Ink Review: Three Dark Purples from Tom's Studio (Juniper, Iris, and Constellation)

This post started out as an experiment in which I attempted to find the perfect dark purple ink to pair with my Bokumondoh-enhanced Montblanc 149, but I ended up experimenting with and extensively testing the three darkest purple inks from the Tom’s Studio ink lineup. I figured I would go ahead and write up my thoughts on each one of them. Read on to the bottom to see my final verdict on the best match for the 149!

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You can really see the variation in tone between the top writing sample (made with the 149’s stub nib and a glass swizzle stick), the bottom left (.8mm Drillog dip pen), and a Kakimori dip nib, the latter of which is still wet.

No. 12: Juniper (“The Sheening Dark Purple”)

Tom’s Studio Juniper was the first ink that I tried, because I thought the combination of the dark purple and the gold sheen would pair quite well with the gold trim and raden finish on the 149. I wasn’t wrong, and have really enjoyed this pairing. It helps that, despite being a super sheener that finishes with a thick gold sheen over the dark purple, Juniper doesn’t smear once it’s dry. Those who love sheening inks - especially those inks that sheen in multiple colors - understand how rare that can be. In recent years, however, I’ve noticed that inkmakers have improved the overall performance of “sheeners,” and nowadays you don’t experience as often the situation where you open a journal entry from weeks/months/years ago and the ink still hasn’t dried. :(

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I took a pass at Juniper with a couple of different ink swatching tools to see if I could capture the different appearances of the ink. In a fine or extra-fine nib, it will look almost black (which I love), but the gold sheen takes over. The Kakimori writing sample (at right) has not completely dried yet, so this is how the ink looks when it’s still wet.

No. 9: Constellation (“The Purple Black”)

I would call Constellation the “non-sheening Purple Black” in this line. Well, there is some sheen, but it’s more of a glisten, roughly the same color as the ink itself (with maybe a hint of red?) so you’d still call this a purple once it dries. Constellation might also be the least “interesting” of these three inks, because it’s a fairly conservative, solid color. That said, it’s an excellent work ink that won’t look out of place on official correspondence or around the office. I would add that Constellation works great in the Tom’s Studio Lumos pens because it’s so saturated, and I’ve had this one loaded into my Lumos mini for several months without issue.

Constellation dries to a mostly dark purple-black. The tones are subtle.

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No. 11: Iris (“The Classic Purple”)

Iris might be one of my new favorite purple inks. It’s bright without being “nuclear”, with neither too much red nor too much pink, and it’s definitely not blue. It hits that “Waterman Violet” vibe, maybe slightly toned down and a bit darker? I enjoy using purples, but in order for me to be able to use them consistently at home and at work, the tone can’t be too crazy. This particular ink dries quickly, and I’ve had no issues with bleedthrough or staining (another potential issue to watch with brighter purples).

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Takeaways and Where to Buy

The Tom’s Studio ink line has turned into one of my everyday favorites (and not just because it’s what I’ve had hanging around the shop - though that’s an added benefit). As someone who appreciates darker colors and more subdued versions of pastels, most of these inks match my personal taste, and the fact that they’re relatively saturated makes them work well in the Lumos fineliners as well as fountain pens. If you’re interested in reading further about other colors, you can check out this previous post. I’ve found all of these inks low-maintenance and very well-behaved in the pens I’ve used them in, and have enjoyed the purples and the greens/green-blues the most.

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Tom’s Studio Inks are made in the U.K., possibly by Diamine, though it’s unconfirmed, and that would be consistent with the quality.

If I had to pick a favorite from the three I reviewed in this post, it would be a toss-up between Iris and Constellation. Iris offers that pop of bright purple/violet while not being eye-searing or too pink, while Constellation is the purple-black that I would use every day. Juniper will occasionally make it into the rotation, but I’m REALLY wanting to load the Iris into the Bokumondoh pen and get a bit of contrast between the black pen body and the ink!

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I do kind of wish the Juniper would stay that pure purple black color once it dried!

