can be plump & wooly on absorbent papers.
• I would look elsewhere for writing itty-bitty marginalia.

Variability:

• Pen+nib combos used:
  • More than expected.

  [*]Papers used:

  • Less than expected.

  [*]Malleability:

  • Moderate.
  • Highly dependent on choice of writer.
  • This ink has a performance profile that embraces a wide range of density without too much risk of misbehaviour other than bleed- show-through and degraded line quality.
  • For those who use Red-centric inks on a routine basis and have a pen to match, it could be a contender for a stock Red.

Hi-Res Scans:

Originals are approximately 60 x 30 mm.

 

As I do not wish to be known as 'Queen of The Bandwidth Bandits', these are IMG-thumbs only.

 

Estie on HPJ1124

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Noodlers%20Tiananmen/th_85fa06c8.jpg

 

502 on Rhodia

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Noodlers%20Tiananmen/th_38ca36e4.jpg

 

M400 on G Lalo

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Noodlers%20Tiananmen/th_783e3afa.jpg

 

1911 on Royal

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Noodlers%20Tiananmen/th_28df826d.jpg

 

OTHER INKS

 

Comparisons:

For the recent Red-centric inks which I have reviewed, an effort was made to use several of the same pen+paper combos, and a format supporting side-by-side comparison through manipulation of browser windows.

I hope this is sufficient to meet most ad hoc comparison requirements. If not, I welcome your request via PM. Additional scans may be produced, but the likelihood of additional inky work is quite low indeed.

 

Swab Swami:

Another exercise in contrasts.

IMG-thumb:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Noodlers%20Tiananmen/th_eed1347f.jpg

 

Left ➠ Right: Diamine Syrah, R&K Alt Bordeaux, Herbin 1670, Diamine Deep Magenta.

PAPERS

 

Lovely papers:

• Ran quite well on all papers shown.

Trip-wire Papers: ☠

• Those that are highly absorbent and/or have surface texture that might detract from line quality.

Copy/Printer Paper:

• Acceptable.
• Use may be compromised by bleed- show-through.

Tinted Papers:

• So as not to interfere with the stability on the page, I would not wander too far from the palest tints.

Is high-end paper 'worth it'?

• Not really.
• This ink shows what is has to offer on the penny-a-page HPJ1124, though if one chooses to avoid bleed- show-through, upper-tier papers may be called upon.

ETC.

 

Majik:

• I'm afraid not - the ink is just not sufficiently complex.

Billets Doux?

• Certainly not for a timid display of warmth.

Personal Pen & Paper Pick:

• 1911 on the Rhodia.
• The wide wet nib lays down a high % coverage in a density sufficient to command the page without shouting.
• The Rhodia keeps the line quality high, and delivers a pleasant bit of subtle shading that keeps the ink somewhat tactile on the page. (Perhaps not evident on one's screen.)

Yickity Yackity:

• I'd used this ink only sparingly, but I can see this becoming one that will be used more often. (So sorry Noodler's Burgundy.)
• Ah kushbaby, perhaps not quite.

= = = = =

 

NUTS & BOLTS

 

Pens

Written Samples:

• Estie + 9550 steel XF nib.
• rotring 600 + steel F niib.
• Waterman 502 + English № 2A 14K nib.
• Pelikan M400 + 14C M nib.
• Parker UK Lady Insignia + B nib.
• Sailor 1911m + 14K two-tine MS nib.

Lines & labels:

• Noodler's Lexington Grey from a Pilot Penmanship.

Papers:

• HPJ1124 24 lb. Laser Copy.
• Rhodia.
• G Lalo, Verge de France, white.
• Royal, 25% cotton rag.
• Staples 20 lb. multi-use.
• Pulp. One-a-Day calendar page.

Imaging

• An Epson V600 scanner was used with the bundled Epson s/w at factory default settings to produce low-loss jpg files.
• Figures shown were scanned at 200 dpi & 24 bit colour.
• Hi-Res Images linked were scanned at 300 dpi & 24 bit colour.
• No post-capture manipulation of scanner output was done, other than dumb-down by Epson, Photobucket & IP.Board s/w.

