Ferris Wheel Press has been shaking up the glistening (sparkling) ink world with its Fairy Tales ink line. Every foil-stamped box contains intricate artwork related to the fairy tale.

Each ink in the Fairy Tale line also comes in a small glass bottle (20mL) with a heavy metal cap.

The sparkle in Poison Envy is a purple chameleon sparkle while the ink itself is a dark purple that leans red with a bright greenish-gold sheen.

Sheen and sparkle are everywhere in this ink – both the in the swatch and in writing.

The base ink color in Poison Envy is redder than the base ink in Diamine Winter Miracle from Inkvent 2019 but they are close in writing. The difference becomes apparent when the swatches are angled into the light. The color of the sparkle is also visible here – Winter Miracle contains a bluish sparkle while Poison Envy is silver at one angle and purple at another.

Ferris Wheel Press Poison Envy on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:

Ferris Wheel Press Poison Envy on Midori Cotton paper:

Ferris Wheel Press Poison Envy on Midori MD paper:

Ferris Wheel Press Poison Envy on Tomoe River (TR7) 52gsm paper:

Ferris Wheel Press Poison Envy does come with a cost – $22 for the 20mL bottle of ink – $1.10 per mL. However, I do believe the cost is justified for the materials and level of thought put into the ink and packaging. Thank you again to the Dromgooles for making this review possible!

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us by Dromgoole’s free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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I chose to review two inks in the Ink-cafe line – #536 Shikon is the first. This is a deep blue-purple ink, very saturated, and it sheens a bright gold on most paper types. As you can see in the photo above, I had a bit of trouble with the ink rubbing off the swatch and onto the rest of the card. This wasn’t actual smearing, but it is something that can happen with heavily saturated inks. I did not have the same issue writing on the paper samples.

Only a touch of the sheen shows up with Kuretake Ink-cafe #536 Shikon on Midori MD paper:

The gold sheen shows a bit of green with Kuretake Ink-cafe #536 Shikon on Tomoe River 52gsm (TR7) paper:

The sheen is fairly metallic with Kuretake Ink-cafe #536 Shikon on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:

The second ink I chose from the Ink-cafe line is a bright red #532 Araishu. This is a vivid red with slight orange undertones – not quite as bright as Monteverde Strawberry Shortcake.

Kuretake Ink-cafe #532 Araishu on Midori MD paper:

I was surprised at how much of the orange undertones showed up with Kuretake Ink-cafe #532 Araishu on Tomoe River 52gsm (TR7) paper:

A faint silver sheen can be sheen with Kuretake Ink-cafe #532 Araishu on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:

I was able to pick up a sample of each of these inks from St. Louis Art Supply – a store that is new to me! The samples are quite small – only 1.5mL – but cost on $2.50 each. Dip pen nibs, Kakimori nibs, and glass nibs (most) all fit into the tiny sample vials, but I don’t know of many fountain pens that would be able to draw from them.

The ink is priced at $17.95 for a 20mL bottle – $0.90 per mL. This may be a bit steep for a new ink line, but I am interested to try the remaining colors. I do love how bright Araishu is without blinding me.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were purchased by me. Please see the About page for more details.

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First, a comparison of colors. Blue-ringed Octopus blue is a bright cyan that sheens red occasionally. It reminds me of Pelikan Edelstein, but when I compared the two, Blue-ringed Octopus is noticeably darker.

Bobtail Squid green is a bit brighter than Robert Oster Jade, and not quite as yellow. I love the shading in this ink – the difference between the dark and light shades is dramatic.

Vampire Squid red is a wonderful bright red that is dark enough to not hurt your eyes. You can see a touch of the gold sheen in the lower right corner of the swatch card below.

Cuttlefish brown is a very interesting ink – when used with a wet-writing pen or nib, it appears off-black. When Cuttlefish is used in a fine pen or a dry pen, it appears as a light, muddy brown with hints of yellow. Montblanc Wood & Tobacco is the closest color I have to Cuttlefish and even the Montblanc ink isn’t quite as dramatic.

