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Ink Shoot-Out : Diamine Jade Green vs Robert Oster Sublime Winter is coming to my part of the world, which means that outside it’s damp and dark and depressing. Well… never mind – there’s always an ink to improve your mood, and make you think of the spring season with yellow-green grassy colours. I got a sample of Robert Oster Sublime from Catherine at Sakura, and couldn’t miss the similarities with Diamine Jade Green. Time to do a detailed comparison, and find out which of these is the better ink. Enter... the Ink Shoot-Out. A brutal fight spanning five rounds, where (in this case) featherweight inks do battle to determine who is the winner. In the left corner – the English reigning champion: Diamine Jade Green. In the right corner, the challenger from Australia, Robert Oster Sublime. Let’s get a big round of applause for our champions! May the best ink win… Round 1 - First Impressions These are indeed featherweight inks … a very light yellow-green colour, with little contrast to the page with my Lamy Safari M-nib on Rhodia N°16 notepad paper. These inks are not my piece of cake … my guess is that they require broad nibs and non-glossy paper to shine. Both inks are a type of lime-green or yellow-green, that looks fresh and reminds me of springtime. They look quite similar, but there are some differences: Jade Green wrote much drier than Robert Oster Sublime, resulting in a less saturated line of text, and really low contrast with the paper.RO Sublime has visibly more yellow undertonesIn my opinion, shading with Sublime looks nicer than with Jade GreenOn first impression I preferred the more yellow-green appearance of Sublime. In comparison, Diamine Jade Green is more of a lime-green type of ink. Also, the RO ink was much better lubricated and wetter - Diamine Jade Green wrote really dry and the written text looks too undersaturated for my taste. As such, this round is a definite win for the Australian challenger. Well done, matey! Round 2 - Writing Sample The writing sample was done on Rhodia N°16 Notepad with 80 gsm paper. Both inks behaved flawlessly, with no feathering and no show-through or bleed-through. With the fine nibs, Diamine was a noticeably drier ink – in comparison, Sublime was much more pleasant to write with. With the broad nib, both inks were on par with each other. The Robert Oster ink disappointed with the EF nib – here the writing looks really spindly and ugly. The Diamine ink handled the EF nib much better. Colourwise both inks look similar in writing, although there is definitely more of a yellow undertone in the Robert Oster ink. Both inks also shade nicely, without too much contrast between light and dark parts. This aesthetically pleasing shading gives more character to your writing. For this round, the focus is on writing, and here both inks showed some weak points. RO Sublime lost points with the EF nib, and Diamine lost points because of its drier writing. Neither ink made impressive moves in this round – the crowd is boo-ing and urging the combatants to put more spirit into the fight. As far as the judge is concerned, this round ends in a draw. Round 3 - Pen on Paper This round allows the batlling inks to show how they behave on a range of fine writing papers. From top to bottom, we have : FantasticPaper, Life Noble, Tomoe River and Original Crown Mill cotton paper. All scribbling and writing was done with a Lamy Safari M-nib. Both champions did well, with no show-through nor bleed-through. But this round is not about technicalities, it is about aesthetics and beauty. Are the fighters able to make the paper shine ? One thing is immediately apparent: being yellow-green inks, you should not use them on yellowish paper, where these inks lose their punch, and look drab and uninteresting. The inks did really well on the more absorbent Fantasticpaper (top), where they look glorious. In written text, Robert Oster Sublime leaves a more saturated line, and manages to look a bit better. Personally, I also prefer the heavier yellow undertones in the RO ink. Both inks are on par with each other, but Sublime has a slight advantage in the looks department. For this round, victory is granted to Sublime. Not a knock-out, but definitely a win on points. Round 4 - Ink Properties Diamine Jade Green dried quickly around the 10 second mark, with RO Sublime taking almost double this time to dry. As such, you need to be more careful with the Robert Oster ink not to smudge your writing. Even with a dried line, Robert Oster Sublime is much more prone to smudging – this is really obvious when dragging a moist Q-tip cotton swab across the text lines. To test water resistance, I dripped water on the grid and let it sit there for 15 minutes, after which I removed the water with a paper towel. Both inks are completely lost in this situation. All the ink disappears, and no readable residue is left. Your writing will be lost forever! This is also clear from the bottom part of the chromatography, that clearly shows that the ink completely detaches from the paper. For this round, another disappointing fight. Neither champion offered strong moves, although Diamine scored a point for its smudge resistance. This round goes to the English ink, on points. But c’mon guys, a bit more spirit ! We want to see some punches ! Round 5 - The Fun Factor Welcome to the final round. Here I give you a purely personal impression of both inks, where I judge which of them I like most when doing some fun stuff like doodling and drawing. Both inks do well, and allow for some nice effects when using a water brush. I really enjoyed using them. For drawing though, there really is no competition. Robert Oster Sublime completely overshadows Diamine Jade Green. First of all, Sublime is a wetter ink, making it easier to draw with … LEFT HOOK … It also leaves a much more saturated line, giving more punch to your drawings … RIGHT HOOK … Personally, I also prefer the more complex look of Sublime, with its heavier yellow undertones – which makes it the more beautiful ink for drawing … UPPERCUT … and knock-out !!! The crowds are cheering. This round is a definite win for the Australian champion. The Verdict Both inks are fine yellow-green inks, that really need broad nibs and absorbent white paper if you want to use them for writing. For drawing, they are a great choice, and look very fresh and beautiful. But counting the points, the story is clear: Diamine Jade Green manages to win only one round on points. The Australian Robert Oster Sublime wins one round on points, and delivers a resounding knock-out in the fifth round. This fight thus has a clear winner: Robert Oster Sublime !