Tom’s Studio fountain pen inks currently come in 19 different colors and are priced at $16 for a 50ml bottle of ink. We also carry most of the Tom’s Studio Pens in our shop, and are freshly restocked with new arrivals.

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Ask TGS: Permanent Inks for Artists and Attorneys

Whenever I get asked about permanent inks, it's typically a question from an artist or an attorney. Many artists enjoy inks that allow them to draw a dark line and then wash over it with ink or watercolors (or both), whereas the attorneys are typically concerned about permanence of a signature on a legal document and preservation of work product.

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This writing sample shown above was soaked for approximately 20 minutes in a sink full of water. This is the result. The paper wrinkled and started to fall apart more than the ink bled.

So what are my recommendations? While I'm not an artist, nearly all of my artist friends recommend Platinum Carbon Black as a drawing and sketching ink of choice. Carbon Black is a pigment ink, similar to other inks such as Sailor Kiwa-Guro "Nano Black", Noodler's Bulletproof Black, Tom's Studio Pigment Black, among others. These inks are formulated differently than most fountain pen inks, in that they rely on pigments that dry quickly and bond to the paper rather than water-based dye, and therefore have very fine particles that can potentially clog your pen if left to dry out. That's not to say they are "unsafe" - these inks are very much intended for use in fountain pens, but they do require periodic maintenance in the form of a thorough cleaning, especially when changing ink colors. The upside? I can say that these inks are absolutely "waterproof," not just water-resistant. (In addition to the photograph shown here, I posted a short video to YouTube demonstrating how I soaked this piece of paper in standing water and how the ink barely moved at all.) And if the ink does end up drying out and clogging your pen, a simple flush with water should fix the issue.

Water-resistant, but not waterproof: Caran d’Ache Magnetic Blue, a blue-black that was also soaked in the sink for the same amount of time.

For attorneys - and speaking as one myself - I would say that you have a bit more leeway. If you need absolute permanence (i.e., for a signature on a contract), you can of course use a pigmented ink or a ballpoint. But if what you're concerned about is preserving handwritten notes or marked-up documents, or simply avoiding losing work product due to spilled water or coffee, there are other suitable options to serve that more limited purpose. For example, certain blue-black inks such as Pilot Blue-Black, TWSBI Blue-Black, Pelikan Blue-Black, Caran d'Ache Magnetic Blue, etc., are highly water-resistant to the point that most writing will survive a simple spill, especially one that is cleaned up quickly. Similarly, any ink that contains iron-gall will have high water-resistance, including the line of Platinum "Classic" inks. (As with pigmented inks, you should clean your pen thoroughly to avoid mixing iron gall inks with standard fountain pen inks, which could result in clogs.)

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Though pigmented black inks and blue-black inks with iron-gall content get the most attention (probably because they have been around the longest), companies do make other colors of permanent inks. Shown here are Platinum Pigment Blue cartridges (which we carry in our shop), and other options include the Kakimori pigment inks, Noodler’s “Bulletproof” inks, and Sailor Storia line, which come in a wide array of colors.

I personally don't worry much about permanence with fountain pen inks. In nearly 20 years of using fountain pens, I can count on one hand the number of times I've completely lost a piece of writing due to a spill, none of which ended up being of any importance. That said, I will regularly use low-viscosity ballpoints such as the Uni Jetstream whenever permanence could be at issue. You can even use pencil, which is both water and fade-resistant, though documents that must be permanent for legal reasons generally require ink.

Do you have a favorite permanent or water-resistant ink? Drop a comment!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. If you enjoy our content, please consider supporting us directly!

Ink Review: Caran d'Ache Magnetic Blue as a Classic Blue-Black

I flushed all of my inked fountain pens at the end of June. After six months worth of pen shows, testing out store product samples, and a generally chaotic schedule that often left me with little time to regroup, I once again ended up with around two dozen inked pens. Some were 3/4 empty, some had dried out, and others just needed to be cleaned because the whole scene was making me twitch.

For this fresh rotation, I went back to a variation on an experiment I'd tried in the past: inking up six pens, with two old favorites, two pens for review, and two randomly chosen pens, one custom and one vintage. For inks, I decided to work with a tried-and-true ink line that I absolutely love but don't use as much as I should: Caran d'Ache Chromatics.

