Jump to content

Colorverse Sunspot - An Amazing Ink!


axialix

Recommended Posts

large.colorverse_sunspot_logo.jpg.c398ecbc5735599e54e84d142a424c03.jpg

 

Colorverse gets a lot of hate. Some of it is well deserved. Pricing, packaging, bottle and sample sizes, even down to the naming of the colors. Better decisions should probably have been made in these areas. That being said, I still think they make some interesting and good quality inks. And they were the first inks I bought to start my collection. You’ll see why in a minute.

 

Sunspot is a very saturated black with bronze and blue sheen.

 

Product images:
large.colorverse_sunspot_product.jpg.ae24ed41349ce9b462aad137fd3a1683.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_product1.jpg.cf5100adfe462997077af8ba1cd417ad.jpg

 

Swatch:
large.colorverse_sunspot_swatch.jpg.cb4da52f6323f2db14f8f176cb93e396.jpg

 

Writing Samples: Ackerman Zebra G pen
large.colorverse_sunspot_writing.jpg.aff51943889d394be030bf9ef320421e.jpg


large.colorverse_sunspot_writing1.jpg.245dea877e207ab4de7eed5020f788a9.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_writing2.jpg.02f639422334c36c52cdbaf73b4eb67a.jpg
 

Dry time: Over a minute on Tomoe River, faster on cheaper papers. Smears rather easily too.
large.colorverse_sunspot_drytime.jpg.1984faa554b5dcf3c10b28dbf537fb14.jpg

 

Feathering: Well behaved on printer paper
large.colorverse_sunspot_laserjet.jpg.c567361c5772f135c343dcde53a5806d.jpg

 

Water resistance: Low
large.colorverse_sunspot_water.jpg.3420512352abbec7a5755a5378bdfba4.jpg

 

Comparison with other inks on black construction paper:
1) Colorverse Sunspot
2) Colorverse Black Hole
3) Colorverse Selectron
4) Perle Noire
5) Aurora Black
6) Iroshizuku Take-Sumi
7) Sailor Black
8 )Sailor Kiwaguro
9) Platinum Carbon Black
10) Monteverde Onyx
11) Noodlers Eel Black
12) De Atramentis Document Black
 

large.colorverse_sunspot_blacks.jpg.e834aa598c8f24b99269b288f8986933.jpg

 

Other stuff:
Nib Creep: Not so I’ve noticed
Staining: Easy clean with water
Shading/Saturation: None/Very Saturated
Ghosting: Not bad
Bleed through: On cheap paper
Flow Rate: Excellent
Lubrication: Don’t know about this, it just writes good

 

Now that the basics are taken care of, let’s have some fun:

Sheen: Bronze when wet, Blue when dry. TWSBI Diamond 580 Broad really brings out the Blue. I don’t see the Blue sheen all the time when using a Flex nib, but Broad or Italic is almost guaranteed to show it.
large.colorverse_sunspot_twsbi.jpg.5e326a7afe362ca12133c86fe5293a70.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_twsbi1.jpg.a5fc818919ecb4ac59fbafc21a863735.jpg
 

Ink Splats:
large.colorverse_sunspot_splat.jpg.a93b154e8639af9890a4a095951546f5.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_splat1.jpg.39f6b5fc75f0dcfdc073e980aa919649.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_splat2.jpg.8ec38633dbe3c1fd6b3b059bcaa9adee.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_splat3.jpg.c212e3c4583563ee0a79c8f782ed1db3.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_splat4.jpg.18d24ac01ff0c93f84a589b21a671c38.jpg

 

Watch yer step:
large.colorverse_sunspot_step.jpg.720dd5f425c8a63ef23cea6115fcbf7a.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_step1.jpg.53e8fd08006ed9f29cb109079123ce5e.jpg

 

Bleach:
large.colorverse_sunspot_bleach1.jpg.0ecffbf8229ec94980e3700447962d94.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_bleach3.jpg.af283863c1bc1683f35693dd4f834b4c.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_bleach4.jpg.0c2d374551b1f7aa9fa2fd510c0ba00e.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_bleach2.jpg.5939e598c08ed68e48f43e3315f89b10.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_bleach5.jpg.7173528bb622a153192eaf4556db6aa2.jpg

 

Now let’s bring out the big gun, blow this ink to smithereens, and check out the carnage:
large.colorverse_sunspot_airbrush.jpg.f9a424f78c621c6dd38f53d386f7dfd6.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_airbrush1.jpg.e675bd130b5b2d93dfd823346d782aa1.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_airbrush2.jpg.759f4b249591ff1945902428220dc197.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_airbrush3.jpg.2da8939720b8bdb3dfbd9f150ed1f8a1.jpg

 

Nick Stewart tribute (ink wash):

large.colorverse_sunspot_wash.jpg.2a5245f6d6dadedc85a0034a38c5082f.jpg

 

