Is it Red? or Is it Pink?

[AceNinja]

When I read/watch red ink reviews online, I found that most of the ink that I would describe as Red is often described as 'pink', 'too pinkish' colour by the reviewer.  So I've been wondering for quite some time, is it that I got the colour name wrong, or is it cultural background thing? 

 

Anyway, I've copied 7 ink swatches here (from mountainofink).  I cropped out the name of the inks, so that y'all can describe the colour based on what you see.  Below I've inserted on what I think I would describe each ink.

All the colours here are from Diamine.  The file name still contain the ink name, so perhaps try not to hover your mouse over the swatches which can review the ink name, which may influence on how you describe each ink.

 

No right or wrong here, just curious what everyone describes the red and pink colour.

 

Colour 1	Colour 2	Colour 3	Colour 4	Colour 5	Colour 6	Colour 7
Pink	Magenta	Light red	Red	Dark Red	Light Burgundy	Burgundy

 

[LizEF]

1. Pink
2. Hot pink
3. Pastel pink or washed-out red
4. Red
5. Red
6. Red (this does look like it has pink undertones in the paler parts of the swatch)
7. Maroon  ("...protector of all, beholden to none!")

IMO, when people describe a red as too pink, they're talking about hints / undertones of pink - what you would see when diluted or washed out.

[arcfide]

I have a pet theory on this one. The pattern that I have noticed is that most of the very traditional red inks from established makers have a remarkable similarity. Here I'm thinking of the inks from Waterman, Sheaffer, Pilot, Platinum, Sailor, Lamy, Pelikan, and so forth. Their standard red ink, if they have one, or the nearest equivalent all seem to me to be both brighter, lighter, and less saturated relative to many. 

 

These inks will have a different look on more traditional paper or more absorbent paper than many of today's favored papers. They won't be quite as solid or saturated on the page, in my experience. 

 

The way I interpret it is this: these inks are in fact the standard of fountain pen red ink, not a conspiracy of ink makers to try to sell pink ink as red ink. I think they really do count as red, and I'd generally call them red in most cases on most paper. However, I think that there was a shift in the fountain pen community as hyper-saturated inks came onto the scene, and where color expectations also changed. While there has been a shift again towards lots of lighter and less saturated ink colors, many of the complaints I hear about red inks (especially the standard ones) amount to them not being bright, pure, or dark enough. I think there has been a combination of a shift in terms of what people typically think of as the "standard red" as well as a shift in expectations. It's hard to make a truly eye-searingly vivid red in a well-behaved fountain pen ink. I think if you look at the Shades of red listed on Wikipedia, many of the traditional red fountain pen inks fit nicely into the red spectrum and don't as closely match the pink or coral monikers. Maybe that's just my eyes though. 

 

Just as an example, I don't think I would ever have called Red Dragon a "standard red" color any more than I would call Waterman Mysterious Blue a "standard blue" ink. 

[InesF]

6 hours ago, AceNinja said:

No right or wrong here, just curious what everyone describes the red and pink colour.

In my subjective classification, I can agree on most of the colour names, except number 3 which I would call peach or salmon or, maybe, rose.

And, I'm missing the number 0: light pink or cherry blossom.  

[lapis]

6 hours ago, InesF said:

In my subjective classification, I can agree on most of the colour names, except number 3 which I would call peach or salmon or, maybe, rose.

I'll buy that. Lemme chuck in coral.

[yazeh]

1) Pink

2)Fuchsia 

3)Coral/ or Salmon red

4) Dull red

5) Rich red 

6) Fuchsia/Magenta.... not burgundy

 

[ErrantSmudge]

1. pink
2. hot pink/magenta
3. rose pink
4. coral (pink? red?)
5. rose red
6. valentine red
7. burgundy

 

My favorite "Is it red?  Is it pink?" ink is Rohrer & Klingner Fernambuk, which can look like either or both depending on the nib, paper, and lighting.

[lgsoltek]

Me:

1-3 Pink

4 Pinkish Red

5-6 Red

[Penguincollector]

1. Pink that leans towards hot pink

2. Magenta

3. Salmon

4. Red

5. Brick Red

[amper]

On 2/23/2023 at 9:19 PM, AceNinja said:

When I read/watch red ink reviews online, I found that most of the ink that I would describe as Red is often described as 'pink', 'too pinkish' colour by the reviewer.  So I've been wondering for quite some time, is it that I got the colour name wrong, or is it cultural background thing? 

 

Anyway, I've copied 7 ink swatches here (from mountainofink).  I cropped out the name of the inks, so that y'all can describe the colour based on what you see.  Below I've inserted on what I think I would describe each ink.

All the colours here are from Diamine.  The file name still contain the ink name, so perhaps try not to hover your mouse over the swatches which can review the ink name, which may influence on how you describe each ink.

 

No right or wrong here, just curious what everyone describes the red and pink colour.

 

Colour 1	Colour 2	Colour 3	Colour 4	Colour 5	Colour 6	Colour 7
Pink	Magenta	Light red	Red	Dark Red	Light Burgundy	Burgundy

 

 

1. magenta or "light magenta"
2. also magenta, just more saturated, you could say "dark magenta"
3. pink

4. red or "light red"

5. also red, just more saturated, so "dark red" is fine

6. light crimson
7. red-violet, but "wine" or "Burgundy" is fine, too.

Context: I went to university for theatrical lighting design and spent some years afterward as the purchasing manager for a fine artists' materials firm, plus I have done a bunch of graphic design work in my career. I tend to use more technical color terms than artistic or decorative terms—ie, "crimson" is a red then tends to the purple side of true red, whereas "scarlet" is a red that tends toward the orange side, "purple" is on the red side, whilst "violet" is on the bluer side.

Oh also, did you know that "magenta" technically doesn't exist? There's no magenta light in the color spectrum. Red and Violet are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

[amberleadavis]

So what are names of the inks?

[AceNinja]

23 hours ago, amberleadavis said:

So what are names of the inks?

Ink name reveals here:

 

Quote

Here goes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Diamine Hope Pink
2. Diamine Claret
3. Diamine Pink
4. Diamine Wild Strawberry
5. Diamine Red Dragon
6. Diamine Classic Red
7. Diamine Syrah

 

 

 

[The Elevator]

On 2/23/2023 at 9:19 PM, AceNinja said:

No right or wrong here, just curious what everyone describes the red and pink colour.

 

Colour 1	Colour 2	Colour 3	Colour 4	Colour 5	Colour 6	Colour 7
Pink	Magenta	Light red	Red	Dark Red	Light Burgundy	Burgundy

 

 

My answers:

 

1: Pink/magenta

2: Magenta

3: pink/coral

4: Red

5: Red

6: Red

7: Burgundy

 

[amberleadavis]

Funnily enough, I think of Red Dragon as real red.  

Of course, I think Momiji is pink.

[HalloweenHJB]

On 3/2/2023 at 6:25 PM, amberleadavis said:

Funnily enough, I think of Red Dragon as real red.  

 

To me, RD is a touch too dark for real red, and its doppelgänger is Akkerman Karmozijn van Rembrandt —a color equivalent in Dutch for our "crimson" or "carmine".  

 

On 3/2/2023 at 6:25 PM, amberleadavis said:

Of course, I think Momiji is pink.

 

It's the perfect "on the edge" ink.  💡  Perhaps we should do a thread on the "Razor's Edge Inks" that people can't conclusively decide is one color or its closest sibling.  

 

Hmmmm...