Pilot Inks: Iroshizuku Vs. Regular Bottled

[davidsuzuki256]

Hi,

 

For those who have experience with using Pilot's Iroshizuku and their standard inks, are there any major noticeable differences between the two? or is simply is Iroshizuku has a better looking bottle and packaging for a much higher price?

 

Their regular, standard inks are offered in 350 and 70 ml.

 

David

Edited October 27, 2015 by davidsuzuki256

[Notgatherox]

Hi,

 

For those who have experience with using Pilot's Iroshizuku and their standard inks, are there any major noticeable differences between the two? or is simply is Iroshizuku has a better looking bottle and packaging for a much higher price?

 

Their regular, standard inks are offered in 350 and 70 ml.

 

David

 

There is a small 30ml too.

 

From my limited experience, I find their Blue Black to have much better water resistance than most Iros.

 

 

~Epic

[Keyless Works]

Iroshizuku inks are better looking and easier to clean. Pilot Blue has been known to stain but the blue, the black and blue black Pilot inks (the only three I have tried) are more resistant than Iroshizuku though none are permanent or entirely waterproof.

 

Both are very good inks and if you like the color of one of the standard Pilot inks I don't think you will be disappointed.

[J_MM]

The Pilot blue-black in 350ml is a very good deal. The colour is perhaps a bit boring but it is a great everyday ink and I turn to it for all my testing of pens. Beyond this, I'm only away of Pilot black and blue which are nothing special but work fine. The Iroshizuku line offers much more variety. I've only tried Kon-peki but it is lovely.

 

Sometimes the prices on amazon.ca are pretty good.

 

Here is Kon-peki for CDN$ 18.77 FREE SHIPPING.

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0018HJVS6?keywords=Iroshizuku&qid=1445963966&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

 

It is $2.78 more than the Pilot blue bottle.

Edited October 27, 2015 by J_MM

[wowbanger2000]

... Sometimes the prices on amazon.ca are pretty good ...

 

Same for amazon.co.uk - I've got all my Iroshizuku inks from a seller called Santa Trading JP. Always come well package, wrapped in indecipherable Japanese newspaper!

 

Iroshizuku Momiji seems to have stained the feed in my Pilot Custom 74 SM - it is a pretty saturated red and I had a good few fills over it over a couple of months so no huge surprise I guess.

[rwilsonedn]

I have only used one Pilot ink (blue) but several Iroshizuku inks. In general, I would say there is much more variety in colors with Iroshizuku, and the colors are very saturated. I can write a pen dry with Iroshizuku, partly refill it with water, and get another half-converter-full of writing done with ink that still has a nice tone to it. More subjectively, it feels to me that the Iroshizuku inks provide more lubrication, so fine-nibbed and even slightly toothy pens feel smoother.

ron

[J_MM]

Same for amazon.co.uk - I've got all my Iroshizuku inks from a seller called Santa Trading JP. Always come well package, wrapped in indecipherable Japanese newspaper!

 

Yes, Santa Trading was the seller I purchased from as well. Reasonably fast delivery to Canada.

[SNAK]

I have all current Pilot standard inks (Black, Blue, Blue-Black, and Red), a couple of vintage Pilot Blue and Green inks, as well as most of Iroshizuku line of inks.

 

From my experience I feel that the wet, easy flowing feeling (different from lubricated, slippery feeling) is about the same in all of my Pilot made inks, except for the vintage blue and green.

 

As mentioned, colour saturation-wise, Iroshizuku has varying degrees of dye saturation, from Chiku Rin and Ina Ho (weak) to Yama Guri, Shin Kai and Take Sumi (stronger). However I wouldn't call any of the Pilot inks super saturated, compared to say Noodler's or Private Reserve. I enjoy them for the subtle colours and presumed to be pen-safe behaviour.

 

I love the colourful Iroshizuku inks but my workhorse inks are Blue, Blue-Black, and Black. Water resistance strength is in that order also. I particularly like Blue-Black which isn't a typical greyish blue-black, but a crisper, blue-r blue-black (I hope it makes sense). Iroshizuku inks don't have any smell to them that I can tell, but Pilot standard inks have some smell, I think of the preservative they use, particularly the Blue, followed by Blue-Black, and then Black, in the order of the smelliness. I like the smell, some don't.

 

I hope it helps.

 

P.S. Edited to add that Iroshizuku inks don't have any water resistance to speak of, and also that the best thing I enjoy about the Pilot made inks is their universal great flow out of any pen that I have. They are wet inks in general in a watery, well flowing way (surfactant), as opposed to slippery and lubricated way (lubricant) that some PR inks can be.

Edited October 28, 2015 by SNAK

[bizhe]

Sandy1's reviews of both types of ink include ratings for qualities such as flow, etc. in my personal experience the iroshizukus feel more lubricated. All are excellent go to user inks.

[markh]

I've tried the take-sumi (black) and shin-kai (blue black) and really like them.

 

They seem to be about the perfect balance between more color and saturation than the more "vanilla" pen manufacturer inks, and the highly saturated inks like Noodlers and Private Reserve. Both of these last two can work well in some pens, but not in others, and I tend to dilute a bottle with a few ml of water, which helps.

 

The two Iroshizuku have never given me any trouble, straight out of the bottle. They are expensive, and for everyday use I go with Quink or Waterman. They may be a little more boring, but they work well everywhere.

 

Ultimately, what you write is more important than the color anyway. At least I think so

 

 

.

