Penbbs #184 – Rattan / Gamboge

[crahptacular]

PenBBS #184 – Rattan / Gamboge

 

Another PenBBS ink from their Season 13 release, this is “No.184 传统色-藤黄”, which I believe translates to “Traditional Color, Rattan.” Edit: I have been informed that the translation should be "Gamboge," and have changed the title to reflect this. According to at least one website, this is a discontinued color, but at the time of writing, Vanness (where I purchased my sample from; no affiliation) is still stocking it. Among PenBBS’s hundreds of inks, “Traditional Color” is one of the recurring themes, accounting for approximately two dozen of their inks. I’ve only used this ink sample in one pen over the last two weeks, so I can’t comment on its performance in other configurations. The pen used for review has a relatively soft and wet Bock medium nib.

 

The ink is a nice golden yellow, which for me is just dark enough to be useable for writing. I imagine in a fine or even a regular-wetness medium nib, reading would be more difficult. The ink is lighter wet than dry, which makes it a little difficult to see what you’re writing, even though the final line is legible. As is more common with lighter colored inks, it displays high-contrast shading and some haloing around line edges. You can see the nice shading in the larger writing on the right, and the haloing in the flex writing. The color is a bit more orange than I expected; in my mind, “rattan” is slightly more of a brownish yellow, and the few colors swabs I found of the ink online looked browner as well. Apart from that, I have to admit that I like this color more than expected. I thought it’d be much harder to read, like Diamine Sunshine Yellow. I could see myself occasionally using this ink for regular writing, and I like its appearance in flex writing. It usually takes a lighter colored ink to show both haloing and shading in flex writing while still remaining true to its original hue, and this ink does all of the above.

 

Side note – the ink was a little too light for sketching, so I cheated. The black is a Pilot Parallel black cartridge. I avoided mixing the yellow and black inks, so all shades of yellow you see in the doodle are from the original ink except the spot right in the middle of the guy’s hair, where I accidentally mixed a tiny bit of black in, and a few (a bunch of) smears because I’m a slob.

 

Lubrication: Medium-low

Shading: High

Sheen: None

Water Resistance: None

Other notes: Among the comparison inks, the only one I personally consider too light to write with is Diamine Sunshine Yellow, but I think I have a relatively high tolerance for light inks. For reference, I would consider this ink to be the next lightest color in the group.

 

The following sample was done with a Namisu Nova (Medium, wet) on Tomoe River (52gsm, white, loose-leaf). Doodle was done with pen and a size 0 liner and a modified Pilot Parallel for the black outline sketch. Flex writing was done with a Trionfo 900 dip nib.

 

Bad Scanner Disclaimer: The scan is overly bright/high-contrast, but is relatively accurate as far as hue goes. The comparisons are quite accurate on the scan. The photo does a much better job on the writing in the top half. Aside from the poor lighting (sorry), the photo is a better representation of the ink.

 

Scan:

 

Photo:

 

Comparison inks from left to right (big smear is the featured ink):

Kyo no Oto Yamabuki-iro, Sailor Kobe Nagasawa #21 Tasan-Ji Temple Yellow, Diamine Sunshine Yellow, Noodler’s Golden Brown, KWZ Honey

 

Writing Samples (scans; no color correction), from Ursula Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”

 

Maruman Mnemosyne:

 

Tsubame Fool’s University:

 

Franklin-Christoph:

Edited October 12, 2017 by crahptacular

[lgsoltek]

I think the name refers to gamboge, a kind of pigment often used in Chinese paintings.

 

I didn't realise it had been discontinued. It's a lovely colour. I shared a bottle with fellow inksters. I think I kept a small sample for myself somewhere...

Edited October 12, 2017 by Lgsoltek

[crahptacular]

You may be right. I used Google translate and another dictionary I have installed, which both told me "藤黄" was "rattan," but now that you mention it, a regular web search gives me "gamboge" as well. I will edit the thread title and contents to include both names.

[crahptacular]

Your translation makes more sense, as the color much more closely resembles the gamboge pigment. Thanks for the correction

[visvamitra]

Stunning drawing. I enjoy the color.

[inkstainedruth]

It's a pretty color, but awfully light unless, apparently, used in a pen with a very broad nib.

Also, not really the color I think of when I think of "rattan".... (You probably don't want to ask.... )

But thanks for the review.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[lapis]

I really like this colour of this ink, but even if I didn't, your drawings would still seduce me into buying it.