Colorverse Colorvent Favorite Inks-2024 — Four favorite Colorvent Inks from 2024.

So Who Won 2024? Final Thoughts on Inkvent vs. Colorvent

January 8, 2025

This “Inkvent Season” was the first year that Diamine and Colorverse went head to head with their respective “Inkvent” and “Colorvent” ink advent calendars. So who did it better? In my opinion, Colorverse, and it wasn’t even particularly close. This was a bit of a reversal, where I thought Inkvent was leading for the first 10 days. Colorverse not only grew on me over time, but ran away with the victory starting about halfway through the month.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Diamine Ink, but primarily their standard colors. I’m partial to more subdued, muted shades - even if I do enjoy a subtle shimmer ink on occasion - and this past year’s Inkvent focused too much on “extreme sheen”, which might be my least favorite ink property. I found these inks slow to dry, and they often featured so much gold or green sheen that you couldn’t even see the base color once the ink was on the page.

Diamine Cosmic Glow Sheen — Yep, the sheen on this ink led to smearing weeks later.

Of all the Colorverse Colorvent Inks, however, there were only a handful that I couldn’t see myself using on a regular basis. The Colorvent Calendar went heavy on the blues, reds, and multi-shading greys, and while many of these colors aren’t particularly “festive”, I personally appreciate the fact that I can use them year-round, especially after shelling out close to $200 for the Colorvent. It’s a lot of ink, and I actually plan to keep most of it!

Wishing Tree Inkvent 2024 — Diamine Wishing Tree was my favorite of the 2024 Inkvent Inks. You can check out my overall favorites from the first half of the two calendars here.

Colorverse Colorvent NGC-2264 — I REALLY want Colorverse to add this particular ink to their permanent collection. This was prominently featured in my recap of Inkvent/Colorvent, Part II.

Grab Some Select Inkvent Samples, While Supplies Last!

I can’t keep everything, so I’ve dropped this year’s Inkvent samples and some remaining from prior years into the “Gently Used/Clearance” section of the shop. Patreon Members already have had first crack at these, but there’s still a lot of ink left to go out the door. Also, please be sure to check out the rest of our brands, as we’ve recently brought in several new lines including Teranishi, Taccia, Diamine 150th Anniversary, and more!

Our brick and mortar shop is typically open for regular hours Thursday through Saturday, and otherwise by appointment. For directions and specific hours keep an eye on this page, which will reflect any changes due to anticipated inclement weather later this week.

Inkvent and Colorvent 2024: Recapping Days 11-20

December 21, 2024

I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the reaction to how I’ve handled Inkvent/Colorvent season this year, as everyone seems to enjoy the daily Instagram polls. I personally enjoy seeing which inks people prefer, and the poll results have definitely included some surprises. Without further ado, here are the top three inks from both the Colorverse Colorvent and Diamine Inkvent calendars, respectively. Note that these polls are not at all scientific, and depend entirely on how many people responded to the Instagram stories poll as of the date of this post. If your favorite ink isn’t included here, go vote! (And if you missed the recap of the first 10 days, you can check it out here.)

Top Three Colorverse “Colorvent” Inks from Days 11-20: NGC 2264, PUlsar pulse, and brinicles/milky Way (tie)

Colorvent NGC 2264 Day 17 — Easily my favorite ink from both Colorvent and Inkvent. This dark green should be a frontrunner to be added to regular Colorverse lineup next year. Poll results were near-unanimous.

Colorverse Colorvent Pulsar Pulse — It came as no surprise to me that Pulsar Pulse was a favorite.

Colorverse Colorvent Brinicles — Ok, so the "third place” Colorvent ink was actually a tie between “Brinicles” and “Milky Way” (shown below). I enjoyed both inks so I decided to include both in the top “three”!

Colorverse Colorvent Milky Way Glistening — Given the connection people have long drawn between the “Advent Calendar inks” and shimmer, I’m surprised that the Colorvent Calendar hasn’t included more shimmer inks. That said, those that have appeared in the calendar are very good.

Top Three Diamine “Inkvent” Inks from Days 11-20

Diamine Inkvent Day 12: Snow Globe — Snow Glob surprised me with how popular it was, yet it’s sort of understandable since it’s one of the more “usable” Inkvent inks from this year.

Diamine Inkvent Winterberry — Winterberry, with it’s deep red hue and pink shimmer, is probably my own favorite from this year’s Diamine shimmer inks.