Robert Oster Signature - Bronze Robert Oster is an Australian ink maker that is well-known for its unique range of colours. On his website, he describes our shared love quite eloquently: “Robert Oster Signature originates from one of the most famous wine producing regions of the world, the Coonawarra district of South Australia, an idyllic setting with great influence on the senses. There is my inspiration. It’s a joy to share it with you.” Well, we are certainly fortunate to have inspiring ink makers like Robert Oster to satiate our thirst for glorious inks. In this review, the center stage is taken by Bronze, a fascinating olive-green ink with a noticeable old-rose undertone that is present just behind the surface, and that gives the ink a really nice vintage look. The name “bronze” is spot-on for this Robert Oster creation – the colour reminds me of these ancient bronze pots with lovely patina you can find at your local museum. This is an ink that really stands out from the crowd – in a good way. The ink contrasts nicely with the paper, but – unfortunately – looks a bit flat when writing with an EF-nib. Starting with F-nibs though, the ink opens up and shows its character, with strong shading in the broader nibs. To show you the impact of saturation on the ink’s look & feel on paper, I made some scribbles where I really saturated portions of the paper with ink. This gives you a good idea of what the ink is capable of in terms of colour range. On heavily saturated parts, Bronze shifts from olive-green towards more of a brown-green colour, with those tantalizing old-rose undertones just beneath the surface (the scan seems to lose these old-rose undertones somewhat, but trust me – they are there, and they are what makes this ink so special). Like most Robert Oster inks, Bronze totally lacks any water resistance. Short exposures to water completely obliterate the text, leaving only some old-rose smudges. This is evident from the chromatography – the ink detaches easily from the paper, as can be seen in the bottom part of the chroma. The ink is reasonably smudge-resistant though… there are some greenish smudges when rubbing a line of text with a most Q-tip cotton swab, but the text itself remains perfectly readable. I’ve tested the ink on a wide variety of paper – from crappy Moleskine to high-end Tomoe River. On every small band of paper I show you:An ink swab, made with a cotton Q-tip1-2-3 pass swab, to show increasing saturationAn ink scribble made with an M-nib fountain penThe name of the paper used, written with a B-nibA small text sample, written with an M-nibDrying times of the ink on the paper (with the M-nib)Robert Oster Bronze behaved perfectly on all paper types, and even wrote surprisingly well on Moleskine paper (although with very noticeable show-through and bleed-through). The ink is equally at home on both white and more yellowish paper. While writing, the ink lays down a rather wet line, but still dries quickly within the 5 to 10 second range (with an M-nib). The initial wetness means that you have to look out for smudging while writing – as such it’s not an ideal ink for lefties. Inkxperiment - bronze landscape I’ve recently started to experiment with ink drawings, keeping things simple and more-or-less abstract due to my lack of drawing skills (which can use lots more practice). But I find it to be a fun extension of the hobby, and have found single-ink drawings a nice challenge. In this drawing I started with completely wet 300 gsm watercolour paper, and applied Bronze with a brush. For the sky I used lots of water while spreading the ink. The highlights in the sky were obtained by blending in some bleach (thank you Nick Stewart for pointing out the possibilities of using bleach on inks). With the background almost dry, I added in the trees, letting the ink spread a bit. When the paper was almost completely dry, I added the fence and some details to the trees. I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece ;-) , but the drawing does show what can be obtained with Bronze in a more artistic setting. ConclusionRobert Oster Bronze is a great olive-green ink with a strong vintage vibe – mostly due to the old-rose component that shimmers beneath the surface. The ink looks good in all nib types, and can handle even low-quality paper fairly well. Unfortunately, the ink has zero water resistance – but I can live with that. Overall, I liked Bronze a lot – it certainly stands out from the crowd. Recommended! Technical test results on Rhodia N° 16 notepad paper, written with Lamy Safari, M-nib Back-side of writing samples on different paper types

