TWSBI Demonstrators with Red Ink — For me, red inks nearly always go in a demonstrator, preferably an orange or yellow one.

Red Ink Research: Laban Ares Red and Dominant Industry Romania Red

September 10, 2022

It’s been a while since I updated everyone on my never-ending quest for the “perfect” red ink. (Yes, even though I’ve swabbed and sampled literally dozens of red inks over the years, and have probably 12 or so “keeper” bottles in my collection, I’m still looking.) Given that most of my recent attention has been devoted to pen show travel and building out the shop, I’ve acquired less for personal use, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still exploring. Today I’m going to look at two inks that I picked up in recent months: Laban “Ares Red” from their Greek Mythology series, and Dominant Industry “Romania Red.” Both are excellent, but the latter might be my favorite since it seems like a very close match to my now-rapidly-dwindling supply of Montblanc Alfred Hitchcock.

Laban Ares Red

Though I’ve not gotten around to reviewing the inks until now, at the Baltimore Pen Show I picked up nearly all of the Laban “Greek Mythology” Inks from various retailers. These inks were released in two series, and since I’m a longstanding mythology enthusiast there was simply no way I would pass up having all of these inks in my collection. To my knowledge, Laban hasn’t released a line of inks prior to this one, and they are surprisingly good.

Ares Red (named after the Greek god of war) is a bright red similar to classic Sheaffer Skrip, though perhaps slightly richer in tone. I had tempered my expectations somewhat, given that many people claim to have experienced slow dry times with this particular ink. That was not the case at all for me, as I’ve found Ares Red to be extremely well behaved. It dries relatively quickly, and I’ve had no feathering or bleeding in a few different pens and nib sizes. To pair with this particular ink for this review, I chose the new TWSBI ECO in Transparent Yellow, in an extra-fine nib. I have no qualms about using red inks at work, since I annotate a lot of documents, and this shade of red is perfect for markups. (I also have a thing about putting red inks in demonstrators - I especially love it when the demonstrator is orange or yellow.)

Dominant Industry Romania Red

If you’re looking for a deeper red that could be a good everyday writer, you should definitely try out Dominant Industry’s Romania Red, apparently an attempt to clone Montblanc Alfred Hitchcock. “Romania Red” even has a touch of the greenish-gold sheen that Hitchcock can develop around the edges on certain papers. Like the Ares Red, this ink did not give me any trouble in terms of dry time, bleedthrough, or feathering. Either would make a good workhorse ink, and I had this one inked up for review in a TWSBI Smoke and Rose Gold RGII Diamond 580 with a medium nib. Like Laban, Korean inkmaker Dominant Industry has impressed with their overall lineup, and I have several bottles currently in rotation.

Note that the Hitchcock has just a bit more sheen to it than the Dominant Industry version. It’s not an exact match, but perhaps the closest I’ve seen, especially in everyday writing. The paper used for the writing samples is Midori MD Cotton paper.

Where to Buy and Further Reading

We stock the Laban Greek Mythology Series, including Ares Red, in our own Shop, and our friends at Vanness Pens currently carry the Dominant Industry Romania Red. Laban Inks are priced at $25 for 50ml, and Dominant Industry inks $17 for a 25ml bottle. This pricing is fairly standard, though I’d say Laban falls on the inexpensive side on a per-ml basis, while Dominant is in line with the pricing for other imported inks.

Laban Ares Red and Dominant Industry Romania Red Comparison — A side-by-side comparison so that you can see how these will look in everyday writing.

Do you have a special ink color that you’re constantly exploring? If so, you may want to check out this series that I put together last year, in which I swabbed all of the various inks in my collection and laminated the sample sheets. If you visited me at the D.C. Pen Show, these are the sheets I had at the table!

This post does not contain links to paid sponsors or affiliates. The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Ink Review: Scribo Verde Prato

July 16, 2022

I’ve enjoyed getting back to full-time reviewing, as I step back from expanding the shop and refocus the site. If you’ve missed it, I’m in the process of thinning out my accumulation of pens, inks, and paper; selling off a huge chunk of what I don’t use, and - relevant here - rediscovering things I forgot I had, such as six or seven bottles of Scribo Ink at the back of a cabinet. (Ridiculous, right?)