Overall conclusions:
Pros – Great flow, writes smooth, pretty bronze sheen when wet, cool blue sheen when dry, nice chromatography with good colors, fun ink for washes and pictures, can’t beat the shine on good paper
Cons – Long dry time, smears easily, price, bottle sizes, not really an ink for every day use so hard to justify the need for 80ml
 

large.colorverse_sunspot_end.jpg.efeae5e74672f3e599993555a923b721.jpg

 

Buy this ink. Don’t buy this ink. I’m not trying to sell the stuff. I just thought making this review would be fun. It was, but it took a lot longer than I expected. I’m working on another one coming soon. I’ll give you a hint, it’ll be a Colorverse ink! :)

 

Pens: Ackerman Zebra/Nikko G, TWSBI Diamond 580 Broad, Pilot Prera Fine
Papers: Tomoe River, Midori, Rhodia, TerraSlate, Canson XL watercolor, HP Laserjet
Camera: iPhone 12 (macro lens sold separately) > Lightroom > Photoshop

"O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever." Psalm 118:29

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 37
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • LizEF

    4

  • axialix

    4

  • PithyProlix

    3

  • inkstainedruth

    2

Wow!  Just plain wow!  Thank you.  Those are some seriously impressive images and a very complete demonstration of this ink!  Please yes, do more! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gorgeous images and great photography! Thank you for the review. It looks very lovely. I particularly like the interaction with bleach. The golden on black look is amazing. Black inks are not my thing but this one looks attractive (apart from the slow dry time and smear).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whoa! Whoa! WHOA!! What kind of wizardry is this???

Co-founded the Netherlands Pen Club. DM me if you would like to know about our meetups and join our Discord!

 

Currently attempting to collect the history of Diplomat pens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow! 

 

Fabulous review and some gorgeous eye candy!

 

Not convinced I'd buy it (I'm one of those who doesn't like coloverse sizes/pricing), but I'll certainly be back to look at this review regularly!

 

Thank you  @axialix

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, axialix said:

large.colorverse_sunspot_logo.jpg.c398ecbc5735599e54e84d142a424c03.jpg

 

Colorverse gets a lot of hate. Some of it is well deserved. Pricing, packaging, bottle and sample sizes, even down to the naming of the colors. Better decisions should probably have been made in these areas. That being said, I still think they make some interesting and good quality inks. And they were the first inks I bought to start my collection. You’ll see why in a minute.

 

Sunspot is a very saturated black with bronze and blue sheen.

 

Product images:
large.colorverse_sunspot_product.jpg.ae24ed41349ce9b462aad137fd3a1683.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_product1.jpg.cf5100adfe462997077af8ba1cd417ad.jpg

 

Swatch:
large.colorverse_sunspot_swatch.jpg.cb4da52f6323f2db14f8f176cb93e396.jpg

 

Writing Samples: Ackerman Zebra G pen
large.colorverse_sunspot_writing.jpg.aff51943889d394be030bf9ef320421e.jpg


large.colorverse_sunspot_writing1.jpg.245dea877e207ab4de7eed5020f788a9.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_writing2.jpg.02f639422334c36c52cdbaf73b4eb67a.jpg
 

Dry time: Over a minute on Tomoe River, faster on cheaper papers. Smears rather easily too.
large.colorverse_sunspot_drytime.jpg.1984faa554b5dcf3c10b28dbf537fb14.jpg

 

Feathering: Well behaved on printer paper
large.colorverse_sunspot_laserjet.jpg.c567361c5772f135c343dcde53a5806d.jpg

 

Water resistance: Low
large.colorverse_sunspot_water.jpg.3420512352abbec7a5755a5378bdfba4.jpg

 

Comparison with other inks on black construction paper:
1) Colorverse Sunspot
2) Colorverse Black Hole
3) Colorverse Selectron
4) Perle Noire
5) Aurora Black
6) Iroshizuku Take-Sumi
7) Sailor Black
8 )Sailor Kiwaguro
9) Platinum Carbon Black
10) Monteverde Onyx
11) Noodlers Eel Black
12) De Atramentis Document Black
 

large.colorverse_sunspot_blacks.jpg.e834aa598c8f24b99269b288f8986933.jpg

 

Other stuff:
Nib Creep: Not so I’ve noticed
Staining: Easy clean with water
Shading/Saturation: None/Very Saturated
Ghosting: Not bad
Bleed through: On cheap paper
Flow Rate: Excellent
Lubrication: Don’t know about this, it just writes good

 

Now that the basics are taken care of, let’s have some fun:

Sheen: Bronze when wet, Blue when dry. TWSBI Diamond 580 Broad really brings out the Blue. I don’t see the Blue sheen all the time when using a Flex nib, but Broad or Italic is almost guaranteed to show it.
large.colorverse_sunspot_twsbi.jpg.5e326a7afe362ca12133c86fe5293a70.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_twsbi1.jpg.a5fc818919ecb4ac59fbafc21a863735.jpg
 