Robert Oster is new player in fountain pen ink market. He operates through worldwide network of wholesalers. The inks are sold in 50 ml PET bottles with a tightly secure twist cap. I don't know who makes the inks for the shop, but the colors look interesting and fresh. At the moment Robert Oster inks are available in billion colors - I lost track how many. Sample of Lemon Grass was sent to me by Akszugor. The color is interestig. I like it. The ink feels dryish and lubrication could be better but, overall, it's not bad. Drops of ink on kitchen towel Software ID Color range Rhodia, Visconti van Gogh, fine nib Midori, Lamy Al-Star, Visconti van Gogh, fine nib Water resistance

October Newsletter/Blog at Fed Pens: http://www.federalistpensonline.com/October-Update_b_32.html -Inktober (Discount/Shipping!) -New Pelikan Products -Robert Oster Frankly Blue! -Columbus Pen Show- Nov 3rd- 5th! (Attending- same location!) Thank You! Frank

Robert Oster is new player in fountain pen ink market. He operates through worldwide network of wholesalers. The inks are sold in 50 ml PET bottles with a tightly secure twist cap. I don't know who makes the inks for the shop, but the colors look interesting and fresh. At the moment Robert Oster inks are available in billion colors - I lost track how many. Sample of Torquay was sent to me by Akszugor. While the ink behaves well, I strongly dislike the color. Drops of ink on kitchen towel Software ID Color range Discovery copy paper, Kaweco Classic, medium nib Maruman, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib Midori, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib

Robert Oster Signature - Blue Denim Robert Oster is an Australian ink maker that is well-known for its unique range of colours. On his website, he describes our shared love quite eloquently: “Robert Oster Signature originates from one of the most famous wine producing regions of the world, the Coonawarra district of South Australia, an idyllic setting with great influence on the senses. There is my inspiration. It’s a joy to share it with you.” Well, we are certainly fortunate to have inspiring ink makers like Robert Oster to satiate our thirst for glorious inks. In this review, the stage is taken by Blue Denim. Catherine from Sakura provided me with a sample of this ink to play around with – much appreciated! This particular Robert Oster creation is a nice teal ink that is a very close relative of both Pelikan Edelstein Aquamarine and iroshizuku ku-jaku. It’s a teal colour that leans towards the blue side of the spectrum, which I really appreciate. The ink contrasts nicely with the paper, and works well with all nib sizes. I found this ink to flow well with superb lubrication – a real pleasure to write with. The ink also offers lots of shading, even in finer nibs. To show you the impact of saturation on the ink’s look & feel on paper, I made some scribbles where I really saturated portions of the paper with ink. This gives you a good idea of what the ink is capable of in terms of colour range. What really wows here is the beautiful reddish sheen that the ink exhibits – quite nice! If you use broad & wet nibs, you’re in for a treat. Like most Robert Oster inks, Blue Denim has no water resistance. Short exposures to water completely obliterate the text. All that remains are some unreadable smudges. This is evident from the chromatography – the ink detaches easily from the paper, as can be seen in the bottom part of the chroma. The ink also smudges easily, with bluish smudges on the page. The text itself remains very readable though. I’ve tested the ink on a wide variety of paper – from crappy Moleskine to high-end Tomoe River. On every small band of paper I show you:An ink swab, made with a cotton Q-tip1-2-3 pass swab, to show increasing saturationAn ink scribble made with an M-nib fountain penThe name of the paper used, written with a B-nibA small text sample, written with an M-nibDrying times of the ink on the paper (with the M-nib)Blue Denim behaved perfectly on all paper types, with just a tiny bit of feathering on the Moleskine paper. The ink is equally at home on both white and more yellowish paper. While writing, the ink lays down a rather wet line, but still dries quickly within the 5 to 10 second range. The initial wetness means that you have to look out for smudging while writing – as such it’s not an ideal ink for lefties. I also show the back-side of the different paper types at the end of the review. No troubles there, except with the Moleskine paper, which shows a bit of bleed-through. All in all, a well-behaving ink. ConclusionRobert Oster Blue Denim is a beautiful teal ink, that is at home on all types of paper. The ink looks good in all nib sizes, and offers a very smooth writing experience. Unfortunately, the ink has zero water resistance – the briefest touch of water completely obliterates your writing. If you already own other teals like Aquamarine or ku-jaku, you might pass on this one. There is however that alluring reddish sheen, that might make it worth your while to get a bottle… Technical test results on Rhodia N° 16 notepad paper, written with Lamy Safari, M-nib Back-side of writing samples on different paper types

