Tintenlabor Azur Noir

[yazeh]

Tintenlabor Azur Noir

Ink Review # 190

Full name: azur noir, dunkelblau / schwarz (dark blue-black)

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🧾 Description

 

Tintenlabor is a Swiss ink company specializing in Iron Gall inks. What differentiates this ink from other brands is that you would know the iron content. 

 

The samples were sent to me by the Ink-Mesiter, David. 

 

Azur Noir is the last of the blue inks. According to the website, it has the highest iron content, 6 gr/l, and is best suited for wet pens. 

 

Unlike the other reviewed inks, the wet ink is blue-black; however, with time, it will oxidize to black with a tinge of blue. This was most challenging to control with Ahab. 

 

Ink leaves a blackish iron residue in the converter and section, and is best used with pens that can be dismantled. 

 

Ink ghosted on cheap, thin paper with some nibs, but of the four blues, this and Violet Blue seem best for cheap, thin copy paper (your mileage might vary). 

 

Essri and Diamine Registrars are still the best for cheap paper. 

 

As with iron gall inks, it's best to clean them directly with a diluted ascorbic acid solution. Pens need long soaking (think spa, jacuzzi  ), ideally an ultrasonic cleaner, Q-tip and the rest.

 

Never use ammonia-based cleaning solutions to clean iron gall inks. 

 

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 🧪 Chroma

 

 

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 ✍️ Writing Samples (scan)

Rhodia  / Iroful

 

 

 

Midori  /Tomoe River 68 gsm

 

 

 

 

 

Hammermill 20lb  

 

 

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 📸 Photo

Photos were taken 14 days after the scan. 

Rhodia, Irofu, Hammermill

 

 

 

Midori / Tomoe River 68 gsm

 

 

 

Oxidation

 

 

 

 🔍 Comparison

 

 

 

A full page of 4 tintenlabor blue inks.

 

Comparison of ghosting and bleedthrough of 6 iron gall inks

Note Essri seems to be the winner, still. 

 

 

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 💧 Water Test

 

 

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 🎨 Artwork

She Who Wears the Storm

TIntenlabor Azur Noir/Violet Blue, Talens Mixed Media Paper.

 

Boxer pup

Inks and paper

 

Oxidation

 

 

Kitty and pup

Tintenlabor Azur Noir and Gold 

 

 

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- Pens Used:  Pilot Elite EF gold nib,  Lamy (EF/F/M/B/ Stub 1.1), Ahab with a FPR ultraflex nib. 

- What I Liked: Color. Wetness

- What I Did Not Like: It could be temperamental with Ahab. With other pens, it was great. 

- What Some Might Not Like: IG high-maintenance ink. 

- Writing Experience:  Excellent. 

- Pros: Wet, well-lubricated, lovely dark colour. 

- Cons: Pain to clean. You’ll have ghosting on cheap paper. 

 

 🧷 Ink Characteristics

 

- Shading:  Lovely. 

- Ghosting: Unfortunately, yes, on cheap, thin copy paper. 

- Bleed Through:  If you insist on writing with a wet pen on the above paper. 

- Flow Rate:  Wet.

- Lubrication:  Lovely. 

- Nib Dry-out:  If left long enough uncapped, it might need some coaxing to write with. 

- Start-up: It was excellent on all pens, except Ahab. 

- Saturation:  Dark and profound. 

- Sheen:  Did not notice. 

- Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line:  Did not notice.

- Nib Creep / Crud: Yes on Ahab.  

- Staining (Pen):  There’ll be a black iron content. 

- Clogging:  No.

- Cleaning:  You’ll need some ascorbic acid, Q-tips, etc to clean. 

- Water Resistance:  Excellent.

 

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 🛒 Availability

 

- [ ] Available in 30/50 ml bottle.

https://tintenlabor.mycommerce.shop/products/azur-noir-dunkelblau-schwarz

 

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 💬 Closing

 

At one point, iron gall fatigue set in, and I found myself wondering—what’s the point of so many variations of blue iron gall inks? It wasn’t until I laid out a full page of the four inks that I understood: each ink oxidizes differently. Some deepen to charcoal, others reveal strands of navy or hints of midnight blue in the black. 

