Some Ink Tests

[Penguincollector]

Here’s how Double Ring did with a swatch of different inks: 

[InkyProf]

Thanks, @Penguincollector! Those do seem worth trying, for sure. (And Troublemaker Abalone grabs me too!) 

[Ceramicist]

@PenguincollectorGreat pen/ink/paper comparisons! Thank you!

[Penguincollector]

3 hours ago, InkyProf said:

Thanks, @Penguincollector! Those do seem worth trying, for sure. (And Troublemaker Abalone grabs me too!) 

  Abalone is wonderful,  a very paper dependent, DRY chroma shader. I suggest using it in your wettest pen. 
 

3 hours ago, Ceramicist said:

@PenguincollectorGreat pen/ink/paper comparisons! Thank you!

 

  Thank you! These ink tests are fun. The difficult part is getting good pictures, especially this time of year. 

[InkyProf]

53 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

I suggest using it in your wettest pen

 

Noted! I have a couple in mind already. Now to see if I can find the ink! Vanness only has samples...

[USG]

18 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

So I meant to post these yesterday for @InkyProf and @USG, but time got away from me and some of my pictures needed retaking. I still have to format some, but I wanted to at least start with them. 
 

Here’s my favorite paper for sheen, MUJI Double Wire B6 Notebook Plain:

 

Both Double Wire and High Quality below are pretty good at handling ink:

 

The Planting Tree (from Indonesia) didn’t do so well:

 

 

 

 

Fantastic PGC 😀👍👍👍  Fabulous !  You got great colors....😀👍

 

18 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

Here’s how Double Ring did with a swatch of different inks: 

 

Very NIce PGC !!!  👍😀

What's the blue ink on the left?

Those are interesting results. 

It looks like you got better action with Fabriano than Iroful.  

[USG]

On 12/16/2025 at 5:34 AM, Lithium466 said:

I didn't have one but soon I will, if for a brief moment in time the courier planets align

 

Way to go LTM !!!  Which nib did you get?

[USG]

Got a new Ink.  Taccia AO.  So far it's a light blue ink that made me think of one of the washable blue inks.  Hopefully it will darken in the pen.

 

  

The color is more washable blue than how it shows here

 

[inkstainedruth]

Is that sheen or shimmer I'm seeing for AO Blue?  Or both?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Oh yeah, like I REALLY need another blue ink.... 

[Penguincollector]

3 hours ago, USG said:

What's the blue ink on the left?

 The inks on all of those paper strips are the same: L to R: Sailor Yurameku Kyokkou,  a Chinese blue that I have spaced on the translation,(but washable blue type) Sailor Dipton Blue Flame, and Diamine/Cult Pens Platinum Jubilee.

[Penguincollector]

  @USG, Ao for me is a pretty dark royal blue with a lot of sheen that’s either red or pink- have to check my swatch book.

[USG]

2 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

  @USG, Ao for me is a pretty dark royal blue with a lot of sheen that’s either red or pink- have to check my swatch book.

 

I've come to realize that these inks are not 100% standardized and vary from batch to batch.  IIRC your Quasar is a light color and mine is very dark.  InkyProf's Verrerie blue was much lighter than mine, which is very dark.

I'll either put this ink in a wet pen or adjust the nib on the Jinhao X159<F> for more flow, or both.  As of right now, light pressure on the Jihhao gives me a line that looks like Quink washable blue.  More pressure darkens up the line and I get some rudimentary sheening that  looks like outlining.

 

5 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

Is that sheen or shimmer I'm seeing for AO Blue?  Or both?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Oh yeah, like I REALLY need another blue ink.... 

 

Hi ISR,

In a sufficient concentration, it starts to shade and sheen as in the above pics.  It doesn't have any shimmer.  I'll know more tomorrow when I give it a better workout.

[Lithium466]

9 hours ago, USG said:

 

Way to go LTM !!!  Which nib did you get?

The one that was easily available to me  A regular Fine. 
 

10 hours ago, USG said:

Got a new Ink.  Taccia AO.  So far it's a light blue ink that made me think of one of the washable blue inks.  Hopefully it will darken in the pen.  

The color is more washable blue than how it shows here

 

 

Blasphemy! 😱

Ok this is weird. Are inks becoming more washed out? Did you get a Monday or a Friday bottle? My Taccia Ao has nothing to do with a washable blue...but my latest bottle of Aurora black could be named grey.

 

[USG]

6 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

The one that was easily available to me  A regular Fine. 
 

 

 

Blasphemy! 😱

Ok this is weird. Are inks becoming more washed out? Did you get a Monday or a Friday bottle? My Taccia Ao has nothing to do with a washable blue...but my latest bottle of Aurora black could be named grey.

 

Sorry to hear about your Aurora black.  My Aurora has been the blackest of blacks through many bottles over the years.

I’m not sure what’s going on.  Ingredients become unavailable and formulas change.  Batches come out differently and Quality control from batch to batch isn’t consistent.  
 

The thing is, we only notice the extreme mismatches, so the manufacturers just bottle up and sell everything they make because no one returns a bottle of ink.

 

This is not a recent thing.  My first experience with this  phenomena was with Parker Penman Sapphire.  No way was the ink in the bottle I bought from the second issue, anything like the rave reviews I was reading about.  As a result, it wasn’t a favorite, which is why I have some left.  The Penman Mocha, otoh, was consistent and I went through a few bottles without incident.

 

This inconsistent Quality control from batch is not limited to inks.  I recently posted the results from a new notebook of Fabriano Ecoqua paper, shipped from Fabriano in Italy, that was markedly different from how the same paper behaved with PGC and InkP.  I wonder if it deserves a retest with a different example.  
 

On the paper front, I’m waiting for the price to come down on Canopus paper, like it did with Yu-Sari.  In one post, LizEF wondered if it would make it to full production.  

 

We’ll see how this AO shakes out later today.

[inkstainedruth]

15 hours ago, USG said:

In a sufficient concentration, it starts to shade and sheen as in the above pics.  It doesn't have any shimmer.  I'll know more tomorrow when I give it a better workout.

Thanks for the information.  It was a bit hard to tell which (or both) on my screen.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[USG]

@InkyProf mentioned Life paper the other day so I thought I'd break out the Life Notebook I made and run some ink tests.

The Life paper was able to pick up various amounts of shading and sheen but the yellow color distorts ink shades and if it wasn't for the sheen, a lot of the dark inks look similar.

 

 

Dipped the Pilot 823<M>

 

And filled the Jinhao X159<F>

 

The paper didn't do well with a couple of Iroshizuku inks

 

 

But seemed OK here

 

I wrote out the Capri blue in the Sonnet and refilled it, but it's still writing many shades darker than it should.