Robert Oster is new player in fountain pen ink market. He operates through worldwide network of wholesalers. The inks are sold in 50 ml PET bottles with a tightly secure twist cap. I don't know who makes the inks for the shop, but the colors look interesting and fresh. At the moment Robert Oster inks are available in billion colors - I lost track how many. Sample of Blue Black was sent to me by Akszugor. The color is rather generic, but I liked this ink. It feels wet in my Kaweco Sport and the flow is very good. Lubrication could be better but the level we get is sufficient to enjoy writing. I wouldn't mind having more of this one. Drops of ink on kitchen towel Software ID Color range Discovery copy paper, Kaweco Classic, medium nib Maruman, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib Midori, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib Water resistance

Robert Oster is new player in fountain pen ink market. He operates through worldwide network of wholesalers. The inks are sold in 50 ml PET bottles with a tightly secure twist cap. I don't know who makes the inks for the shop, but the colors look interesting and fresh. At the moment Robert Oster inks are available in billion colors - I lost track how many. Sample of Charcoal was sent to me by Akszugor. The color is dark purple. Don't expect true black. The flow is nice and other properties are satisfying. Drops of ink on kitchen towel Software ID Color range Oxford Optic, Hero, M nib Discovery 70 mgsm copy paper, Kaweco Sport Classic, BB Leuchtturm 1917, Kaweco Sport Classic, BB

Robert Oster is new player in fountain pen ink market. He operates through worldwide network of wholesalers. The inks are sold in 50 ml PET bottles with a tightly secure twist cap. I don't know who makes the inks for the shop, but the colors look interesting and fresh. At the moment Robert Oster inks are available in billion colors - I lost track how many. Sample of Bronze was sent to me by Akszugor. I must admit I enjoy the color because of it's complexity. The ink has very good flow and feels wet. As most RO inks it lacks lubrication. All in all I enjoy this one. Drops of ink on kitchen towel Software ID Color range Oxford Optic, Kevin & Sasa Crafts, EF nib Discovery 70 mgsm copy paper, Kevin & Sasa Crafts, EF nib Leuchtturm 1917, Kaweco Sport Classic, BB

Robert Oster is new player in fountain pen ink market. He operates through worldwide network of wholesalers. The inks are sold in 50 ml PET bottles with a tightly secure twist cap. I don't know who makes the inks for the shop, but the colors look interesting and fresh. At the moment Robert Oster inks are available in billion colors - I lost track how many. Sample of Viola was sent to me by Akszugor. The color is uninspiring, the ink flows rather well although it may feel dryish. Also it lacks lubrication. Basically nothing interesting. Drops of ink on kitchen towel Software ID Color range Oxford Optic, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib Leuchtturm 1917, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib

Robert Oster is new player in fountain pen ink market. He operates through worldwide network of wholesalers. The inks are sold in 50 ml PET bottles with a tightly secure twist cap. I don't know who makes the inks for the shop, but the colors look interesting and fresh. At the moment Robert Oster inks are available in billion colors - I lost track how many. Sample of Verde de Rio was sent to me by Akszugor. The color is fresh and nice. I like it a lot. The ink feels rather wet but, as most RO inks, lacks lubrication. There's no water resistance. Drops of ink on kitchen towel Software ID Color range Oxford Optic, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib Leuchtturm 1917, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib

Robert Oster is new player in fountain pen ink market. He operates through worldwide network of wholesalers. The inks are sold in 50 ml PET bottles with a tightly secure twist cap. I don't know who makes the inks for the shop, but the colors look interesting and fresh. At the moment Robert Oster inks are available in billion colors - I lost track how many. Sample of Purple Rock was sent to me by Akszugor. I'm not thrilled bi yt. The ink feels dryish. The hue is ok, but the writing experience is far from amazing. Drops of ink on kitchen towel Software ID Color range Oxford Optic, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib Leuchtturm 1917, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib Rhodia, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib Water resistance

Robert Oster is new player in fountain pen ink market. He operates through worldwide network of wholesalers. The inks are sold in 50 ml PET bottles with a tightly secure twist cap. I don't know who makes the inks for the shop, but the colors look interesting and fresh. At the moment Robert Oster inks are available in billion colors - I lost track how many. Sample of Summer Storm was sent to me by Akszugor. I think that the ink name is great, color not so much. The ink lacks saturation and lubrication. It's not really pleasant to use. I'm rather disappointed with this one. Drops of ink on kitchen towel Software ID Color range Oxford Optic, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib Leuchtturm 1917, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib Rhodia, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib Water resistance

