Octopus Write & Draw – Orange Bunny

[yazeh]

Octopus Write & Draw – Orange Bunny

 

Ink Review # 214

 

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🧾 Description

 

One of three oranges from the Write and Draw series, waterproof and lightfast.

According to the Octopus website these inks were developed with Kaweco and Diplomat pens. 

Ink is a bright-ish orange (depending on the paper), with some shading and short dry times. Ink has below-average to average lubrication depending on the nib size.

There is ghosting and bleed-through on copy paper. 

If you let the ink dry in your pen, you’ll regret it. For cleaning, one would need both cleaning solution and a pen jacuzzi.

This is a close-up of the feed, after 12 hours of soaking in water. The pigments were softened. It's now in the pen jacuzzi, but I guess it'll need some serious ink-foliation.   

 

 

 

Octopus lists detailed usage and cleaning instructions on their website, including recommended storage and expiry information.

https://www.octopus-fluids.de/en/write-draw-inks

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🧪 Chroma

 

 

 

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It's a bright orange. Prepare your sunglasses. 😎

✍️ Writing Samples (scan)

Rhodia  / Iroful

Quotes 

1. “Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That’s the problem.”
   — A.A. Milne

2. “It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”
   — Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

3. “Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
   — Lewis Carroll

4. “What would the world be without sunshine and rabbits?”

          — Beatrix Potter (attributed to, which I misspelled ) 

 

 

 

Midori  /Tomoe River 68gsm

 

 

 

Hammermill 20lb  

 

 

 

 📸 Photo (artificial light)

Rhodia/ Iroful

 

 

 

Midori / Tomoe River 68 gsm

 

 

 

Hammermill 20lb

 

 

Closeup

 

 

 

 

 🔍 Comparison

Col-o-ring paper scanned. Colors are approximative. 

 

 

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 💧 Water Test

 Before - After

 

 

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 🎨 Artwork

INKTOBER52 PROMPT NO.47 GOOSE

When they hear the nostalgic call of the geese flying south, Cat & mouse feel the silence in their soul; left to face the cold of the winter alone.

 

 

 

Tintenlabor Basalt, Sakura Pigma Micron, Uniball White, Octopus WD Orange Bunny, Jacques Herbin 1798 - Diamant Bleu

 

 

Sneaker sneaked in a sneaker....

INKTOBER52 PROMPT NO.46 - Sneaker

Octopus W&D Bunny Orange, Tintenlabor Basalt, uni-ball Signo White, Talens Mixed Media Notebook.

 

 

Blame in on Mame!

Kitty had dressed to the nines. Mouse the Mac had promised to take her out to see Gilda, the Bun Fatale. As the night wore on he looked more like Mouse the Rat, drunk on cheese and bunny orange!

 

Octopus Write & Draw Bunny Orange, Tintenlabor Basalt iron gall ink (background)

Van Dieman's Here Kitty Kitty Shimmer ink, Diamine Earl Grey mixed with a bit of blue.

Fabriano Mixed Media Paper.

 

 

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- Pens Used: Pilot Kakuno EF, Lamy (EF/F/M/B/ Stub 1.1) , Kanwrite Desire with FPR Ultraflex nib. 

- What I Liked: Bright orange colour for drawing. 

- What I Did Not Like: A bit harsh for lighting. Cleaning needs patience and Ultrasonic cleaner.  

- What Some Might Not Like: Pigment ink. Cleaning.

- Writing Experience: Good. 

- Pros: Good if you need a waterproof orange ink. 

- Cons: Cleaning. 

 

 🧷 Ink Characteristics

 

- Shading: To some extent. 

- Ghosting: With most nibs. 

- Bleed Through: Moderate. 

- Flow Rate: Wet.

- Lubrication: Depends on nib. 

- Nib Dry-out: Did not notice. 

- Start-up: Did not notice.

- Saturation:  Nope. 

- Sheen: Silver sheen on Iroful under artificial LED light.  

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

- Nib Creep / Crud: Did not notice.

- Staining (Pen):  It has potential.  

- Clogging: No.

- Cleaning: A pain.

- Water Resistance: Excellent. 

 

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 🛒 Availability

 

- Available in 10/50 ml bottles all over the world. 10 ml bottles are not readily available. 

 

 

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 💬 Closing

 

This is a bright sunny orange. With a wet pen the colour will have more pzazz. One must use them in well-sealed pens that can be readily dismantled. 

 

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.  

 

 

 

[LizEF]

Great review, @yazeh!   Good color choice for the season - warm and autumnal.

 

Good quotes.  Love the ink on Iroful!  Look at that shading and how bright and bold it is!   And orange must inspire you because the orange swatch cards are fabulous!  

 

Nice water-test drawing - and talk about waterproof!

 

Wonderful drawings.  That first (Goose) is my favorite - so whimsical, like a child's picture-book.  

 

Thanks for sharing your hard work and talents with us!

[yazeh]

19 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Great review, @yazeh!   Good color choice for the season - warm and autumnal.

Thanks. I did this review few weeks ago, but the sudden snow storm we had ruined the end of fall and the desire to post the review. There are still a few trees with leaves on.