Below are the four inks on wheat straw paper from my swatch booklet. There was no feathering and no show-through but also no sheen on this paper.

Below is Tomoe River paper. I’ve slightly smeared each ink below to show some of the properties of the ink although please note that the green in the Blue-ringed Octopus smear is from inky fingers, not from the ink itself. TR paper shows the Bobtail ink shading and a bit of the shading in Cuttlefish, but the nibs that I used for Blue-ringed Octopus and Vampire Squid were too narrow to show sheen. You can see a hint of sheen in both in the smeared ink at the bottom of the page, however.

Shading is better on the Cosmo Air Light paper below, especially in Bobtail Squid. Cuttlefish showed no real shading here and I continued to not see sheen in Blue-ringed Octopus or Vampire Squid. The smear tests with the blue and red both showed the sheen, however.

Midori MD paper light seems to have a flattening effect on each of the four inks although you can see more of the color variation in the Cuttlefish smear. I saw no sheen on this paper.

Out of the four types of paper I used in these tests (five if you count the Col-o-ring cards), there was no feathering, no bleed-through, and no smearing (except where I smeared on purpose!). Out of the four inks, Cuttlefish and Bobtail Squid are absolute favorites because of their unique colors. Blue-ringed Octopus is a beautiful cyan and I am going to try a wider nib for better sheen. Vampire Squid red is one I would probably pass on – the color is not quite saturated enough for my taste and was too dry.

All four inks I have shown in this post do feel slightly dry on paper but flow well through the pen. I didn’t experience hard starts or railroading, but the feel on the page was similar to writing on slightly toothy paper. I rather enjoyed the feel of the drier ink! I have several wet-writing pens that will be great to use with Anderillium inks to balance the flow.

Check back next week for more Anderillium ink testing!

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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This post today will be giving a first look at the two ink lines: the Cephalopod Series and the Avian Series. I will dive deeper into reviewing the characteristics of the inks in further posts, but I wanted to give an overview of the colors as soon as I could.

The first Series is Cephalopods. This line consists of Bobtail Squid Green, Colossal Squid Dark, Flapjack Octopus Orange, Vampire Squid Red, Blue-Ringed Octopus Blue, Spirula Green, Cuttlefish Brown, and Flying Squid Blue.

The Avian Series consists of Common Loon Black, Shoebill Stork Grey, Roseate Spoonbill Pink, American Goldfinch Yellow, Purple Gallinule Purple, Green Kingfisher Green, Pompadour Cotinga Burgundy, and Indigo Bunting Blue.

I was sent 0.5 ounce bottles of each ink – these are sold for $14.50 in 1.5 ounce bottles at various retailers.

Cephalopods:

Avian:

On Col-o-Ring cards, the only smearing I noticed was from my own clumsiness.

• Above: Cosmo Air Light paper

• Above: Cosmo Air Light paper

I attempted to remove the sticker that was used to close the bag ofCepholapod samples, but my clumsiness showed up again. I did want to show off the wonderful drawing on the sticker, however. Just ignore the fact that it is in pieces…

The Avian Sticker came off in one piece, though!

Cosmo Air Light shows plenty of shading and hints of sheen in Flying Squid, Blue-Ringed Octopus, Vampire Squid, Roseate Spoonbill Pink, and Common Loon Black. Haloing is also showing up in several colors.

• Above: Tomoe River Paper

• Above: Tomoe River Paper

The same five inks sheen on Tomoe River paper as well where the colors are softer and shading is less pronounced.

• Above: Midori MD Light paper

• Above: Midori MD Light paper

I love the depth of these inks on Midori MD Light paper. Vampire Squid sheens quite a bit here and Cuttlefish has a fascinating variety of layers.

As I said above, this is only meant to be a quick teaser of the Anderillium ink lines. In the coming weeks, I will dive deeper into how these inks perform. Don’t forget to check back next week!

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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The last three inks today are Cenote, Cardona, and Mar Caribe.