[Ronderick]

I use the Pilot black standard (a box of catridge which I bought with my Kakuno) and the IroshizukaTake-sumi which I use with my Sailor Profit.

 

Admittingly, it's pretty hard to tell the difference between the standard black and Takesumi when placed side-by-side - at the most I've only notice a slightly richer "tone" with the Takesumi (probably because there's a very tiny tint of another color or something).

 

However, when I tried coloring in a square, the standard black does seem a bit more "diluted" compared to the take-sumi. Another thing I noted is that 'blots' of the standard black show up on the back side of the paper with the colored-in square, while the take-sumi appeared more consistant and less visible from the back side.

[Buzz_130]

I would divide the Sailor inks into their regular line, nano pigments, and Iroshizuku. I have their nano pigments, a good selection of Iroshizuku, and blue + blue/black in their regular line. I always have at least one pen inked with Iroshizuku Asa Gao. My family also finds themselves constantly selecting their favorite colors in Iroshizuku. I use the nano pigments for work when my Japanese pens are in rotation. I don't often use the regular Pilot line. Definitely like the Iroshizuku - worth it!

 

Buzz

[mehandiratta]

I particularly like Blue-Black which isn't a typical greyish blue-black, but a crisper, blue-r blue-black (I hope it makes sense).

 

Yes you completely make sense...

[Icywolfe]

Regular Pilot Inks:

- Smells like Poison. It seems like if you smell it any longer you might flop over and slowly die. Must be the Phenol. It might be the only Ink I ever smelled that reeks this much of Phenol.

- A taste that you probably will regret. It tastes like poison.

- Easier to wash off of your hands.

- Seems more water resistant on paper once dried.

- Very utilitarian inks. You can find similar colors in other manufacturers

 

Iro:

- Smells like ink. Chemicals. Doesn't smell much of Phenol.

- Note: I do not go around drinking my inks. Iro inks tends to taste very bland and gives you the feeling you want to vomit.

- Not easy to wash off of your hands

- Not very water resistant

- Great Shading

- Great Color Changing for one of their inks. Changes much faster than Noodler's.

- Cleans off pens easy.

- Generally runs well with all pens.

- Runs good under flexing.

- If you spilled your drink on your paper. You might want to rewrite that paper as the writing is gone.

- Other manufacturers somehow can't copy the colors.

- Most colors are "happy" colors. As in if you write with them and look at it. It seems very calming sort of like some of Sailor inks.

- Bottle cracks during JP to US shipping

- Bottle bounces when dropped.

- Bottle is more likely be the reason why you are paying 30 USD or 15 USD for it.

- Bottle is one bottle you will keep as a paperweight in the future.

- It burns a good and nice hole in your wallet.

 

 

 

@Ronderick

I use the Pilot black standard (a box of catridge which I bought with my Kakuno) and the IroshizukaTake-sumi which I use with my Sailor Profit.

 

Admittingly, it's pretty hard to tell the difference between the standard black and Takesumi when placed side-by-side - at the most I've only notice a slightly richer "tone" with the Takesumi (probably because there's a very tiny tint of another color or something).

 

However, when I tried coloring in a square, the standard black does seem a bit more "diluted" compared to the take-sumi. Another thing I noted is that 'blots' of the standard black show up on the back side of the paper with the colored-in square, while the take-sumi appeared more consistant and less visible from the back side.

Pilot Black is Dark Gray. Iro Takesumi is Gray + Green. I suppose it matches with burnt bamboo.

 

Non JP Pilot seems to be Dark Blue though. I got some from I think the Philippines or Thailand as I can not tell the writing nor I have a clue how to read it.

[Blue_Moon]

Regular Pilot Inks:

 

- A taste that you probably will regret. It tastes like poison.

 

Iro:

 

- Note: I do not go around drinking my inks. Iro inks tends to taste very bland and gives you the feeling you want to vomit.

 

 

???? You don't drink your ink, but you do know how it tastes???? Interesting. Pardon me, but I must ask. Why are you tasting your inks?

[Icywolfe]

 

???? You don't drink your ink, but you do know how it tastes???? Interesting. Pardon me, but I must ask. Why are you tasting your inks?

Accidental tasting. Like it splatters into my mouth or it have it on my finger and without thinking I bring that to my lips or mouth. Also a few times I think its an empty ink syringe and put it in my mouth/lips like to hold it.

[Piper 987]

I have both Pilot Namiki Standard inks and Pilot Iroshizuku inks. The Namiki Standard Blue is one of my favorite shades of blue. It's very well behaved and I think of it as a "business blue", suitable for most everything.

 

What I like about the iroshizuku's is their amazing colors, and those gorgeous bottles. While they are more expensive, I often see them on Amazon.ca for a decent price. Right now, several are offered for under $20.00 CDN and that includes shipping.

 

As for quality, I have no complaints about any Pilot inks.

[Pensei]

One or two people at FPN comment on the taste of ink when they do reviews. I've come to expect it! Somehow it seems to be as valuable a bit of data as all the other things we get worked up about.

[Penpulsar]

One or two people at FPN comment on the taste of ink when they do reviews. I've come to expect it! Somehow it seems to be as valuable a bit of data as all the other things we get worked up about.

 

 

I look forward to reading a review where someone admits to snorting inks like snuff. It would be one way to explain brown-nosing....

[Algester]

Do take note the Iro line pretty much answers the need for non pedestrian colors hence the color pallete it has beyond that the usual Pilot pallete is there for the need if you want a good standard and relatively affordable colored ink with the blue-black being water resistant but not water proof

Edited July 12, 2017 by Algester