Another teal-black ink for me, courtesy of Vanness Pen Shop! I have been eyeing the Callifolio line of inks since I caught a story on FPN a few years ago about a line of inks that came shipped from France in foil pouches, and you could order the entire line of 35 inks for approximately $200 shipped. Ok, I never bit on that, but some people did, and I was jealous.
Callifolio inks are the product of a French company called L'Artisan Pastellier, formed by two gentlemen named Loic Rainouard and Didier Boinnard who sought to make a line of fountain pen inks with a wide range of colors that behaved well on all types of paper. From what I have seen so far, they've succeeded. The two inks that I have, Equinoxe 6 and Bourgogne, are exceptional, and I've had them loaded up ever since the Atlanta Pen Show.
Callifolio Equinoxe 6 writing sample.
The first ink that caught my eye was Equinoxe 6, a teal-black that is somewhat similar to Yama-Dori, an ink that I (and a lot of other people) generally love. I currently have this ink loaded into my Delta Fusion 82 with an architect's nib. The color is excellent, the ink dries quickly, and doesn't bleed, feather or smear. There is some shading, though my architect's nib isn't particularly broad on the cross-stroke, so shading can be hard to see. I may need to try this ink out in a stub nib!
Obligatory cap shot. Note that the bottle is the same triangular bottle used by Diamine for their 150th Anniversary inks.
The two colors I have that are most comparable are Sailor Yama Dori and Waterman Blue-Black. Equinoxe 6 falls somewhere in the middle: Darker and more green than the Yama Dori, but less blue than the Waterman. Another candidate for comparison is Noodler's discontinued Pinstripe Homage, though the Callifolio is much better behaved (meaning that it dries quickly).
One interesting note: in the FPN thread that I link to above, Loic states that Callifolio makes lines of ink for French fountain pen shops. Does anyone out there know what shops he is referring to, and whether any of the inks are different from the standard Callifolio line? I have one candidate, Papier Plume in New Orleans, which carries its own line of inks and which apparently has told some customers that they are "made by a company in France." I'm fairly certain Herbin doesn't do private label, so that leaves L'Artisan Pastellier as a possible candidate.
In the U.S., you can purchase this ink from Vanness Pen Shop. Equinoxe 6 is currently out of stock in the larger-volume foil pouch, though they do have bottles. Vanness sells Callifolio inks for $11 for a 40ml bottle, or $8 for the 50ml foil pouch. The foil pouch is definitely the better value, as long as you have an empty bottle to hold the ink.
DISCLAIMER: I purchased this ink from Vanness with my own funds at the Atlanta Pen Show. I was not compensated monetarily for this review in any way.