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Ink Review: Monteverde Canyon Rust


ErrantSmudge

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Monteverde's revamped line of inks recently got my attention for their comprehensive lineup of clear, distinct hues, as well as good value. A 90ml bottle can be had for about $13-$15 USD from the better known online retailers in the United States, making it a very good deal.
Monteverde touts their "ITF Technology". From Monteverde's promotional material, here's how it claims to benefit us writers:

Fountain Pen Ink with ITF™ Technology
  • Ink Treatment Formula
  • Improves Ink Flow
  • Extends Cap-off Time
  • Lubricates Feeding System
  • Improves Ink Drying Time
Monteverde Canyon Rust
I was PIF-ed this ink by Amberlea at the LA Pen Show. I think she might have noticed my budding interest in brown inks and gave this one to me to try. She gave it to me on the condition that if I did not like it, I would PIF it on to someone else.
Color/Saturation
Canyon Rust is a red-brown ink, to me more brown than red. The color varies highly with the pen and ink flow. From my Pilot 78G with a double-broad Italic nib, it comes out looking very much like a rust red color. My Aurora Talentum with a M regular nib gives the ink a darker, browner hue.
Clairefontaine paper
fpn_1490813862__mv_canyon_rust_clairefon
Shading/Sheening
Canyon Rust shades well on several papers, including Clairefontaine, Fabriano and even on copy paper. I have not noticed sheening on any of the papers I have tried.
Tomoe River paper
fpn_1490813828__img20170329_11001469.jpg
Flow
Though Monteverde bills their Ink Treatment Formula as a flow enhancer, their inks haven't been consistent and Canyon Rust runs somewhat to the dry side of the six Monteverde inks I have tried.
Amberlea PIF-ed this ink to me for a simple reason: when she filled a pen with Canyon Rust, right out of the bottle, the pen went dry and refused to write. She rejected the ink on those grounds alone.
I filled a brand-new Pilot 78G with Canyon Rust and put pen to paper. The pen refused to write for me as well. I twisted the converter to saturate the feed, and tried again. This time I got half a page in before the pen went dry.
Since the 78G was a brand-new pen, I had no way of knowing if the problem was the ink or the pen, so I flushed and loaded it with Waterman Blue-Black, a known "reliable" ink. The pen had no problems.
Loading the 78G a second time with Canyon Rust, I had no flow or starting issues. Over the past month, I've revisited the 78G, leaving it nib-up for days and sometimes over a week between uses. I haven't seen a repeat of the flow or starting issues. I suspect the pen simply needed a good flush because it was brand new. (And it also teaches me to use known pens for testing unknown inks, and vice-versa).
I also loaded Canyon Rust into my Aurora Talentum, one of the best writers in my collection. The Aurora is about middle on the scale between dry and wet writer, and Canyon Rust works well in this pen, again with no starting or flow issues in a month of use.
Lubrication
Judging lubrication is a little difficult with my two test pens - the Italic nib on the 78G writes very crisply, and Aurora nibs have a characterstic "toothiness" to them that somewhat works at odds with the lubricating qualities of inks. That said, I would say that though Canyon Rust is less lubricated than the other Monteverde inks I've tried, it ranks about average compared to inks I've used in general.
I have noticed the "stiction", where there's a little bit of added resistance at the beginning and end of each pen stroke. This has been characteristic of nearly all the Monteverde inks I have tried and I suspect comes from their "Ink Treatment Formula".
Dry Time
Dry Time for Canyon Rust is pretty quick on Clairefontaine paper, about 15 seconds . On 20 lb. copy paper, it's a bit slower than I expected, about 10 seconds.
20lb. Copy Paper
fpn_1490813771__img20170329_11464895.jpg
Feathering
Feathering is close to nonexistent on 20 lb. copy paper. On a cheap office pad, there is a mild to moderate amount of feathering.
20lb. Copy Paper
fpn_1490813690__mv_canyon_rust_copy.jpg
Office Pad
fpn_1490813711__mv_canyon_rust_office_pa
Bleedthrough
There is no bleedthrough on 20 lb. copy paper. On a cheap office pad, bleedthrough is moderate, but enough so to make the back side of the page unusable.
20lb. Copy Paper
fpn_1490813624__img20170329_11434740.jpg
Office Pad
fpn_1490813646__img20170329_11452815.jpg
Water Resistance
Canyon Rust does not have much water resistance. It practically all washed away in the 10-second immersion test. Noodler's Heart of Darkness, a waterproof ink, is used as a control.
Clairefontaine paper
fpn_1490813525__img20170328_11394602.jpg
fpn_1490813573__img20170328_13051804.jpg
Edited by ErrantSmudge
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I remembered I had filled a Kaweco Sport, BB nib with this ink & just used it in a new notebook, received today; I had NO bleedthru in an OXFORD, A5 ruled, 180 page notebook I had recently seen mentioned here. The paper is OPTIK/90gm & a declaration near the barcode says, Made in France. Supposedly it is the same paper in a Black & Red notebook, yet the Oxford seems a bit slicker to me. The pen also started right up & I know I haven't used it for perhaps 2 weeks time.

 

(I did look back to a Rhodia notebook & see evidence of Bleedthru with the same ink & pen.)

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Amberlea PIF-ed this ink to me for a simple reason: when she filled a pen with Canyon Rust, right out of the bottle, the pen went dry and refused to write. She rejected the ink on those grounds alone.



I must say that it looks great when you use it. So in the end, do you like it?

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Not a color for me -- I tend not to like red-leaning browns. But thanks for the review.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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I must say that it looks great when you use it. So in the end, do you like it?

 

 

 

In the end, I DO like it....but it's a color I see myself using only occasionally. So I don't really need a 90ml bottle (that's now short a few fills).

 

I'm thinking of giving away roughly half the bottle as ink samples in the PIF forum, to a group of interested FPN-ers. Stay tuned.

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'Tis good to pif.

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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