Robert Oster Signature - Marrone Mustard Robert Oster is an Australian ink maker that is well-known for its unique range of colours. On his website, he describes our shared love quite eloquently: “Robert Oster Signature originates from one of the most famous wine producing regions of the world, the Coonawarra district of South Australia, an idyllic setting with great influence on the senses. There is my inspiration. It’s a joy to share it with you.” Well, we are certainly fortunate to have inspiring ink makers like Robert Oster to satiate our thirst for glorious inks. In this review, I take a closer look at Marrone Mustard. Catherine from Sakura provided me with a sample of this ink to play around with – much appreciated! This particular incarnation of a Robert Oster ink is of the golden-brown variety. It’s a really nice light-brown colour with orange undertones. The ink contrasts nicely with the paper. It’s dark enough to make for a very readable text, yet not too contrast-rich in that it tries to dominate the page. Marrone Mustard is more at home in broader nibs. I didn’t like the way it looks in a EF nib – too flat and too light. In my opinion, this ink’s Goldilocks zone encompasses the M-B-1.1 range. Here the ink really shines, with great shading and the optimal expression of its colour range. With these wetter/broader nibs, you are rewarded with really good-looking writing. To show you the impact of saturation on the ink’s look & feel on paper, I made some scribbles where I really saturated portions of the paper with ink. This gives you a good idea of what the ink is capable of in terms of colour range. Like most Robert Oster inks, Marrone Mustard has no water resistance. Short exposures to water completely obliterate the text. All that remains are some orangy smudges. This is evident from the chromatography – the ink detaches easily from the paper, as can be seen in the bottom part of the chroma. The ink also smudges easily, with orange smudges on the page. The text itself remains very readable though. I’ve tested the ink on a wide variety of paper – from crappy Moleskine to high-end Tomoe River. On every small band of paper I show you:An ink swab, made with a cotton Q-tip1-2-3 pass swab, to show increasing saturationAn ink scribble made with an M-nib fountain penThe name of the paper used, written with a B-nibA small text sample, written with an M-nibDrying times of the ink on the paper (with the M-nib)Marrone Mustard behaved perfectly on all paper types, with just a tiny bit of feathering on the Moleskine paper. The ink manages to look good on both white and more yellowish paper. While writing, the ink lays down a rather wet line, but still dries quickly within the 5 to 10 second range. The initial wetness means that you have to look out for smudging while writing – as such it’s not an ideal ink for lefties. I also show the back-side of the different paper types at the end of the review. No troubles there, except with the Moleskine paper, which shows a bit of bleed-through. All in all, a very well-behaving ink. Conclusion Robert Oster Marrone Mustard is a beautiful golden-brown ink, that is at home on all types of paper. The ink is at its best in broader nibs, where it truly shows off its colour range and great shading. Unfortunately, the ink has zero water resistance – the briefest touch of water completely obliterates your writing. I consider Marrone Mustard an excellent choice for journaling, but be sure to use a wet M or B-nib to bring out the best from this ink. If you typically use EF/F nibs, this one is probably not for you. Technical test results on Rhodia N° 16 notepad paper, written with Lamy Safari, M-nib Back-side of writing samples on different paper types

Hey y'all! I just recently acquired a bottle of Robert Oster Blue Water Ice from Pen Chalet, nicely priced too. I was interested in such a pretty blue ink, and was surprised when I used it and there were hints of red on the edges when it dried! After some research I discovered that there's a whole world of inks out there that "Sheen" and "Shade". Now, I know that those are two different things completely, and that shimmer is also a separate entity of its own, but I came here to ask y'all what you think. Which do y'all prefer? Sheen? Or Shading?

A saturated, slightly dusty purple with strong gold sheen(the writing samples below were from a fairly dry pen). Not much shading but diluting with water and using a wetter pen may bring it out. I've had it in my pen for 2 days and the ink doesn't seem to be doing anything strange, not too sure about staining but none of the inks used in the mix usually stains much. I don't have the exact ratio but it's mostly pilot iroshizuku Yama budo with some shin-Kai and blue denim(Robert oster), possibly 4:1:1. Lubrication:4/5 Flow:4/5 Dry time:4/5 Water resistance:3/5(runs but definitely readable) No bleedthrough or feathering, slight show through on the copier paper. Sorry for the sloppy photos, I did try to take them in different lighting situations. I might try diluting it or playing with the ratio if anyone's interested. 😊

This is a quick review of Robert Oster Purple Jazz. Robert Oster inks come in 50ml recyclable PET bottles manufactured in Australia's first carbon neutral plastics plant. They are hand made in Australia. A message from Robert Oster: My great interest in fountain pen inks and by extension inks that combine many creative applications began with the birth of my love of fountain pens in 1989. As Robert Oster Signature Inks are quite recent to the market, think of the interim between 1989 and today, as the fertile ground into which my present love of all things ink was seeded and grown. The contents and packaging of my Inks are all nature friendly and the colours a genuine inventory of the Australian palette. Robert Oster Signature originates from one of the most famous wine producing regions of the world, the Coonawarra district of South Australia, an idyllic setting with great influence on the senses. There is my inspiration. Its a joy to share it with you. I purchased a sample of one of the many Robert Oster colors (I've lost count) - Purple Jazz - from Anderson Pens, although Goulet Pens also sells them. I hate to break it to all of you purple fans - THIS IS NOT PURPLE! When I received this sample, loaded into a cleaned pen and wrote with it, I thought they had mislabeled the sample. So, I contacted Anderson Pens, sent them my ink swab and writing sample, and asked them if this was the right sample. They confirmed that it was. But, before you look at my scans and tell me my scanner is off, the color truly is more of a black-blue-green with some hint of purple-gray in there. This is written on Tomoe River paper: But wait, it doesn't stop there. Not only does this ink look a different color than what is described, it looks different on different papers! Cambridge Premium Spiral Bound Notebook Paper: Same pens, same ink, same time. Even though it isn't what I expected, I really like how this ink behaves. It writes very nicely in any pen that I put it in. I would love to get your opinion of this ink.