Diamine Inkvent Vibe — Blue inks with red sheen are always popular. No exceptions.

Overall Takeaways from Inkvent/Colorvent, Part II

My personal takeaways from the first ten days hold true: the Colorverse Colorvent calendar contains more inks that I would use as everyday writers, whereas the Diamine Inkvent calendar features inks that are more traditionally “festive” and associated with winter and the holiday season. Given how much I’ve enjoyed the Colorverse inks, I’m strongly considering adding Colorverse to the shop as a standard brand in 2025. The dark green NGC 2264 is my favorite ink so far from both calendars, and it’s not even close. Stay tuned for the final five days and a general wrap up next week!

We have exactly ONE Diamine Inkvent calendar left. It’s not too late to grab samples of all the inks! Even though the inky advent calendars are mostly sold out, we still have plenty of ink available in our shop, including lots of recently added brands! If you’d like to peruse ink in person, we have extended holiday hours Saturday through Monday before taking a long-awaited break for Christmas. Come see us!

Colorverse Colorvent and Diamine Inkvent Calendars

Inkvent and Colorvent 2024: Recapping the First 10 Days of December

December 11, 2024

There’s pretty much an Advent calendar for every interest these days. Tea, coffee, beer, wine, chocolate, pencils, art supplies, and - of course - fountain pen ink! Believe it or not, there are now three different fountain pen ink advent calendars on the market: the Diamine Inkvent Calendar (the original); the Colorverse “Colorvent” Calendar (new this year); and the Enigma Stationery Inkvent Calendar (put together in-store, and which collects different brands).

This year, I purchased a Diamine Inkvent and Colorverse Colorvent calendar, and have been walking through each of the inks on the T.G.S. Instagram Account (check out the stories). As a bit of a twist, this year I added a highly scientific poll to each Instagram Story that allowed readers to vote Yay, Nay, or “Blah” for each ink. Here are the top three inks for each calendar, by vote:

Top Three Diamine Inkvent Inks So Far

Diamine Inkvent, Day One: Baltic Breeze. This one surprised me a bit with it’s popularity, but I guess it appeals to a lot of people.

Diamine Inkvent Marley Day 8 — Day 8: Marley. A bit of a multi-shader and subtle color, so no surprises this one was a favorite.

Diamine Icy Lavender Inkvent Day 5 — Again, this one was not one of my top three, but these icy cool shimmer inks are always favorites.

Top Three Colorverse Colorvent Inks So Far

Cool color, but not my personal favorite. I think people were just happy to see something other than red, taupe, or navy blue.

Colorverse Colorvent Red Horizon Day 9 — It will not surprise anyone that Red Horizon is my personal favorite of all the inks to date. Colorverse indicated they might add a few of the more popular Colorvent inks to the standard line, and I hope this one makes it as I’ll want a giant bottle.

It only took two days for a typo! I was kind of surprised that this was one of the more popular Colorvent inks. It’s a great color - don’t get me wrong - but not as festive as some of the other calendar options.

Takeaways and General Observations on Each Calendar as a Whole

I don’t have a clear “favorite” in terms of Inkvent vs. Colorvent. The two calendars are VERY different, and will appeal to different people. I’ll share my own thoughts on each, as well as one ink I felt was unfairly maligned at the polls.

Overall Festiveness. Diamine Inkvent wins by a long shot. Nearly all of the inks are winter and holiday-themed, and of the first 10, a whopping six are shimmer inks, compared to one for the Colorvent.
Usability. Of the two calendars, the Colorverse Colorvent calendar has more inks that I would use for everyday writing. There are fewer shimmer inks and bright holiday-themed colors, and as a whole - at least through the first 10 days - the colors are more muted, understated tones which I appreciate. So far, purchasing the Colorvent calendar would give you a very nice collection of inks that are usable year-round.
Value. Here, I’ll probably give the slight edge to Diamine, mainly due to a greater ink variety and a much lower price, but it’s close. While neither calendar is inexpensive, with Diamine Inkvent priced at $120 and the Colorvent Calendar at $180, Diamine is 30% less. Diamine gives you 24 12ml bottles of ink and one larger 30ml for the last day. Colorverse gives you 24 15ml bottles. I will add that the Colorvent Calendar makes a more impressive gift - Colorverse uses its signature glass bottles (making for a substantial-feeling package), and also went above and beyond on the packaging design, including a short blurb “behind the door” that describes the inspiration for each ink.