That’s also why I’ve decided to review Essri and Diamine Registrar’s next—to continue this journey. I hope you won’t mind a few more blue-blacks along the way, as not all blue-blacks are created equal.   

 

No fountain pens were hurt in preparing this review.   

Please don’t hesitate to share your experience, writing samples, or any other comments — the more the merrier.  

 

 

 

 

[Mercian]

1 hour ago, yazeh said:

It wasn’t until I laid out a full page of the four inks that I understood: each ink oxidizes differently. Some deepen to charcoal, others reveal strands of navy or hints of midnight blue in the black. 

That’s also why I’ve decided to review Essri and Diamine Registrar’s next—to continue this journey.

 

In my capacity as a confirmed fan of iron-gall inks, I thank you for this decision 

 

ESSRI is one of the i-g inks that I have, so your review of it will give me a 'relative reference' against which I can compare your reviews of the various i-g Tintenlabor inks.

I will then be able to decide how different they are in appearance (& behaviour) to my ESSRI, and to my R&K Salix and Scabiosa, and my Pelikan 4001 Blau-Schwarz 

[LizEF]

Thanks, @yazeh!  Great review.  I appreciate you persisting through the slog.    As you say, there are benefits to bunching them together, even if it can be fatiguing.  Your comparisons are really helpful, IMO!

 

Love the drawings (had to click to see kitty and puppy - it was worth the click ).  Love the extra mousey in the water test!   That made me smile.

[yazeh]

13 hours ago, Mercian said:

 

In my capacity as a confirmed fan of iron-gall inks, I thank you for this decision 

Ideally, I would have liked to add Akkerman's, KWZ,  and Hero. But as I don't have them, I was secretly relieved.  

13 hours ago, Mercian said:

 

ESSRI is one of the i-g inks that I have, so your review of it will give me a 'relative reference' against which I can compare your reviews of the various i-g Tintenlabor inks.

All I need to do is the cleaning and a few more sections. 

13 hours ago, Mercian said:

I will then be able to decide how different they are in appearance (& behaviour) to my ESSRI, and to my R&K Salix and Scabiosa, and my Pelikan 4001 Blau-Schwarz 

Initially, I planned to post a comparison image of Azur Noir, Essri, and Diamine Registrars. But then I thought, where's the fun?

 

[Lithium466]

Thank you @yazeh for your reviews, they have been all fascinating. I hope you keep them coming!

(and if you ever want to review KWZ Gummiberry IG...)

[yazeh]

15 hours ago, LizEF said:

Thanks, @yazeh!  Great review.  I appreciate you persisting through the slog.   

15 hours ago, LizEF said:

As you say, there are benefits to bunching them together, even if it can be fatiguing.  Your comparisons are really helpful, IMO!

Thanks. It's good to know that it helps

 Sometimes one feels lost and oxidized. 

15 hours ago, LizEF said:

 

Love the drawings (had to click to see kitty and puppy - it was worth the click ). 

Thanks for letting me know. I corrected the link. 🙏

15 hours ago, LizEF said:

Love the extra mousey in the water test!   That made me smile.

😊

[LizEF]

30 minutes ago, yazeh said:

 Sometimes one feels lost and oxidized. 

  That aging process gets us all!

[yazeh]

2 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

Thank you @yazeh for your reviews, they have been all fascinating. I hope you keep them coming!

That gave me a boost, I needed. I'll do my best to continue.🙏🙏🙏

2 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

(and if you ever want to review KWZ Gummiberry IG...)

😀😋

[yazeh]

29 minutes ago, LizEF said:

  That aging process gets us all!

[knarflj]

@yazeh, I always enjoy your reviews, but the drawings on this one are really something special.  I can't decide which is my favourite.  Thank you!