Densitometer Readings:

(HPJ1124)

• Red 180
• Grn 71
• Blu 96
• Lum 98

Fine Print

The accuracy and relevance of this Review depends in great part upon consistency and reliability of matériel used.

Ink does not require labelling/notice to indicate (changes in) formulation, non-hazardous ingredients, batch ID, date of manufacture, etc.

As always, YMMV, not only from materials, methods, environment, etc., but also due to differences between the stuff I used, and that you may have; and manner of working.

Also, I entrust readers to separate opinion from fact; to evaluate inferences and conclusions as to their merit; and to be amused by whatever tickles your fancy.

 

-30-

Tags: Fountain Pen Ink Review Noodler's Noodlers Red Tiananmen Sandy1

Edited June 4, 2012 by Sandy1

[Belles-lettres]

Ah, Sandy1, you have finally peered out from behind the blue-black veil and found the warm colours! Huzzahhhhh.

 

I eagerly await more warmth. I mean, reviews of warm colured inks... lol

[lapis]

Thanks, Sandy! Nice review as always. I see that you looked at 6 papers, but have you tried it out on a wooden floor?

 

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu264/peli46/Tiananmen.jpg

[goldiesdad]

Great review ... I ordered a sample and now can't wait to fill something and play ...

 

Thanks for the review ...

[Sandy1]

Ah, Sandy1, you have finally peered out from behind the blue-black veil and found the warm colours! Huzzahhhhh.

 

I eagerly await more warmth. I mean, reviews of warm colured inks... lol

Oi!!

 

I do have 'warm colours' in my inky array, some of which have been reviewed, most recently R&K Alt Bordeaux, Diamine Merlot, Visconti Purple, Noodler's Pasternak . . .

 

But, yes indeed, point taken: There are few RED inks in my array. I use Red infrequently - Red is a very 'on purpose' colour for me - I am rarely certain of the desired hue until I am ready to write. Consequently, rather than have numerous rarely-used inks, I chose to mix most of my Red inks from Magenta + Yellow + X. e.g. Illegal Lipstick.

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

Thanks, Sandy! Nice review as always. I see that you looked at 6 papers, but have you tried it out on a wooden floor?

 

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu264/peli46/Tiananmen.jpg

 

 

Ouch!

Someone forgot to place their Noodler's bottle in a coffee mug?

Or was it rampaging Ink Putti?

 

But, no, I have not!!!

(It was just that sort of query that motivated me to refine the 'Staining' & 'Clean-Up' items in the current IR template.)

 

Bye,

S1

Edited June 4, 2012 by Sandy1

[ravantra]

Thanks, Sandy! Nice review as always. I see that you looked at 6 papers, but have you tried it out on a wooden floor?

 

 

Is that red oak?

Edited June 4, 2012 by ravantra

[lapis]

Is that red oak?

Thanks for the question. No, it is a customary pine wood from Brandenburg (the province around Berlin), in my case cut out and laid in my shack exactly 89 years ago. (No, I'm not yet quite that old ). I have always, and still do, wax the floors every few months or so.

[amble63]

Tiananmen is one of my favourite inks. It was my go to editing ink until I found Diamine Poppy Red. Now I split editing duties between both of these inks. Thanks for another splendid review, Sandy.

[IWantThat]

Tiananmen is one of the first Noodlers inks I tried. It's still my favorite red, though I use red inks sparingly. I especially like the warmth of this red, as I don't like the burgundy inks much.

[Sandy1]

Tiananmen is one of my favourite inks. It was my go to editing ink until I found Diamine Poppy Red. Now I split editing duties between both of these inks. Thanks for another splendid review, Sandy.

 

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

 

I'm glad you find this ink to be worthy of 'Go To' status.

 

As you use this ink quite a bit, have you also noticed the somewhat 'viscous' feel / muffled feedback?

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

Tiananmen is one of the first Noodlers inks I tried. It's still my favorite red, though I use red inks sparingly. I especially like the warmth of this red, as I don't like the burgundy inks much.