Cenote is a deep blue ink with a somewhat matte, pinkish sheen. It is close to Ferris Wheel Press Tanzenite Sky or Diamine Regency Blue, but the sheen factor is higher. One nice feature of Cenote – the ink never seemed to smear unlike most sheening inks.

Monarca Cardona is the other sheening ink in the line. The base color is a deep burgundy-magenta, close to Robert Oster’s Hot Pink while the sheen is like a toned down version of Cult Pens Robert, an ink that pushes sheen to the max. As with Cenote, I never saw the ink smear.

Monarca Mar Caribe is a beautiful light turquoise with plenty of shading potential. It is a bit lighter than Robert Oster Pacific Ocean Teal (a past special edition) but still dark enough for easy reading.

A lineup of the last three Monarca inks!

Once again I have the entire Monarca ink collection together, first on Cosmo Air Light paper:

Then on Tomoe River paper:

I have enjoyed showing the new inks! It is a great lineup of unusual colors for an introductory offering, but it is refreshing to see non-standard colors.

Each Monarca ink is priced at $20 for a 30mL bottle (except the special edition Rey Jaguar which is $29) and includes a small ink stand with a pen rest. You can find samples of Monarca inks at $4 for 4mL at Vanness as well.

DISCLAIMER: The ink in this review was provided free for the purpose of review. You can help support this blog by joining our Patreon. Please see the About page for more details.

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Dominant Industry is a South Korean company that makes special small batch inks for dip pens. Read carefully when purchasing, because not all the inks they offer are fountain pen friendly (some are dip nib only but the listing will state that). They offer a variety of colors available in one of four different categories: Hologram, Mirror, Pearl, and Standard.

I chose No. 11, Autumn Forest as my first ink to try. This is a warm green-brown ink with a pinkish red pearl sheen. This ink is amazing to watch. When I received the bottle, I could see the pink/red pearl down at the bottom. I shook the bottle gently and then started to swatch. The ink went more green, and turned a bit browner as it dried. But while I was watching it I could see bits of blue, yellow, and that red sheen. It reminded me of leaves on the ground after they’ve fallen off the trees. They’re no longer bright brilliant reds, oranges and yellows, but a more nebulous green-brown with hints of all those other colors.

Autumn Forest is unlike anything else I have in my collection. I don’t tend towards forest or olivey-greenish browns, and nothing rivals the color with the sheen. I did pull Noodler’s Rome Burning out, but it doesn’t come close. I’m just fascinated with this ink and I’ve loaded it into one of my TWSBI’s so I can play with it over time.

• Papers: Maruman Mnemosyne N182A Inspiration Notebook A5 ($10.50), Crossfield Journal ($24.00), 
• Pen: Delike Glass Signature Pen ($37.80)
• Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) and Col-o-Dex Rotary Cards ($15)
• Inks: Dominant Industry No. 11 Autumn Forest ($20 for 25mL)

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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Vinta Parol is a deep green with blue undertones, bright reddish-purple sheen and gold glitter. It almost reminds me of Emerald of Chivor but the underlying ink color (if you can see it!) is not as blue as Emerald.

The photo below is the same card as shown above – this is a very directional sheen.

Vinta Carol is a deep red with a green-gold sheen and gold sparkle. It is a bit calmer than Parol but is quite flashy.

Parol is quite close to Diamine Holly from the 2019 Inkvent calendar with added sparkle.

Cinta Carol is quite close to Sailor Virginia with added sparkle.

With such flashy, sparkly ink, I decided Pilot Parallel pens were the way to go! I used a 6mm nib for Carol and a 3.8mm nib for Parol.

This photo is Cosmo Air Light paper:

This is Tomoe River paper:

Cosmo Air Light paper, tilted to show sheen and sparkle:

Tomoe River paper tilted to show sheen and sparkle:

The next two images are my favorite up close photos on Cosmo Air Light paper.

The purple sheen is my favorite!

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were purchased by me. Please see the About page for more details.

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Merry Inkmas! Keeping with our traditional celebration, we are sharing some of our favorite inks for 12 days. Today I’m showing off the first ink from the Diamine Inkvent calendar 2021, so if you are still waiting to open day 1, avert your eyes!