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The nib holder is from our collaboration with Nic Pasquale (PensByPasquale), which is now sold out. Stay tuned for more exclusive releases!

If forced to pick, my favorite of all the Caran d'Ache Chromatics inks would likely be Magnetic Blue, which is an old-school blue-black shade. A dark navy with a hint of grey, Magnetic Blue sits somewhere between traditional iron gall blue-blacks and "midnight blue" inks. I find that it generally flows quite well. On some papers, it will have a hint of red sheen, but it’s subtle. I was looking for a "classy" dark ink for my Waterman Exception I acquired in Chicago, and this ended up as an excellent pairing.

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In a finer nib the ink will appear quite dark, which I love for work. It dries fairly quickly, even on non-absorbent paper.

While to my knowledge this particular blue-black ink does not contain iron gall, it does have a moderate degree of water resistance. I've included a picture below of the writing sample (on Cosmo Air Light paper) after being held under a running faucet for approximately one minute. The writing remains highly legible, and this ink would easily survive a water or coffee spill onto a notebook.

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Caran d'Ache ink used to have a reputation as being overpriced (at one point I believe it rang in at $50 per bottle), but the price has since come down to the $35 range - not inexpensive but in line with other premium inks sold in 50ml glass bottles. Personally, I love the design of the Caran d'Ache glass bottle. It's a deeper inkwell that's slightly angled to make it easier to fill larger nib pens, and the hexagonal inkwell design looks great on a desk.

We've been Caran d'Ache retailers for nearly four years now, and stock all of the various Chromatics inks in both bottle and cartridge form, as well as Caran d'Ache pens and pencils. If you enjoy our content, please consider supporting us directly!

Testing an Entire Ink Line: The Tom's Studio Bottled Fountain Pen Inks

How do you actually test an entire line of ink? Honestly, you really can’t, at least not in a reasonable amount of time. The only way you can truly “get to know” a specific ink, with all its various advantages and disadvantages, is to write with it for an extended period. While it’s certainly fun to try, it’s hard for any reviewer or retailer to do that with every ink from a specific brand, no matter how much writing they actually do. For that reason, I try to avoid making categorical pronouncements about ink brands as a whole, and do my best to write with as many different inks as I can, for as long as I can, and given an informed judgment. When you’ve used hundreds of fountain pen inks over the years, you can get a pretty good sense of how an ink will ultimately behave from your swatch book!

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From the Top: Pigmented Black (060); Deep Black (01); Raspberry Sorbet (02); Neptune (03); New Forest (04); Cassis (05); Strawberry Jam (06); Mallard (07); Loch Ness (08); Constellation (09); Dove Grey (10); Iris (11) and Juniper (12). The Pigmented Black ink is water resistant.

I’ve spent the past week or so swatching and testing a new line of nineteen different Tom’s Studio fountain pen inks, and I absolutely love some of these colors. For those unfamiliar with the brand, Tom’s Studio is a UK-based manufacturer of fountain pens, dip pens, inks, mechanical pencils, and other assorted fine writing and calligraphy supplies. I was initially hesitant to order these, since many inks sold by calligraphy-focused companies tend to be thinner and somewhat watery, in order to emphasize shading in flexible nibs. There’s nothing wrong with this, and many people enjoy such inks, but for my use case I tend to favor more saturated inks that emphasize legibility. As it turns out - no such concerns here.

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From Top: Mulberry (13); Marianas (14); Rambling Rose (15); Sunny Teal (16); Damson (17); and Marmalade (18). Some of these inks show a touch of sheen around the edges, but none of them are “sheen monsters” and none of them smear once dry.