Hi,

 

As a matter of personal preference, I find myself using Burgundy inks more than the Reds. Yet, some of the more Red-leaning Burgundy inks had their play time reduced due to this ink. So it goes . . .

 

Bye,

S1

[torstar]

Thanks again S1 for a great review.

 

The best part of the ink is the label, quite the conversation piece on my desk, right beside the bottle with the Black Widow spider on it.

[Sandy1]

Thanks again S1 for a great review.

 

The best part of the ink is the label, quite the conversation piece on my desk, right beside the bottle with the Black Widow spider on it.

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

 

I like to store my inks in cool dark places, where they are unlikely to decay and/or suffer an accident. That, or in the pen I'm holding.

 

Bye,

S1

[amble63]

Tiananmen is one of my favourite inks. It was my go to editing ink until I found Diamine Poppy Red. Now I split editing duties between both of these inks. Thanks for another splendid review, Sandy.

 

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

 

I'm glad you find this ink to be worthy of 'Go To' status.

 

As you use this ink quite a bit, have you also noticed the somewhat 'viscous' feel / muffled feedback?

 

Bye,

S1

 

Not really. I have noticed it does take a bit of time to dry so I have to be careful, as a lefty overwriter, when using it but I am not deterred because I like the bold colour so much.

[Jimmy James]

What an apt review to post on June 4. I actually also completed one on that date on my blog (I'll post it once this one has had its moment in the sun so as to not have multiple first page threads on it plus frankly my review doesn't hold a candle to Sandy's excellent ones).

[inkstainedruth]

Another exemplary review.

Not sure I'd get this for myself, but it's good to see a variety of inks for comparison purposes (to know what I *don't* want as well as what I *do*).

I was thinking that it seemed to look best in the 1911 on *all* your samples. I think it's because in that pen it looked more red than burgundy (if that makes sense). Obviously this is an ink that will look better in a broader or wetter nib to really bring the color out.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Sandy1]

Tiananmen is one of my favourite inks. It was my go to editing ink until I found Diamine Poppy Red. Now I split editing duties between both of these inks. Thanks for another splendid review, Sandy.

 

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

 

I'm glad you find this ink to be worthy of 'Go To' status.

 

As you use this ink quite a bit, have you also noticed the somewhat 'viscous' feel / muffled feedback?

 

Bye,

S1

 

Not really. I have noticed it does take a bit of time to dry so I have to be careful, as a lefty overwriter, when using it but I am not deterred because I like the bold colour so much.

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for letting us know about the feel of the ink. Also that you find that you're working around the dry time - my few samples showed rather shorter than usual dry times.

 

It is so important for others using the ink to chime-in with their experience.

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

What an apt review to post on June 4. I actually also completed one on that date on my blog (I'll post it once this one has had its moment in the sun so as to not have multiple first page threads on it plus frankly my review doesn't hold a candle to Sandy's excellent ones).

Hi,

 

Oh! No need to wait to post your Review!!

 

The more the merrier!

 

More pens + more papers + more ideas =

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

Another exemplary review.

Not sure I'd get this for myself, but it's good to see a variety of inks for comparison purposes (to know what I *don't* want as well as what I *do*).

I was thinking that it seemed to look best in the 1911 on *all* your samples. I think it's because in that pen it looked more red than burgundy (if that makes sense). Obviously this is an ink that will look better in a broader or wetter nib to really bring the color out.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Hi Ruth,

 

Thanks for your compliment!

 

I'm glad you find the wee swabs to be of use. When I don't have inks of a similar colour, I'll often use contrasting inks to bring out the colour of the ink I'm reviewing. (Unlike the Blue inks - those can be an exercise in hair-splitting.)

 

As ever, I'm glad when my effort allows one to avoid an unrewarding purchase and having an ink languishing unused.

 

Interesting that we both like the ink from the 1911+MS nib. This one is dark enough that it remains quite stable on the page, and can not only handle the wide nibs, but looks great from them, 'Not for a timid display of warmth.'

 

I've also tried a 0.8mm CI, but found that a bit sharp in my hand: the line became too busy, even with 9mm ruling (fussy fussy fussy.)

 

Bye,

S1