I am always hunting inexpensive notebooks or legal pads that are fountain pen friendly for my work. I have been, for the most part, disappointed by the cheap quality of the paper on most pads and notebooks for everyday use. Last night, I spotted a display of these "new" notebooks that boast a high quality paper that resists ink bleed. At $1.97 per notebook, I decided to purchase a couple. A Quick Review of the new Five Star Coillege Ruled Notebook by Acco Brands in A5-related size: This notebook is made in the U.S, and is Number 11231. It has a 2 subject divider and a colorful cover. The paper is a light weight, student quality and likely not archival. The overall feel of the paper is smooth, but has a slight amount of toothiness. The manufacturer indicates that the notebook "Lasts all year. Guranteed!", and contains reinforced storage pockets, water resistant cover and high quality paper, "which resists ink bleed with common student writing instruments such as pencil, ball point pens, gel pens, felt tip pens and markers". I decided to see how fountain pen ink would do. The pens, nibs and inks used in this test for feathering, bleedthrough and showthrough were: Montblanc 144, fine 18K gold nib: Sailor Kobe Ooji Cherry Namisu Nova, medium titanium nib: Montblanc Irish Green Conklin Duragraph, 1.1 stub nib: Midnight Blue ink creation of mine Franklin Christoph Panther, Matsuyama medium italic 14K semi-flex nib: DeAtramentis Aubergine Italix Captain's Commission, medium italic nib: Diamine Woodland Green Lamy Studio, fine 18K gold nib: Akkermann #14 Purple Lamy 2000, medium 18K gold nib: Sailor Nioi Sumire Lamy LX, medium nib: Robert Oster Australian Mauve Opal Delta Capri Marina, broad fusion nib: GvFC Deep Sea Green Lamy Safari, broad nib: Diamine Bilberry Lamy Safari, medium nib: Robert Oster River of Fire Lamy Al-Star, fine nib: Robert Oster Tranquility Lamy Safari, fine nib: Cross Violet Custom made, fine 18k nib: Robert Oster Green Diamond Delta Horsepower, 1.1 stub fusion nib: DeAtramentis Robert Louis Stevenson Jinhao 450, Goulet 1.1 stub nib: DeAtramentis Edgar Allen Poe The following are printer scans of the inks tested on the paper. The image quality is not the best, but it should give you some idea. Note that the pink/red/purple colors seem "fuzzy". This is the result of my printer scanner, not the ink feathering. Page 1: Page 2: Feathering/Spreading: Overall there was minimal feathering. Those which did have some feathering included those inks which came from stub or broad nibs. Almost all fine or medium nibs showed little to no feathering. Bleedthrough: There was no bleedthrough, except with my very wet Italix Captain's Commission with Diamine Woodland Green,there were a few tiny spots where the ink was just beginning to bleed. Showthrough: Almost all of the fine and medium point nibs did not show through. The exception is my Namisu Nova which has an exceptionally wet medium titanium nib, and Lamy Safari medium nib with the very wet Robert Oster River of Fire ink. Almost all of the broad and stub nibs did showthrough, with the exception of Conklin Duragraph because the ink is fairly light in color, and surprisingly the Delta Capri Marina with a very wet broad nib filled with GvFC Deep Sea Green. Overall, I am very impressed with these little notebooks. I would recommend these to any student who uses fountain pens, particularly with fine and medium nibs. And with the black or dark blue cover, this would be acceptable for professional use as well as long as your use is non-archival.