Ink Splats:
large.colorverse_sunspot_splat.jpg.a93b154e8639af9890a4a095951546f5.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_splat1.jpg.39f6b5fc75f0dcfdc073e980aa919649.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_splat2.jpg.8ec38633dbe3c1fd6b3b059bcaa9adee.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_splat3.jpg.c212e3c4583563ee0a79c8f782ed1db3.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_splat4.jpg.18d24ac01ff0c93f84a589b21a671c38.jpg

 

Watch yer step:
large.colorverse_sunspot_step.jpg.720dd5f425c8a63ef23cea6115fcbf7a.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_step1.jpg.53e8fd08006ed9f29cb109079123ce5e.jpg

 

Bleach:
large.colorverse_sunspot_bleach1.jpg.0ecffbf8229ec94980e3700447962d94.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_bleach3.jpg.af283863c1bc1683f35693dd4f834b4c.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_bleach4.jpg.0c2d374551b1f7aa9fa2fd510c0ba00e.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_bleach2.jpg.5939e598c08ed68e48f43e3315f89b10.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_bleach5.jpg.7173528bb622a153192eaf4556db6aa2.jpg

 

Now let’s bring out the big gun, blow this ink to smithereens, and check out the carnage:
large.colorverse_sunspot_airbrush.jpg.f9a424f78c621c6dd38f53d386f7dfd6.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_airbrush1.jpg.e675bd130b5b2d93dfd823346d782aa1.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_airbrush2.jpg.759f4b249591ff1945902428220dc197.jpg

 

large.colorverse_sunspot_airbrush3.jpg.2da8939720b8bdb3dfbd9f150ed1f8a1.jpg

 

Nick Stewart tribute (ink wash):

large.colorverse_sunspot_wash.jpg.2a5245f6d6dadedc85a0034a38c5082f.jpg

 

Overall conclusions:
Pros – Great flow, writes smooth, pretty bronze sheen when wet, cool blue sheen when dry, nice chromatography with good colors, fun ink for washes and pictures, can’t beat the shine on good paper
Cons – Long dry time, smears easily, price, bottle sizes, not really an ink for every day use so hard to justify the need for 80ml
 

large.colorverse_sunspot_end.jpg.efeae5e74672f3e599993555a923b721.jpg

 

Buy this ink. Don’t buy this ink. I’m not trying to sell the stuff. I just thought making this review would be fun. It was, but it took a lot longer than I expected. I’m working on another one coming soon. I’ll give you a hint, it’ll be a Colorverse ink! :)

 

Pens: Ackerman Zebra/Nikko G, TWSBI Diamond 580 Broad, Pilot Prera Fine
Papers: Tomoe River, Midori, Rhodia, TerraSlate, Canson XL watercolor, HP Laserjet
Camera: iPhone 12 (macro lens sold separately) > Lightroom > Photoshop

So seriously cool. If I thought this ink would look like this for me, I'd buy it. I actually do like a lot of Colorverse inks, but I'm not partial to blue-blacks. In your hands, though, this ink is magical. Looking forward to more of your reviews. Wow -- made my inky day!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, you've taken ink reviews to a whole new artistic level!

"Life would split asunder without letters." Virginia Woolf

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Is it just me, or does this make everyone else want to ink up their Pilot Falcon? :D

 

The other part of the review makes me want to go buy that airbrush set I've been toying with the idea of... 😁

Co-founded the Netherlands Pen Club. DM me if you would like to know about our meetups and join our Discord!

 

Currently attempting to collect the history of Diplomat pens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, DvdRiet said:

The other part of the review makes me want to go buy that airbrush set I've been toying with the idea of... 😁

:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whoa, incredible photos and artistry.

That chrome instrument looks cool -- "interesting looking fountain pen", I thought, then "oh, wait"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd have thought, axialix – An Amazing Ink Reviewer! would be a more fitting title for this thread. :notworthy1:

 

What an absolutely stunning debut of an ink review! Thank you very much for sharing your art with us.

 

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@axialixthis is beyond review, breathtaking. And that handwriting? I wonder if you are related to a scribe from the Lord of the Rings? :)

 

@LizEF So are you going to start another series? Falcon reviews 🤣

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, yazeh said:

@LizEF So are you going to start another series? Falcon reviews 🤣

:lol:  You know, I would like that, I think, though I'd be more selective of the inks because the Falcon isn't as easy to clean.  And since mine's an SEF nib, it would fit right in with the whole EF thing I got goin', but unless someone wants to pay me to do it ( :lticaptd:), I don't think I can spare the time - I already procrastinate working waaaay too much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This ink looks fascinating, although the slow dry time might make this one a pass....  Is there just the two different colors of sheen, or is the gold actually shimmer?

Love the handwriting, BTW, axialix!

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."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...