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Tintenlabor - Alpstein Ink Review # 200 --- 🧾 Description Tintenlabor is a Swiss ink company specializing in Iron Gall inks. What differentiates this ink from other brands is that you would know the iron content. The samples were sent to me by the Ink-Meister David. Alpstein is an ink for the iron gall weary. It has only 1 g/L of iron content, compared to the 3/4/5/6 g/L for other inks. It mimics the limestone peaks of Alpstein mountain range in northeastern Switzerland. It has a dry flow, below average lubrication and it would benefit either from a wet pen or soft nib. Ink is pencil grey. It had difficulty to keep up with the wet ebonite feed from the Karas Customs with a very wet feed from FPnibs. But over time the flow adjusted. I used two barrel fulls of inks. If there’s oxidation, it’s faint. Ink is water resistant but not waterproof. It needs a right pen, paper to shine. Cleaning was easy, a few flushes and voilà. --- 🧪 Chroma --- ✍️ Writing Samples (scan) Rhodia / Iroful Midori /Tomoe River 68gsm Hammermill 20lb 📸 Photo Rhodia/ Iroful Midori / Tomoe River 68 gsm Hammermill 🔍 Comparison --- 💧 Water Test --- 🎨 Artwork Punk Inktober yearlong challenge 2025, I interpreted punk in the sense of late 1940s and 50s. More specifically from The Wild One with Marlon Brando, and then added a modern twist to it with my cat & mouse theme (graffiti]. Ink is Tintenlabor Alpstein 4 Artist Silver marker and Red Sharpie Bus stop Inspired by inverted ink bottle as a bench with my cat & mouse theme. There’s a nod to Montblanc 146 (bus line number) and Alpstein mountain range. Tintenlabor Alpstein, Schokolade (Brown Black), Moodtape Grand African (Green) and FaberCastel blue Water colour crayon, Talens Mixed Media paper. Me & My Guy! A playful ink drawing inspired by the 1930s song “For Me and My Gal.” The title came after the drawing, flipping “gal” to “guy” for a lighter twist. Note the gorgeous colour variations when applied liberally. Tintenlabor Alpstein, Talens Mixed Media notebook. --- - Pens Used: Pilot Kakuno EF, Kaweco (EF/F/M/B/ Stub 1.9) , Karas Vertex FPnibs full flex ebonite extra wet feed. - What I Liked: Doing ink washes. Chroma and sketching. - What I Did Not Like: dry flow and paleness. - What Some Might Not Like: It’s a pale grey, not wet, not lubricated. - Writing Experience: Meh! I would say, it’s best on a Peter Pauper style paper. - Pros: Great ink for artist. And sketching. - Cons: dry flow. 🧷 Ink Characteristics - Shading: Yes - Ghosting: A bit o.n copy paper. - Bleed Through: As above. - Flow Rate: Dry - Lubrication: Below average but not scratchy. - Nib Dry-out: Did not notice. - Start-up: Ok - Saturation: Pale - Sheen: No. - Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Did not notice. - Nib Creep / Crud: Did not notice. - Staining (Pen): No. - Clogging: No. - Cleaning: Easy - Water Resistance: Good. --- 🛒 Availability - Available in 30/50 ml bottles. https://tintenlabor.mycommerce.shop/products/alpstein Note: Postal restrictions may affect shipping to certain countries, including the US. --- 💬 Closing I can’t say I was wowed by this colour for writing, however, the artist in me was wowed with the gorgeous grey washes. This is great ink for monochromatic drawing. It’s also a great ink, for those who want to use Iron gall inks but are weary of the cleaning process. No fountain pens were hurt in preparing this review. Please don’t hesitate to share your experience, writing samples, or any other comments — the more the merrier.