(Since July, 2016) Robert Oster Signature- "Frankly Blue" Ink! Celebrating One Year in the US! We were proud to be the first US Dealer, and to debut Oster Inks at last year's DC Show! You can now Pre-Order this ink at our site! This is our own custom blend! This will be one of two EXCLUSIVE Inks we will have at the DC Show! (The other color (Black Violet) will be available thru other dealers after DC) http://www.federalistpensonline.com/-Robert-Oster-Inks_c_107.html Save more during our Anniversary Event! Thank You for your support! Frank Federalist Pens

Robert Oster Signature - Plumb Nut Robert Oster is an Australian ink maker that is well-known for its unique range of colours. On his website he describes our shared love quite eloquently: "Robert Oster Signature originates from one of the most famous wine producing regions of the world, the Coonawarra district of South Australia, an idyllic setting with great influence on the senses. There is my inspiration. It's a joy to share it with you." Well, we are certainly fortunate to have inspiring ink makers like Robert Oster to satiate our thirst for glorious inks. This review focuses on Plumb Nut. A big thank you to Catherine from Sakura for providing me with a sample of this ink to play around with - much appreciated ! Plumb Nut is of the pink variety - an ink that is outside my usual comfort zone. This is not an eye-searing pink however, it leans more to the salmon pink variety with some red-brown undertones. As such it's a more muted wall-flowery type of colour that doesn't try to dominate the stage. Plumb Nut works well in all nib sizes. The ink is easy on the eye, with a good contrast on all paper types, even when using fine nibs. The ink shows some nice shading in broad nibs that really enhances the character of your writing. Such shading is mostly absent with finer nibs though, resulting in a flat and - in my opinion - uninteresting look. This ink is definitely at its best with wet and/or broad nibs. Unfortunately, Plumb Nut really hates water. You typically don't buy Robert Oster inks for their water resistance, but this one is rather extreme. The ink has absolutely zero water resistance. Short exposures to water completely obliterate your writing. This is evident from the chromatography - the ink detaches easily from the paper, as can be seen in the bottom part of the chroma. Surprisingly, the ink performed really well on the smudge test, where I rub a line of ink with a moist Q-tip cotton swab. Here, there was only some mild smudging of the line, leaving the text mostly undisturbed. I’ve tested the ink on a wide variety of paper – from crappy Moleskine to high-end Tomoe River. On every small band of paper I show you:An ink swab, made with a cotton Q-tip1-2-3 pass swab, to show increasing saturationAn ink scribble made with an M-nib fountain penThe name of the paper used, written with a B-nibA small text sample, written with an M-nibDrying times of the ink on the paper (with the M-nib)Plumb Nut behaved perfectly on all paper types, without any feathering. The ink's chemistry clashes with Moleskine paper with a sickly colour as a result. Really strange - and I previously observed a similar effect with Robert's Purple Rock. There must be some chemical component he uses that just doesn't work with Moleskine paper. This is a relatively fast drying ink on most papers, with drying times in the 10 second range. In my opinion, Plumb Nut looks best on white paper, and is less good-looking on more yellow paper. I also show the back-side of the different paper types at the end of the review. No troubles there, except with the Moleskine paper, which shows significant bleed-through. Since only masochistic fountain-pen lovers adore Moleskine paper, this is not much of a problem ;-) Conclusion Robert Oster Plumb Nut is a classy salmon-pink ink with a vintage vibe. The ink looks its best in wet/broad nibs on white and creamy paper. It's not so good-looking in fine nibs and on more yellow paper. Unfortunately, the ink has zero water resistance - the briefest touch of water completely obliterates your writing. I did like the way Plumb Nut looks in drawings, but as a writing ink it is not a good match for me : it's not really my type of colour, and I typically use F/M nibs, which are too fine to bring out this ink's character. But I'm sure there are others out there that this ink will speak to. Technical test results on Rhodia N° 16 notepad paper, written with Lamy Safari, M-nib Back-side of writing samples on different paper types

Fun and quick illustrations to show how versatile the Robert Oster Signature ink collection can be. Inks used: Peach, Ruby, Barossa Grape, School Blue, Yellow Sunrise, Purple Rock and Pinky with bleach detailing. Test art onto Bockingford 200lb watercolour paper using a dip pen with titanium zebra G flex nib for the bleach work and man made fibre watercolour brushes for ink work. Ink samples very kindly donated by Robert Oster