Scribo Stackable Ink Bottles — Scribo sells their ink in a hefty 90ml glass inkwell, which not only gives you plenty of ink for your money but also makes for an attractive desk accessory, if that’s your thing.

I’ve previously tested a few different colors from Scribo’s ink lineup, and found them all to have good flow with zero bleed and feathering. For those unfamiliar with Scribo (or “ScriBo,” as I’ve seen it written), the moniker is short for “Scrittura Bolognese”, a reference to both the company’s location and the fact that it was started by former employees of OMAS who wanted to keep that former brand’s legacy alive. Scribo places a strong emphasis on nibs and ink: the nibs tend to be “soft”, with “extra flexible” options available, and the inks are formulated to accommodate the company’s nib style with a special emphasis on inkflow. I’ve also taken an in-depth look at the ink bottle, which is impressive in its own right.

Scribo Verde Prato Writing Sample — This particular ink dries fast, in addition to behaving well. This writing sample was dry to the touch within 15-20 seconds.

The ink I’m looking at today is “Verde Prato,” a very bright grass/spring green that’s a difficult color to get right. I enjoy using bright greens such as this one for highlighting and annotation, but with some brands, the dyes used in this shade of green tend to make for a drier writing experience and/or precipitate out to form nib crud. Verde Prato, however, is a different story. Scribo has done a very nice job of making a bright - almost neon - green ink that’s still highly usable and likely to stick in my collection since I don’t currently have something similar.

Scribo Ink Bottle Packaging — While I store my Scribo inks in the sturdy cardboard packaging, the caps on the ink bottles helpfully have a color reference in case you keep your inks in a drawer and have to view/organize them from above.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

As I noted above, I’ve tended to stay away from these light green inks despite generally liking the color. Unlike some brighter colors such as orange, I’ve found light greens to have a tendency towards extremely dry flow. Scribo Verde Prato flows much better than most, and going forward this one will definitely remain in the collection as my “nuclear green” option. The ink’s legibility makes it an excellent option for both highlighting and annotation.

You can purchase Verde Prato and other Scribo pens and inks from our friends at Vanness Pens. At $35, the ink isn’t inexpensive, but you do get the impressive glass inkwell bottle containing a full 90ml of ink (which is approaching Akkerman territory!).

Disclaimer: I purchased the ink featured in this review for my own use, though I purchased it so long ago I can’t recall whether I may have received a discount or not. This post does not contain affiliate links or paid advertising. To support The Gentleman Stationer, please consider shopping at the T.G.S. Curated Shop (large inventory reduction sale ongoing!) or visiting our Patreon Program.

Anderillium Inks Michigan Avenue Chicago 2022

Ink Review: Anderillium Michigan Avenue (2022 Chicago Pen Show Limited Edition)

June 22, 2022

So I’ve now picked up a total of three inks from Anderillium: Cuttlefish Brown from their “Celphalopod Series,” Shoebill Stork Grey from their “Avian Series,” and now the special “Michigan Avenue” ink that I picked up this past May at the 2022 Chicago Pen Show. All three inks are excellent. While Anderillium may have had some reported issues with the initial formulation of their inks when the company first launched, those are years in the past and I can vouch that every ink I have tried so far behaves quite well.

Anderillium Inks Michigan Avenue Writing Sample

The Michigan Avenue ink is a dark teal, formulated to reproduce the oxidized bronze color of the lions standing guard over the Art Institute of Chicago. I love this color - it’s dark enough to ensure legibility for everyday office work, while at the same time showing enough depth to remain interesting. While it might be a touch dark to qualify as a true reproduction of oxidized bronze - I’d compare the color more to Sailor Miruai - Michigan Avenue is an extraordinarily well-behaved ink that dries nearly instantaneously and doesn’t feather or bleed. I’ve run through two fills already!

Anderillium Writing Sample on Mnemosyne — Following up on yesterday’s post, I did today’s writing sample on Maruman Mnemosyne paper, to give you all an idea of how this paper handles ink, and how the Anderillium ink behaves.