I’ve had so much fun opening up a small bottle of new ink every morning this month. The first day surprised me because it didn’t seem to be Christmas-related; instead I would call it celebration-related.

Seize the Night is a very dark purple ink with a bright gold sheen. The sheen is not overwhelming. It complements the purple beautifully and is only apparent in certain lights/angles.

Seize the Night is a perfect name for this ink – it reminds me of a cocktail dress with gold sequins or a dark night sky lit up with dazzling lights.

When viewed on Col-o-Ring paper straight on, Seize the Night looks incredibly dark with no sheen – perfectly acceptable for work-related writing. An off-purple ink.

But then the party side shows. When angled towards the light, the gold sheen shines.

The base color in Seize the Night is a match for Van Dieman’s Sweet Fig ink. It is also a close match to Bungubox’s Ink of the Witch.

Large droplets of Seize the Night almost glow. The above photo is on Cosmo Air Light paper. Below is the same amount of ink on Tomoe River paper – the sheen is a bit more subtle on TR paper.

The writing I show here is again on Cosmo Air Light paper with a fine cursive Italic nib. It’s not difficult to get sheen from normal writing.

I’ve already put Seize the Night on my list to purchase after Inkvent is done. I hope that it will be available! After the 2019 Inkvent calendar, Diamine offered full 50mL bottles of each ink for sale under their Blue Edition collection. Hopefully they will offer this year’s inks under a Red Edition collection!

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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Forest Green is a bit misnamed. I picture forest green as much darker, dustier. TWSBI’s take on forest green is a bright emerald green.

Forest Green fits right in with the standard green from several other lines – Lamy, Aurora, Monteverde, and Rohrer & Klingner are close matches.

The shading from Forest Green is great. I’ve used a medium nib from Narwhal for my writing samples and it produced the shading you see below.

Sheen! The best kind of sheen in my book – it only shows up occasionally and is never overwhelming. I’ve also never had smearing issues with this level of sheen.

As I showed with TWSBI Purple last week, the bottles are beautiful. They are made of thick, frosted glass and feel heavy for their size. Every bottle is clearly marked with the color and name.

I’ve included all five new TWSBI colors swatched on Tomoe River paper:

And on Cosmo Air Light paper:

The finish of Forest Green on the two paper types is quite different. Cosmo Air Light paper shows the ink as a bit chalky or dusty.

The entire set of new TWSBI inks can be purchased at most ink retailers. Even with the small bottle size, I’m glad I purchased a full bottle of Forest Green – a great standard green that looks even better with the shading and sheen.

DISCLAIMER: The items in this review were purchased by me and I was not compensated for writing this review. See our About page for more information

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#406 Moon and Stars Shimmer

I didn’t really find much shimmer in this ink. but the coppery sheen is beautiful and plentiful.

#407 Carpodacus Roseus

#407 and my camera had a tough time agreeing if a color this bright should be photographed. It is bright but not neon.

#408 Xiamen

I don’t have a great match for #408 here. It’s closer to purple than either of these comparisons, but the saturation level is the same.

#409 Spring Lake

Another PenBBS ink, #272, is the closest color I have to #409. It is bright, minty and may be a bit too light for normal writing unless you have a broad nib or a stub.

#410 Year of the Rat Shimmer

Plenty of shimmer here in #410! Year of the Rat is a great gray ink with very fine silver shimmer.

#411 Purple Sky

Purple sky is the last of the six inks for today. This is another ink where my camera and I had words. it is a gorgeous royal purple that isn’t so dark that it looks black. The swatch of Dragon Night is close, but in writing, Purple Sky keeps the purple color.

Purple Sky is my personal favorite here, although Spring Lake and Xiamen are close seconds. I’ll be sharing the next six in this season next week before going on to season 30!

Tools:

• Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10)
• Ink: PenBBS Season 29 ($16 for 60mL or $2.60 for 4mL sample at Vannesss)

DISCLAIMER: The ink in this review was purchased by me because I am obsessed with ink. Please see the About page for more details.

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