[InesF]

Not only because of the Alphorn and the Swiss flag on Cat, the violettblau-schwarz ink would be the most interesting one among the compared.

Thank you so much for putting this high level of effort in the comparison! 

 

Your drawings are amazing! I'm in love with She Who Wears the Storm and with Kitty and Pub - but also with the oxidation photos that excite me each time! 🧑‍⚕️

 

You entered a whole new level of ink review - the benchmark has been raised!   

[yazeh]

11 hours ago, knarflj said:

@yazeh, I always enjoy your reviews, but the drawings on this one are really something special.  I can't decide which is my favourite.  Thank you!

Thank you for your kind words. It means so much.  🙏

[yazeh]

4 hours ago, InesF said:

Not only because of the Alphorn and the Swiss flag on Cat, the violettblau-schwarz ink would be the most interesting one among the compared.

Thank you so much for putting this high level of effort in the comparison! 

 

4 hours ago, InesF said:

 

Your drawings are amazing! I'm in love with She Who Wears the Storm and with Kitty and Pub - but also with the oxidation photos that excite me each time! 🧑‍⚕️

I'm speechless, thank you.

4 hours ago, InesF said:

You entered a whole new level of ink review - the benchmark has been raised!   

No pressure.  

[Sailor Kenshin]

@yazeh, did you mean Etthhri? 🐍

 

What I like: the plummeting-dragon chroma, the beautiful illos that show befores and afters, the detailed text.

 

What I don't like: You guessed it, high-maintenance ink.  But I love reading about them!  Keep it up, iron galls are fascinating.  👏🏻

[yazeh]

48 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

@yazeh, did you mean Etthhri? 🐍

Yeth!  

48 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

 

What I like: the plummeting-dragon chroma, the beautiful illos that show befores and afters, the detailed text.

Thanks!

48 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

What I don't like: You guessed it, high-maintenance ink.  But I love reading about them!  Keep it up, iron galls are fascinating.  👏🏻

I'm sure you would enjoy fiddling with them with a glass nib and creating your magical plant illustrations—time for a black tulip.  

[namrehsnoom]

Beautiful review, with tons of info. Thanks @yazeh! This particular ink in the series looks lovely, especially with the broader nib sizes. Appreciate the swabs where all the different iterations of Tintenlabor's blue IG inks come toghether. Very informative!

 

The animal sketches with cat and dog are amazing! Great artistry!  ... that dog drawing especially is awesom... must be those puppy eyes that are drawing me in 😉

 

As for IG inks. They seem a bit too high maintenance for me. I often have a dozen pens inked up, using them over multiple week periods. That's not an issue with dye-based inks, but my guess is that this is not something you do with IG inks. Might ruin the pens, I'm afraid.

[yazeh]

14 minutes ago, namrehsnoom said:

Beautiful review, with tons of info. Thanks @yazeh! This particular ink in the series looks lovely, especially with the broader nib sizes. Appreciate the swabs where all the different iterations of Tintenlabor's blue IG inks come toghether. Very informative!

Thank you for your kind words. 🙏I'm glad it was helpful. ☺️

14 minutes ago, namrehsnoom said:

 

The animal sketches with cat and dog are amazing! Great artistry!  ... that dog drawing especially is awesom... must be those puppy eyes that are drawing me in 😉

Thats a great compliment. I'm glad I managed to capture the Boxer's deep soulful eyes. 

14 minutes ago, namrehsnoom said:

As for IG inks. They seem a bit too high maintenance for me. I often have a dozen pens inked up, using them over multiple week periods. That's not an issue with dye-based inks, but my guess is that this is not something you do with IG inks. Might ruin the pens, I'm afraid.

I understand your dilemma. I still have a few inked up with IG forgotten someplace. Though they are not pens that I particularly care for. It's a balancing act.  Though, I used to have a vintage soennecken fountain pen continuously filled with Essri. Nothing really happened to it. But I won't want to do it with expensive pens.

 

Thanks again for commenting and sharing your insights. Looking forward to your reviews. 🙏