Diamine Inkvent Wishing Tree — And finally, here’s the one ink that shocked me with how poorly it did in the polling. Diamine “Wishing Tree” doesn’t photograph very well because there’s a lot of subtle color-shifting and understated shimmer going on. I’ll have to post some additional photos later, because I’m probably keeping this one.

The Colorverse Colorvent Calendar and the Enigma Inkvent Calendars sold out long ago, so you’re probably too late to pick one up unless you can convince someone to sell you a calendar on the secondary market. It’s not too late to play along with Inkvent, however! Diamine makes a LOT of Inkvent Calendars, and they are still available at many retailers (including us). We only have one or two left at the time of publication.

If you missed out on the inky Advent calendar that you wanted, we still have plenty of ink available in our shop, including lots of recently added brands! If you’d like to peruse ink in person, we have extended holiday hours Thursday through Sunday. Come see us!

First Impressions: Five Favorite Inks from the Teranishi Guitar Lineup

November 9, 2024

I was a bit too late to get these listed in the Thursday drops post, but I spent most of the day before flying out to the Chicago Planner Conference swatching and photographing the entire line of Teranishi Guitar inks, fresh in from Japan! (Technically, the official name for the line is the “Teranishi Guitar Taisho Roman Haikara” inks, but let’s just go with “Teranishi Guitar” for the sake of brevity in today’s post.)

Teranishi Guitar Bottle Tops — I love the presentation on these inks - I rarely pay much attention to boxes but the artwork looks nice and the bottles seal well.

The inks are manufactured by Teranishi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd, which is a Japanese maker of markers and art supplies located in Osaka, and while they have been popular in Japan for years, they’re less commonly available in the United States. I’m happy to be able to offer them (and, if I’m honest, to have the opportunity to play around with the entire line). Based on my initial swatching and review, here are my five favorite colors so far

Teranishi Guitar Gentle Green

Teranishi Guitar Antique Black

Teranishi Guitar Inks Antique Black Swatch — An off-black with reddish/sepia undertones (depending on the paper)? Count me in. The reddish sheen here is particularly pronounced on the Col-o-ring card I used to swatch the ink.

Teranishi Guitar Smoky Navy

Teranishi Guitar Brilliant Mint

Teranishi Guitar Classy Burgundy

Teranishi Classy Burgundy Swatch — The maroons and burgundies might be my favorite color family, and it’s hard to find one without too much brown or red or purple. Teranishi’s take is fairly well-balanced and what I would call a classic burgundy ink. I’m really looking forward to writing with this one.

Teranishi guitar Initial Impressions and Purchase Details

Based on my initial tests, the Teranishi Guitar inks behave quite well, with excellent flow and good depth of color. As you can see from the pictures above, several of the inks will show a fair amount of sheen on some papers, though it’s not overwhelming, and these inks all had reasonable dry times with the Kakimori Brass Nib I use for my ink swatches. If I had to draw a comparison between the Teranishi Guitar inks and others I’ve used in the past, I would point to Taccia and Sailor inks as comparable options.

Lamy 2000 Pine Gentle Green — Guess what I chose for my Fountain Pen Day 2024 present to self? A Green Lamy 2k! I paired it with Teranishi Gentle Green and love the combination.

The Teranishi inks are priced at $23 for a 40ml bottle, and as of now all 16 colors are available for purchase in our shop, both online and in-person. Please check this page for updated brick-and-mortar hours. I typically update the shop hours on Monday for the coming week.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Three Purple Inks from Tom's Studio: Juniper, Iris, and Constellation

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

October 26, 2024

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!

Tom's Studio Juniper Ink Swatch No. 12 — 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. :(

Tom's Studio Juniper Dark Sheening Purple Writing Sample — 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.

Tom's Studio Constellation Writing Sample — Constellation dries to a mostly dark purple-black. The tones are subtle.

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).

Tom's Studio Iris Purple Wet Swatch on Col-O-Ring Large

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.

Tom's Studio Three Purple Inks Packaging — 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!

Tom's Studio Ink Review: Three Purple Inks in Plotter Bible Sized — 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.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported 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. If you’re in the Nashville, Tennessee area, please visit us at our physical store!