Maruman Mnemosyne Zero Bleed Paper — Zero bleed with this paper/ink combination, even with a very wet ink swatch.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Thus far, my experience with Anderillium Inks has been consistently good. While this ink was a pen show exclusive, and technically could only be purchased at the Chicago Pen Show, Chicago-based Atlas Stationers appears to still have some in stock. You can purchase other Anderillium inks directly from the T.G.S. Curated Shop, quite reasonably priced at $14.50 for a 1.5oz (approximately 45ml) bottle of ink. The Anderillium Ink bottles resemble jelly jars (in fact, they might be jelly jars), which means that for at least the first half of the bottle, you can easily refill larger-diameter pens with big nibs.

Anderillium mentions on their website that all of their inks are made in-house by their own resident chemist, without using animal products and with an eye to sustainability and environmental preservation. You can read more about the company, its practices, and even the artwork on the website and ink bottles here.

Monarca Drillog Lochby Tomoe River 68gsm

First Impressions: Monarca Inks

February 23, 2022

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of ink available in today’s fountain pen market, and even I have trouble keeping the various brands straight (not to mention the literally hundreds of individual colors out there). To me, those brands that stand out are those that make an effort to cultivate a true sense of identity, often by drawing on their place of origin. Such is the case with the latest arrivals, a series of nine inks from Monarca Stationery inspired by the colors of Mexico’s landcapes.

Monarca Inks wet swatches — Monarca color swatches, still wet. The inks dry fairly quickly but these were wet swatches with the side of a Drillog on Tomoe River Paper.

The colors themselves are gorgeous - a balanced mix of dark and vibrant with a special edition shimmer ink (Rey Jaguar) thrown in. Colors include: Manglar (Mangrove), a dark green; Mar Caribe (Caribbean Sea), a bright turquoise; Nopal (Cactus), another green; Cardona (Cactus Fruit), a burgundy/red with sheen and shimmer; Arena Blanca (White Sand), a light sandy brown; Cenote, a deep blue with sheen and shimmer; Cielo Cruel (Cruel Sky), a shading grey-blue; and Tierra Colorada (Red Soil), a deep reddish brown.

Monarca Stationery Cardona — Cardona, a dark burgundy-red inspired by cactus fruit, is one favorite that I plan to get into rotation soon. Writing samples in this post were all done with a Drillog Metal Dip Pen (in a much better .8mm kindly sent to me by the manufacturer), on 68gsm Tomoe River Paper in a Lochby Notebook.

I’ve very much enjoyed the design work that Monarca put into packaging their ink. The boxes themselves look like works of art, with images of the Mexican coast, rainforest, and semidesert, depending on which scene inspired a particular color. Each box contains a bottle of 30ml ink along with a banak wood ink stand/pen rest, particularly helpful if you are using these inks with a dip pen. The one downside I’ve noticed with Monarca inks is that the mouth of the bottle is very narrow, making it impossible to fill even medium-gauge fountain pens like the Pilot Custom 823 unless you decant the ink into a different bottle or a sample vial. (You will likely also have to do this once the ink level in the bottle gets low, given it’s tall, narrow shape.)

Monarca ink swatches when dry. The most interesting of these inks, even if not my preferred colors for everyday use, are the Arena Blank and Rey Jaguar.

Monarca Stationery Real World Writing Test Parker 51 — For a “real world” writing test, I loaded Cielo Cruel and Mar Caribe into two Parker 51s from my collection (original vintage on the right, Nick Pang Fantasy 51 on the left). So far, they’ve performed well on nearly all papers but I will follow up after some long-term use.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

While this is just a “first impressions” review, and I’ve not had an opportunity to extensively test all inks in the Monarca lineup, Cielo Cruel and Mar Caribe have shown themselves to be excellent daily writers, with no feathering, no bleed-through, and relatively quick dry times. I look forward to rotating the rest of these inks through my pens, especially some of the more unusual colors such as Arena Blanca and Rey Jaguar.