19 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

Good quotes.  Love the ink on Iroful! 

That one was taken for you.

19 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Look at that shading and how bright and bold it is!   And orange must inspire you because the orange swatch cards are fabulous!  

It does because my office is partially orange. Maybe that's why I don't use the color as much.

 

19 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Nice water-test drawing - and talk about waterproof!

Nothing budges with this ink.

19 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Wonderful drawings.  That first (Goose) is my favorite - so whimsical, like a child's picture-book.  

 

Thanks. It's my favorite too. I do t know how I drew it. The others were drafts that I couldn't finish. Orange is not an easy color to draw with.

 

19 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Thanks for sharing your hard work and talents with us!

Glad it was helpful. 🙏🙏🙏

[Lithium466]

Thank you for your review @yazeh! Interesting result when you mix a koala and a monkey 🤭 That sheen!

[yazeh]

40 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

Thank you for your review @yazeh!

A pleasure!

40 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

 

Interesting result when you mix a koala and a monkey 🤭

 

40 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

That sheen!

This is because of Iroful paper. Octopus WD inks react with Iroful. I have a daylight temperature lamp, which accents this effect.  Have you ever tried the paper?

[Sailor Kenshin]

Orange is a color I associate with summer and fall.  Bright like this for summer, burnt for fall.

 

What a horrifying nib close-up—- but what colorful swatches!  Not to mention the excellent artwork.  

 

Yes, this Orange is quite water-resistant.  No, I won't be acquiring any.

 

But thanks for another brave review, @yazeh!

[yazeh]

41 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Orange is a color I associate with summer and fall.  Bright like this for summer, burnt for fall.

Same here!

41 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

 

What a horrifying nib close-up—-

The feed is pristine now.

 

41 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

but what colorful swatches!  Not to mention the excellent artwork.  

Thanks!

41 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Yes, this Orange is quite water-resistant.  No, I won't be acquiring any.

It's waterproof.

 

41 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

 

But thanks for another brave review, @yazeh!

You're most welcome! 

[inkstainedruth]

Not a color for me at all.  But thanks as usual for the comprehensive review.  And of course the fun artwork (LOVED the "Blame it on Mame" one in particular ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[yazeh]

12 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

Not a color for me at all.  

 

12 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

But thanks as usual for the comprehensive review.

Most welcome! 

12 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

 And of course the fun artwork (LOVED the "Blame it on Mame" one in particular ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Thank! It means a lot. It took a long time to finish it.

 

[Mercian]

19 hours ago, yazeh said:

Ink has below-average to average lubrication depending on the nib size.

There is ghosting and bleed-through on copy paper. 

If you let the ink dry in your pen, you’ll regret it. For cleaning, one would need both cleaning solution and a pen jacuzzi.

 

Hic sunt dracones! 

 

This stuff seems to have all the Scary properties of pigmented ink as well as the desirable ones
Luckily, the coral/pink tinge in its hue means that it doesn't particularly 'call' to me.
Which means that my pens can breathe easy, without any need to fear potential ensludgification.†

 

Also, you can chalk me up as another lover of your drawings in this review.
Especially the one of Cat & Mouse riding a Canada Goose

 

† What? I'll have you know that 'ensludgification' is a perfectly cromulent word!

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, Mercian said:

† What? I'll have you know that 'ensludgification' is a perfectly cromulent word!

[yazeh]

8 hours ago, Mercian said:

 

Hic sunt dracones! 

Well, I was probably exaggerating a bit. A little soak in Pen Spa and the feed is as clean as a whistle.

 

8 hours ago, Mercian said:

This stuff seems to have all the Scary properties of pigmented ink as well as the desirable ones

Well. I have mostly cheap pens. I had the dreaded Kung Te-Cheng in a Kaweco Sport for 4 years, that had dried. It took a bit of soaking and just some jacuzzi treatment. In a day the pen adn feed were clean. This one was much more simpler. And the Pilot Kakuno's are not famous for a good seal. 

8 hours ago, Mercian said:

Which means that my pens can breathe easy, without any need to fear potential ensludgification.†

Nothing like a good bath, that will de-sludgify a pen. (Merican words are tongue twisters.  )

 

8 hours ago, Mercian said:

 

 

Also, you can chalk me up as another lover of your drawings in this review.
Especially the one of Cat & Mouse riding a Canada Goose

Thanks! It seems that this drawing resonates with many people. It's a blessing. I'm guessing for me is your wit which elevates my spirit, without any spirts.  

8 hours ago, Mercian said:

 

† What? I'll have you know that 'ensludgification' is a perfectly cromulent word!

 

 

[Mercian]

15 hours ago, yazeh said:

A little soak in Pen Spa and the feed is as clean as a whistle.

 

I really ought to invest in an ultrasonic cleaner.

Perhaps I ought to buy myself one for Christmas....

 

15 hours ago, yazeh said:

It's a blessing. I'm guessing for me is your wit which elevates my spirit, without any spirits.

 

Thank you 

[yazeh]

53 minutes ago, Mercian said:

 

I really ought to invest in an ultrasonic cleaner.