Robert Oster Signature - Verde de Rio Robert Oster is an Australian ink maker that is well-known for its unique range of colours. On his website he describes our shared love quite eloquently: "Robert Oster Signature originates from one of the most famous wine producing regions of the world, the Coonawarra district of South Australia, an idyllic setting with great influence on the senses. There is my inspiration. It's a joy to share it with you." Well, we are certainly fortunate to have inspiring ink makers like Robert Oster to satiate our thirst for glorious inks. In this review the center stage is taken by Verde de Rio - which you might describe as a grass-green ink, and which would fall way short of what this gem represents. Do you believe in ink-love on first sight? Well I didn't ... until now that is. The first time I put Verde de Rio to paper, I got a thrill of excitement. It just feels wonderful when that happens, doesn't it? I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and some might just see a nice grass-green ink. For me however, Verde de Rio is a stunning beauty that went straight to the top as my personal ink of the year. This ink is liquid poetry! Verde de Rio is essentially a fresh-looking grass-green ink with yellow undertones, where the green remains dominant. It lays down a wet and relatively saturated line, and can accommodate all nib sizes, even the finer ones. I typically use F or M nibs, so this is a nice take-away. The ink is a real pleasure to write with: you start with a dewy grass-green line that dries relatively quickly into nicely shaded writing. I find the shading simply stunning - it is very present but still subdued. Because the contrast range between light and dark parts remains relatively narrow, you get an aesthetically pleasing shading effect. Really well executed! Unfortunately, Rio de Verde is allergic to water. On the smudge test - rubbing text with a moist Q-tip cotton swab - this quickly becomes apparent. The ink smudges easily, although the writing remains perfectly readable. Water resistance is totally non-existent though - even short exposures to water completely obliterate your writing. On the droplet test and after short exposures to running tap water, all the ink simply vanished. This is clear from the lower part of the chroma - almost no ink remains attached to the paper. The chroma also shows the complex character of the ink - Mr. Oster sure has great mixing skills. I've tested the ink on a wide variety of paper - from crappy Moleskine to high-end Tomoe River. On every small band of paper I show you:An ink swab, made with a cotton Q-tip1-2-3 pass swab, to show increasing saturationAn ink scribble made with an M-nib fountain penThe name of the paper used, written with a B-nibA small text sample, written with an M-nibDrying times of the ink on the paper (with the M-nib)Rio de Verde behaved perfectly on all paper types, with just a tiny bit of feathering on the fountain pen unfriendly Moleskine paper. I really like that the ink has a consistent appearance across the different paper types - not a mean feat. This really is a holy trinity ink - whatever combination of pen and paper you use with this ink, it always manages to look magnificent! Drying times are mostly around the 10-15 second range, with a low of 5 seconds on more absorbent papers. The ink works well with both white and more creamy paper. It looks especially good on Paperblanks paper (good for me, since this is my daily journal of choice). I also show the back-side of the different paper types at the end of the review. No troubles there, except with the Moleskine and Graf von Faber-Castell paper, which show significant bleed-through. With its 100 gsm, you would expect better behaviour from the GFC paper. As it happens, this is a very absorbent paper, that sucks the ink straight in (drying time is near 0 seconds) - the ink then simply appears again on the other side. Conclusion Robert Oster Verde de Rio is my personal favourite ink of the year. It has a stunning grass-green colour that works beautifully with all nib sizes and with all types of paper. It's a nicely wet and reasonably saturated ink, with good contrast and beautiful shading on every paper I tested. A pity that it has zero water resistance. I am really impressed by this creation of the Australian ink master - Verde de Rio is an ink that immediately seduced me. I am certainly biased here, but if you like this type of green, you owe it yourself to give Verde de Rio a try. Highly recommended! Technical test results on Rhodia N° 16 notepad paper, written with Lamy Safari, M-nib Back-side of writing samples on different paper types

Robert Oster is coming out with a new line of inks that will be suitable for dip and fountain pens: http://www.pensivepens.com.au/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=245 See also Robert Oster's Facebook page for more info.

Robert Oster BLUE SEA This Oster color you know for sure. This was my first Oster. Blue ink bore me relatively fast, but I have several types to which I return. Blue Sea is one of them.That's how I imagine the waters surrounding Australia. The color is well saturated, with a hint of turquoise. It works perfectly in thin lines as well as in wider. Here I use it in nibs: Sailor H-M and Bexley's stub. Shading is awesome. And shining is also present! The drying time is about 13 seconds od Rhodia dotpad, on other papers shorter. Good flow.Ink works well in fountain pens, I had the opportunity to use it for a long time. It's safe. Blue comparisons on Clairefontaine. Here's a sample on Filofax notebook and Oxford. Enjoy!

Robert Oster is new player in fountain pen ink market. He operates through retailers worldwide. The inks are sold in 50 ml PET bottles with a tightly secure twist cap. I don't know who makes the inks for the shop, but the colors look interesting and fresh. At the moment Robert Oster inks are available in billion colors - I lost track how many. Sample of Graphite was given to me by Mmg112 - thanks! The ink is rather nice and quite interesting - it's slightly green-blue dark grey. Not easy to describe, to be honest. There's also some muted red sheen. Flow: good and it comes out of the pen decently wet Saturation: good Lubrication: the ink is well lubricated with a smooth feel on the page Drying time: Not so short. 20-25 seconds on Rhodia, 15- 20 seconds on absorbent paper. Clogging issues: None experienced. Feathering: some experienced on Moleskine. Bleedthrough: almost none. Water resistance: this ink isn't water resistant. Drops of ink on kitchen towel Software ID Color range Maruman, Hero 5028, stub 1.9 Leuchtturm 1917, Jinhao x750, medium nib CIAK, Hero 5028, stub 1.9 Water resistance