You can purchase Monarca inks directly via the Monarca Stationery Etsy shop, or via authorized U.S. retailers including Dromgoole’s and Amarillo Stationery. Ink is currently sold either individually in 30 ml glass bottles starting at $20 USD ($24-29 for shimmer inks), or as part of a full set containing all nine inks for $180. Smaller four-color bundles are also available. Despite having to travel from Mexico and clear customs, shipping was incredibly fast.

Disclaimer: I received the set of nine inks featured here from Monarca Stationery, free of charge, for review purposes. I was not otherwise compensated for this review, and this post does not contain third-party affiliate links. Many thanks to Monarca for making this review possible!

Vinta Inks Aegean Armada and Leyte Sea Kelp

Ink Review: Vinta Aegean Armada and Leyte Sea Kelp

February 5, 2022

I included both Vinta and Ferris Wheel Press in my year-end review as favorite ink lines that I discovered in 2021. This was somewhat unusual for me - typically I avoid boutique inks, particularly those from non-pen manufacturers that focus on special properties such as sheen, shading, and shimmer. Not that these inks are dangerous to use in your pens - they hardly ever are - it’s just that they don’t usually work well for everyday writing, and I value inks that dry quickly and perform decently on cheap paper given the demands of my day job. Vinta seems to have found a sweet spot in their formulation, however, because nearly all of the inks I’ve tried not only work well in most fountain pens and on most papers, but they dry fairly quickly and, with respect to the “shaders”, remain legible even in extra-fine (and ultra extra-fine) nibs.

Vinta Aegean Armada

After avoiding the color family for the better part of my pen “career,” I’ve developed a bit of a thing for grey inks over the past six months. Currently, my two favorites are Scribo Grigio and the ink pictured here, Vinta Aegean Armada 1944. Inspired by the Battle of Leyte, the largest naval engagement in military history, Armada was designed to mimic the color of a fleet of ships reflected onto the sea, “which can transform its color from grey to blue to everything in between.” Armada shades beautifully - in finer nibs it will appear as a darker grey, and with broader nibs you will see some double shading that includes steel blue and even faint pink hues. Armada behaves very well on most papers, even cheap office paper as long as you use a finer nib.

Vinta Inks Aegean Armada Double Shading — Vinta Aegean Armada was one of the most difficult inks to photograph accurately - it’s hard to show the pinkish/reddish double shading that comes through as the ink dries, but you can sort of see it here.

If I had to pick an ink to which I could compare Armada, it would be Iroshizuku Fuyu-Syogun, only darker and with slightly more depth to keep it interesting. I’ve tried to love Fuyu-Syogun (“Old Man Winter”), but it’s just not quite legible enough for me to use in everyday writing.

Vinta Leyte Sea Kelp

In another nod to Philippines history, Vinta’s Leyte “Sea Kelp” green pays tribute to not only the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944, but the area’s kelp industry. Leyte green is intended to evoke “the color of kelp as it floats in the bright clear seawaters of Leyte.” I’ve been looking for a solid mid-tone green ink, and this one perfectly fills that gap in the collection.

Vinta Leyte undergoes a bit of a color shift as it dries. In the first picture, it appears darker when wet, but as the ink dries it takes on a slightly more yellow-olive hue.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Count me in as a big fan of Vinta Inks. I have three bottles in my current collection, as well as a handful of samples, so look for more reviews to come. Vinta regularly releases new colors and store collaborations, so keep an eye on their website and social media for updates.

Vinta Ink Leyte Sea Kelp Bottle — I love the design of the Vinta Inks bottle and packaging.

You can purchase Vinta Inks directly from the manufacturer, located in the Philippines, or from authorized retailers around the world. Our friends at Vanness Pens stock the entire Vinta lineup, which is where I acquired the inks pictured here. Vinta Inks come in 30ml amber glass bottles, priced at $12.50, placing Vinta in the lower-middle price segment. In my opinion, they’re excellent value given the combination of quality and unique colors and properties they offer.

I purchased the inks featured in this review at Vanness Pens, with my own funds for my own use, though I did receive a discount on the purchase. This post does not contain paid third-party affiliate links, and I was not otherwise compensated for this review. The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and the T.G.S. Patreon Program.