It's my best investment. Especially for pigment, IG inks. However it's not a panacea. One need to use a variety of methods depending inks. 

53 minutes ago, Mercian said:

Perhaps I ought to buy myself one for Christmas....

Write to Santa

 

53 minutes ago, Mercian said:

 

Thank you 

 

[Mercian]

4 hours ago, yazeh said:

One need to use a variety of methods depending inks.

 

Oh, definitely 'yes' to this.

 

But buying a 'pen jacuzzi' would make me feel less anxious about using pigmented inks.
Or about e.g. ever having an iron-gall ink dry-out in a Parker "51" again.
#NotFun  

[inkstainedruth]

Early on, I looked into getting an ultrasonic cleaner -- but didn't have a good place to store one (the bathroom vanity we had at the time was fairly small, and the cupboard outside the bathroom is generally too crammed with with stuff like backup bottles of mouthwash, with and boxes of tissues and rolls of TP -- stuff like those last two we tend to buy in bulk at places like Sam's Club or BJ's, because it's less expensive per box/roll, and it doesn't go bad).

For me?  Even with IG or pigmented inks, it's just as easy to soak stuff in a what I think is probably a votive candle holder.  And then go do something else and check on the progress later on....  (Sort of like why I tend to do all the laundry on the same day -- run one load in the washer while the previous load is in the dryer and then go do something else for roughly an hour...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Mercian]

2 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

For me?  Even with IG or pigmented inks, it's just as easy to soak stuff in a what I think is probably a votive candle holder.  And then go do something else and check on the progress later on....

 

That is pretty much what I do at the moment.
Whenever I am cleaning out a pen I leave its nib/feed/grip-section to soak in water for a while, and then run fills of water through it by standing it in a mug, nib down, on a folded piece of kitchen paper towel. Each fill of water then 'wicks through' the nib, cleaning it in the process.
For iron-gall inks I employ a vinegar solution, then run one fill of water through the pen to get rid of the vinegar.
For stubborn dye-based inks I use a solution of ammonia, then one fill of water to get rid of the ammonia.

It can sometimes take a few days to complete, and require me to check the pen a couple of times a day - but then, as I now have, er, some fountain pens, I can cope with one of them being unavailable to use for a few days...

[LizEF]

40 minutes ago, Mercian said:

For iron-gall inks I employ a vinegar solution, then run one fill of water through the pen to get rid of the vinegar.

Having tried both, I cannot recommend ascorbic acid highly enough.  Ditch the vinegar (for this purpose anyway) and get yourself some pure ascorbic acid powder - make sure there's nothing else in it.  Works much better and is safer for your pen.

 

41 minutes ago, Mercian said:

For stubborn dye-based inks I use a solution of ammonia, then one fill of water to get rid of the ammonia.

This comment convinced me that ammonia probably isn't the safest option, though I confess I still use it for quick jobs on non-precious pens (not for soaking, just for putting the section or feed into a sample vial and shaking it up; or for filling the converter part way and shaking).  So, I bought some Rohrer & Klingner Reiniger in case I ever feel the need to soak.  I haven't yet.  FWIW.  Honestly, for most things, I've found rubbing (cotton bud, pipe cleaner, brush, or fingers) to be the fastest way to remove dried-on ink.

 

I consider the ultrasonic cleaner the final alternative for when nothing else has worked.  (Mostly because I don't like filling it up and emptying it. )

[Mercian]

25 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Having tried both, I cannot recommend ascorbic acid highly enough.  Ditch the vinegar (for this purpose anyway) and get yourself some pure ascorbic acid powder - make sure there's nothing else in it.  Works much better and is safer for your pen.

 

Sounds good to me 

 

26 minutes ago, LizEF said:

This comment convinced me that ammonia probably isn't the safest option, though I confess I still use it for quick jobs on non-precious pens (not for soaking, just for putting the section or feed into a sample vial and shaking it up; or for filling the converter part way and shaking).  So, I bought some Rohrer & Klingner Reiniger in case I ever feel the need to soak.  I haven't yet.  FWIW.  Honestly, for most things, I've found rubbing (cotton bud, pipe cleaner, brush, or fingers) to be the fastest way to remove dried-on ink.

 

Hmm.
I had already stopped using ammonia on 14k gold nibs, but now I might stop using it altogether.

Oh, and thank you for reminding me that I have got some R&K Reiniger!

The retailer from which I bought it is now no more (), so I shall have to find another source, but there's still a lot left in the bottle that I do have.

And the easy-filling doohicky included in the bottle is a joy to use

[LizEF]

28 minutes ago, Mercian said:

Hmm.
I had already stopped using ammonia on 14k gold nibs, but now I might stop using it altogether.

It's one of those things where it's just not worth the risk on more expensive pens / parts - you just know it's going to go south when you use it for that one item that would crush you if you "lost" it...  Despite the warning for plastics, I've never had an issue, e.g. with the plastic section from a Penmanship or Prera, or the plastic feed.  But I'll keep it away from my Eco and from more expensive pens / nibs.

 

31 minutes ago, Mercian said:

Oh, and thank you for reminding me that I have got some R&K Reiniger!

 You're most welcome!