I’ve been thrilled to discover that most of the inks in this line are well-saturated, but not so much that they smear or suffer from long dry times. My swatch book is a Midori MD Cotton F3 notebook, which handles fountain pen ink well while being semi-absorbent, so it’s a reasonable approximation of most paper that I use on a daily basis. The colors actually tend to be on the muted side, which suits my style, and I’ve found at least a half-dozen in this line that I could see turning into everyday writers. As a bit of a fun experiment, and to showcase my favorites, I thought it might be interesting to pair several of these new inks with my latest Chicago Pen Show acquisitions! Here’s what I chose:

Edison Jameson in Bexley Scheherazade Acrylic: No. 12 “Juniper”

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This gorgeous Edison Jameson in new old stock Bexley Scheherazade Acrylic was the 2024 Chicago Pen Show Exclusive!

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Tom’s Studio “Juniper” is so dark that I’d call it a purple-black. This pen needs a dark ink, but I like a hint of color!

Skogsy Low Volume Eyedropper in Beige Ebonite and Clear Acrylic: No. 13 “Mulberry”

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There was a touch of an inksplosion when I opened the bottle of “Mulberry” (No. 13), but it’s a great match for this Skogsy Low-Volume Eyedropper in clear acrylic and beige ebonite!

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These No. 8 nibs are becoming more prevalent in my collection….

Edison Collier in Dragon’s Night Acrylic: No. 8 Loch Ness

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I’ve wanted an Edison Collier for years! I finally went for this dark, translucent “Dragon’s Night” Acrylic. I chose “Loch Ness” (No. 8) for this pen.

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Loch Ness is a dark teal-black. It might match this pen a bit better if it were just a touch brighter, but I do love the ink!

Newton Prospector in D Squared “Arkansas Abalone” Resin: No. 7 Mallard

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Ok, so this Newton Pens Prospector is gorgeous but pretty much impossible to pair perfectly with any ink. I went with “Mallard” (No. 7), which draws on both the green and purple/blue in the acrylic. I believe this particular pen is sold out but keep checking over at Newton Pens for details.

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The variation and depth in this material is stunning!

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Overall, I think I’m really going to enjoy using some of these colors. Personally, the ones that speak to me the most out of this line are the dark blue-greens (“Mallard” and “Loch Ness”), as well as the deeper reds (“Cassis” and “Mulberry”). I suspect the really dark purples (“Constellation”, “Damson,” “Juniper,” and “Iris”) will also prove popular. The Tom’s Studio Inks retail in our shop at $16 for a 50ml bottle. We currently have 19 different colors available. To be clear, these inks are all appropriate for both fountain pens and the Lumos series refillable fineliners.

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My Lumos Mini in “Ivy” with No. 14 “Marianas” and a .3mm tip. It’s become my Plotter Mini 5 Pocket Pen of choice.

Further Reading (And a Giveaway Opportunity FOr Those Who Read Through to the end!)

I’ve slowly been working my way through the entire Tom’s Studio line of products, and have previously provided overviews of their “Lumos” line of refillable fineliners, the Studio Pocket Fountain Pen (with their stock Architect Nib that’s now back in stock), and more. You can view the full line of Tom’s Studio pens, pen tips and nibs, and other accessories here.

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For those of you loyal enough to read all the way to the end, we’re going to give away two bottles of Tom’s Studio Ink, and they’re both red: Cassis and Strawberry Jam! Typical TGS Giveaway Rules apply: either leave a comment on this blog post or like the Instagram Post. I will number the entries and pick two winners with a random number generator. Giveaway closes this Sunday at 11:59pm CT! It’s open to everyone but international participants may need to chip in on shipping, depending on cost. Enjoy!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. We greatly appreciate all your support!

Introducing the T.G.S. Fountain Pen Ink Review Archive!

Last year, I compiled and launched an archive containing all of the T.G.S. fountain pen reviews organized by brand. This morning, I finished updating an addition: a full archive of ink reviews, organized by color family and brand. I was surprised to learn that the current total is 114 ink reviews going back to 2014! There are also some editorial “best inks for ____ purpose” posts which are organized elsewhere in the informational resources section.

A note on this archive: One of the fun things about fountain pen inks is that some of them defy categorization. An ink that might appear green to me might lean more brown or grey to others, so please don’t take any of my “labels” as definitive. I hope you enjoy, and this will be regularly updated as more reviews are completed!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. We greatly appreciate your support!