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JinChen Lantau Dream Ink Review # 232 --- 🧾 Description Jinchen is a small Chinese ink manufacturer. After perusing their offerings on AliExpress, it seems that the inks are divided into chromo-shading, sheening, and shimmer inks. I bought a bottle after @LizEF's reviews and @A Smug Dill's passionate posts on Reddit and FPN. Lantau Dream, originally 屿梦 (Yu Meng), meaning Island Dream, is named after Lantau Island, the biggest island of Hong Kong. I got this ink by mistake (I was aiming for another colour, but AliExpress can be confusing). The bottles are 18 ml and come in a plastic box. There's no indication of the name in English. It’s a classic teal ink with a red sheen. The sheen is visible with the EF, F, or flex nibs only on Midori, Iroful, and Tomoe River 68gsm in my tests below. The lubrication is out of this world, especially with B & 1.1 nibs, making the nib float. Ink bled through with almost all nibs on copy paper. Ink has no water resistance, and, like most sheening inks, it is messy and will stain your fingers. I had to resort to cleaning solution and pen jacuzzi after several flushing and soaking. --- 🧪 Chroma --- ✍️ Writing Samples (scan & photos) Scans are approximate. Photos are most accurate. - Pens Used: Osmiroid Copperplate EEF flex nib, Lamy (EF/F/M/B/ Stub 1.1). Quotes: Rhodia (A4 Black DotPad) “The night gave me dark eyes; I use them to seek light.” — Gu Cheng (1956–1993), Chinese poet Iroful “The sea enters the harbor quietly, carrying the smell of distant rain.” — Yesi (Leung Ping-kwan) (1949–2013), Hong Kong poet Midori A5 (Codex) “The city floats like an island in a sea of light.” — Xi Xi (1937–2022), Hong Kong novelist and poet Tomoe River 68gsm A5 (Taroko Design) “I do not believe the sky is blue.” — Bei Dao (born 1949), Chinese poet Hammermill 20lb “After fresh rain in empty mountains, autumn air comes at dusk.” — Wang Wei (699–759), Tang dynasty poet and painter English translations are by ChatGPT and may differ from published translations. Rhodia Iroful Midori Tomoe River 68gsm Note: Tomoe River used here is 68 gsm, not the thinner 52 gsm version commonly referenced in reviews. Hammermill 20lb Closeup 🔍 Comparison Col-O-ring. Scans are approximative. --- 💧 Water Test --- 🎨 Artwork Puttin' on the Ritz Inktober52 – Prompt 8: Pretend Cat & Mouse like puttin’ on the Ritz when the world looks blue, pretending everything will be okay as long as there’s imagination. Kitty Ink Pot Unstoppable Snake, Jinchen Lantau Dream, Yellow highlighter, Signo White gel pen Talens Mixed Media Sketchbook. Inktober day 9: Horse Miniature: Cat & mouse go for a ride on horsy. Kitty Ink Pot, Unstoppable Snake, JinChen Lantau Dream, ink brush, fountain pen, Talens Sketchbook Pocket. In the Now Inspired by the majestic Buddha on Lantau Island near Hong Kong, reimagined through my cat & mouse theme. JinChen - Lantau Island ink, Brause Blue Pumpkin nib, Talens Mixed Media Sketchbook. --- - Writing Experience: Excellent. - What I Liked: Lubrication. Price. - What I Did Not Like: Not my colour. Lack of water resistance. Staining my fingers. 🧷 Ink Characteristics - Shading: With wider nibs the sheen becomes shading. - Ghosting: Faint on copy paper. - Bleed Through: Yes, on copy paper, unless used with an EEF nib and a light touch. - Flow Rate: Wet. - Lubrication: Excellent. - Nib Dry-out: No. - Start-up: No. - Saturation: Saturated teal. - Sheen: Only on Japanese Paper. - Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Did not notice. - Nib Creep / Crud: Did not notice. - Staining (Pen): - Clogging: No. - Cleaning: I had to resort to cleaning solution after several flashings and soakings. - Water Resistance: No. --- 🛒 Availability - Available in 18 ml bottles from AliExpress. --- 💬 Closing This is a decent sheening ink from JinChen that only works if you use Japanese paper and finer nibs or a wet pen. The price, unlike other Chinese inks, is decent and shipping takes about two weeks. However, if you understand Chinese and have the patience to navigate Taobao and can withstand the long shipping time by boat, you can get the whole series for the price of one bottle. No fountain pens were harmed in preparing this review. Please don’t hesitate to share your experience, writing samples, or any other comments — the more the merrier.

I love blue inks that sheen, but most of them don’t write wet enough for my taste. They tend to be a little “sticky.” Can anyone recommend a blue ink that sheens a lot (not necessarily to the monster level) but writes really wet?

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. 😊