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Tintenlabor – Echinacea Ink Review # 208 --- 🧾 Description Tintenlabor is a Swiss ink company specializing in Iron Gall inks. What differentiates this brand is that it discloses the iron content. The samples were sent to me by the ink-Meister, David. The inks have been streamlined and now comprise a few new colours. Echinacea has a 4 g/L iron content. The highest iron content is 6 g/L (goldrausch) and lowest is 1 g/L (alpstein). Ink writes as a hot pink and oxidizes to dark burgundy or black (ebonite feed/flex). In the latter combo it’ll bleed through copy paper. However, for those of us who doodle, the same combo is fantastic for creating black lines. You can see the oxidation process here with Kaweco Sport B nib and Noodler’s Ahab. Note as the ink has been more than 2 weeks, in the pen barrel it has oxidized slightly in barrel compared to the photos. Cleaning: This time for my peace of mind I went with a pinch of pure ascorbic acid in the pen jacuzzi. The pens and their parts were happy. Never use ammonia-based cleaning solutions to clean iron gall inks. After using this ink for a month, I have fallen in love with this ink. The colour shift is dramatic and the oxidized colour lovely. --- 🧪 Chroma --- ✍️ Writing Samples (scan) Rhodia / Iroful Midori /Tomoe River 68gsm Hammermill 20lb 📸 Photo Photos were taken under artificial (LED) lights, to show off the colour after one month. Rhodia/ Iroful Midori / Tomoe River 68 gsm Hammermill 20lb Oxidation and closeup: 🔍 Comparison --- 💧 Water Test --- 🎨 Artwork Inktober 2025 - Day 13 - Drink A toast between cat and mouse — what could possibly go wrong? Talens Mixed Media notbebook for all drawings. Kaweco Sport , Noodler's Ahab Note how black lines was achieved with Ahab. Inktober 2025 - Day 15 - Ragged Inspired by the silent movie, The Kid (1921), this is my take on ragged with my cat & mouse theme. Inktober - Day 17 - Ornate The maiden who waited for her valiant knight to return was awarded with the grail rose from his beloved. An ornate drawing of an award (prompt 31). Inspired by A Bridal Couple, 1470, by an anonymous German painter. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/14003448827763348/ Talens square pocket notebook. --- - Pens Used: Pilot Kakuno EF, Kaweco Sport (EF/F/M/B/ Stub 1.9) , Ahab with FPR Super-flex. - What I Liked: Colour, writing, drawing, ink washes, water resistance. Drawing with a flex nib. - What I Did Not Like: Writing with a very wet pen can be both a joy and pain. Choose your paper wisely. - Writing Experience: Lovely with most nibs, even flex, though dry times were long. (too much ink) which oxidizes to black. - Pros: Lovely colour, wet, well lubricated, maintains burgundy with most paper pen combos. Water resistant. - Cons: Not suited for vegetal resin Ahab barrels. If you eyedrop a pen, ink can oxidize in the barrel. There might be tariffs for some. 🧷 Ink Characteristics - Shading: Lovely. - Ghosting: Faint. See below. - Bleed Through: Yes, with very wet pens. - Flow Rate: Wet. - Lubrication: below average to good, depending on nib size and pen, - Nib Dry-out: Did not notice. - Start-up: Very Good. - Saturation: Gorgeous. - Sheen: No. - Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Did not notice. - Nib Creep / Crud: Did not notice. - Staining (Pen): Yes, on Ahab’s barrel, none on Kaweco’s. - Clogging: No. - Cleaning: Moderately easy with Kaweco, I still went with ascorbic and pen jacuzzi to be on the safe side. - Water Resistance: Very good. --- 🛒 Availability - Available in 30/50 ml bottles, directly from Tintenlabor. https://tintenlabor.mycommerce.shop/products/echinacea --- 💬 Closing I have been wowed by the evolution of Tintenlabor inks. This new series have surprised me by their quality and performance. Echinacea is not different. The shift from hot pink to a deep gorgeous burgundy is mesmerizing. 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.